At-A-Glance

Porsche Trace is a requirement interchange format system that was designed to address the challenges faced when designing complex automotive systems. The problem faced during this process is the difficulty in efficiently exchanging requirements between different stakeholders, including suppliers, engineers, and project managers. This can lead to misunderstandings, miscommunications, and ultimately, delays in the development process. The Porsche Trace system provides a standardised format for exchanging requirements, ensuring that all stakeholders have a clear and consistent understanding of the requirements, and reducing the risk of errors and miscommunications.

My role

As the sole designer, I collaborated closely with a product manager and development team to bring the first version of Porsche Trace to life. Working together, we transformed the vision into a tangible product, ensuring that it aligned with the project goals and met the expectations of all stakeholders.

Project duration

A timeframe of 3 months was allocated to me as the sole designer for the project. Within this duration, I conducted four iterative cycles, utilizing user feedback to continuously improve and refine the design. This iterative approach ensured the development of a more robust and user-centered requirement interchange format system within the given timeframe.

Challenge

I hit a few bumps in the road while conducting user research with Porsche Trace, but I was able to overcome them.

• Traceability: Inadequate requirement tracking and communication during development, risking non-compliance and stakeholder disengagement.
• Data Management: Challenges in organizing and managing extensive data, hindering accessibility, comprehension, and effective utilization.
• Collaboration: Inefficient collaboration and communication among teams and departments hinder effective stakeholder cooperation.

<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/c23dd84d-b6cb-4e4a-b498-521ca2e50672/note.svg" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/c23dd84d-b6cb-4e4a-b498-521ca2e50672/note.svg" width="40px" /> My task is to design a Requirement Interchange Format (RIF) system to address these challenges. By creating this system, I aimed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and user-friendliness of requirements management, ensuring seamless communication and collaboration among stakeholders.

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Exploring the minds of the target audience

I conducted interviews with 20 individuals to gather insights and feedback about the project. Their valuable input provided a deeper understanding of their needs, expectations, and challenges. This information played a crucial role in shaping the design of the project, ensuring that it effectively addressed the specific requirements and considerations identified during the interviews.

Key information was gathered throughout the interviews with the aim of aiding users in understanding:

User Demographics:

• 70% of users are automotive engineers
• 30% of users are product managers

User Needs:

• Users need better collaboration features
• Users require integration with other automotive design tools

User Feedback:

• 40% of users suggested adding a real-time collaboration feature

• 30% of users requested a mobile app for accessing the RIF system
• 20% of users suggested improving the reporting and analytics capabilities specific to automotive engineering requirements.

<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/19d48abc-f5e3-4930-a128-f12427cdfcdd/note.svg" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/19d48abc-f5e3-4930-a128-f12427cdfcdd/note.svg" width="40px" /> The research involved user interviews, understanding demographics, capturing needs and feedback, and analyzing perspectives and demands. This informs design decisions, prioritizes features, and meets user expectations.

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Design process