CAT Usability Day Application

Challenge Winner

Introduction

In my Advanced Interaction Design class, we were tasked with creating a project in collaboration with Caterpillar Inc. for their Usability Day. My class was divided into teams of three to four students with CAT UX mentors, and we were given a design prompt for an application. Using AR and/or 3D modeling, the application needed to aid CAT technicians during real-time repairs to machines.

My team's concept focused on implementing both AR and 3D models depending on if the technician was in the field or not. From either of these options, search or selecting a part gives diagnostic codes. Once the technician selects the correct diagnostic code, the app walks them through step by step how to complete the repair by highlighting relevant parts and guiding with detailed directions. From the 3D model, the technician also has the opportunity to view parts individually and in their exploded views, providing as much detail as possible. Along the way of repairs, we included call to actions of purchasing parts from external site, cat.parts.com.

Our design was presented in a full day event sponsored by CAT where teams user tested their designs and made changes based on feedback. User testing participants and CAT representatives voted on their favorite designs.

My group won the challenge out of the four in our class based on voting and deliberation from CAT's team. We were invited to present our design to the company. Because our design won, we also moved forward with designing a version for the Hololens, a hands-free alternative that may be useful to technicians. In a 20-minute presentation, we described our experience and problem-solving process during the project.

Development

This prototype was created in Figma. Due to Caterpillar policies, I had my first experience using Microsoft Teams for communication with our CAT mentors.

Results

This project was a great experience. However, there were many technical challenges during brainstorming due to our limited knowledge of the subject matter. With research and help from our CAT contacts, we were able to overcome any confusion we initially had.

My team was very happy with how our project turned out and excited to win the challenge. It was valuable to hear feedback from the user testing participants, our peers and professor, and the CAT team.

Example High Fidelity Screens