Boatswain app
A mobile app that integrates Sierra Wireless' IoT technology for remote boat monitoring
Product Designer 
research / ui / ux 2020-2021
Overview
Sierra Wireless is a world-leading provider of Internet of things (IoT) solutions. As a product team of 5, we partnered with Sierra Wireless to develop and test a minimum viable product that integrates their mangOH™ Yellow IoT board. As a result, we created Boatswain, a boat-tracking system that helps non-commercial boat owners monitor their vessels from anywhere at any time. I was responsible for the user research and product design of the mobile app.
The problem
Boat owners are unable to monitor the assets on their boat at all times. Without a way to check up on these assets remotely, boat owners waste time heading to the marina to check.
Business impact
By shipping a successful minimum viable product, my team achieved the client's goal of showcasing the internet-of-things capabilities of the Sierra Wireless mangOH™ Yellow in a real product application.
User research
Leading user interviews
Alongside one team member, I led the user research to validate our functional requirements. We interviewed two families fitting our user persona who owned medium- to large-sized sailboats.
Research questions
- What main factors lead boat owners to check on their boats?
- When do boat owners need to monitor their boat's location?
- How often do boat owners check on their boat's bilge pump and what warning signs do they look for?
- How often to boat owners monitor their boat's connection to shore power?
- What on-board security measures do boat owners have in place?
Design explorations
Wireframing
Because our client's goal is to successfully integrate their proprietary mangOH™ Yellow IoT board, I was intentional about making the device pairing process as easy as possible.
Wireframes
Viewing asset details
I explored various interface designs for the primary task of viewing asset details. A user would perform this operation when they want to view the detailed status of the bilge pump, shore power, or other asset.
Early design explorations for the task of viewing asset details
Integrating IoT technology
Part of our challenge in developing the app was integrating Sierra Wireless's IoT board (mangOH™ Yellow) and data orchestration platform (Octave). I worked directly with the mangOH™ Yellow and the on-board sensors to collect real-world data and test the expected user experience.
Final design
I handed off my final designs to the software team, who built the cross-platform mobile app using Flutter.
Impact
Business goals
By shipping a successful minimum viable product, my team achieved the client's goal of showcasing the internet-of-things capabilities of the Sierra Wireless mangOH™ Yellow in a real product application.
Growing as a designer
I grew more comfortable navigating ambiguity, as it was up to my team to uncover users' pain points and shape the product requirements from the ground up.
