Visual Quality Analysis Tool
LlamaZOO Interactive
2021-2022
Summary
The LlamaZOO platform visualizes geospatial, engineering, and IIoT data in context for actionable Spatial Business Intelligence. This Visual Quality Analysis (VQA) tool is an expansion of our existing 3D topographic solution, TimberOps, giving forestry planners the ability to calculate the visual impact of their cutblock plans without having to leave their desk.
My Involvement
Translate the research conducted into interactive prototypes, collaborate with internal R&D team for more technical design planning, test concepts with users, iterate and create agile development plan recommendations.
Target Users
Forestry planners
Forestry students & professors
Timeline
~1 year part-time
Team
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Jr Product Designer/Researcher
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Myself as lead UX/UI
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Research Scientist
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Product Owner
Tools
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Sketch
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Invision
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Figma
STAGE 1
Understand
With any new product feature, doing preliminary research and validation is very important. The research for this project was conducted by another Product Designer at LlamaZOO with input from the CEO, R&D, and myself.
To highly summarize, this is the current process that forestry planners use when conducting a VQA report.
Current VQA Process
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Step 1: Planning and pre-field trip preparation
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Step 2: Conducting fieldwork
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Step 3: Developing design options and preparing visual simulations
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Step 4: Assessing visual simulations
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Step 5: Preparing a visual impact assessment report
Knowing that our product already helps forestry companies plan and manage their projects, this tool would integrate into our existing TimberOps product well.
STAGE 2
Research
To validate the designs, I started by creating some user flow diagrams, and made a clickable wireframe prototype. My approach was to mimic their existing flow in a digital twin format, factoring in existing features that we have already built to aid the process.
To test this concept we set up a video call with two forestry professionals and had them click through the prototype.
They were excited and saw so much potential use for this tool, for them, specifically for training.
STAGE 3
Analyize
After the evaluative test, we gathered feedback and concerns they had, and addressed them in the next iteration of the designs. Now that we understand the complexity of auto-generating some of the calculations, we are beginning to understand how large the scope could get if we decide to fully build this feature out.
STAGE 4
Prototype
Having worked on this project alongside other higher priority work over a long period of time, at first I designed the tool in the existing (at the time) design system in Sketch, using InVision to make the clickable prototype.
After returning from maternity leave, I got started on building a new design system in Figma, which became a slightly tedious transition with projects that were designed in the old design system, but not yet implemented. Thinking forward, we began to transition the MVP version of this tool into Figma using the new design system.
Prototype Mockups
STAGE 5
Test
With the MVP version launched, our existing customers were excited to try it out. The feedback has been a mix of positive to "we want to see more". With other priorities, we will continue to monitor the usage and feedback, and decide later whether-or-not to proceed with the next iteration.