Information Architecture, UX and UI Design
Minetec provides a suite of software solutions to permit underground mining operations to locate and manage all of their underground resources. MineOffice™ is the focal point of all diagnostics, change requests, reporting, and configuration for the complete suite of Minetec software and associated hardware.
MineOffice™ had gone through a few iterations, but had not fulfilled the original goals due to an ambitious backlog of outstanding features and requirements. A clearly established information architecture was not in place to support the addition of new features, resulting in functionality appearing in unexpected places.
Further requirements for MineOffice™ were added with Minetec entering into a global licensing and technology development agreement to integrate with Caterpillar (CAT), the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.
A robust information architecture to support MineOffice's rapidly expanding feature set, using meaningful categories to ensure the discoverability of critical functions.
A customised component library designed to leverage a Javascript UI framework such as React or Angular, eliminating the need to build UI components from scratch.
The creation of a design system containing comprehensive guidelines, components and standards to provide a unified framework for future designers and software engineers.
Extensive product research was conducted, accessing Minetec's product documentation library and developer backlogs. Information gathering workshops were held with the project team leads, software engineers and solution architects. Four broad categories of MineOffice™ were identified:
Personas were created to aid in the development of user roles and to assign the default level of access for each. Four user roles were identified: System Administrator, Supervisor, Operator and Observer (a view only mode).
Hundreds of high fidelity designs were created and tested for every screen within the web application, capturing every user interaction—including error states, modals and detailed input validation. A flat, modern style gave the developers the opportunity to customise a Javascript UI framework or library such as React or Angular. This eliminated the need to build UI components from scratch, saving valuable company resources.
To ensure design consistency and scalability, a design system was established. A catalogue of reusable components was created, including colour palettes, iconography and typography. Reference style guides were created for UI components and common UI patterns.
A robust information architecture, navigational hierarchy and design system giving Minetec the ability to rapidly produce new iterations of MineOffice™.
