HERE Truck Navigation

B2B2C • Mobile, Embedded

Team

Product management

Research

UX Design

Engineering

Role

Concept and UX development

Research partnership

User testing

Implementation support

Duration

14 weeks

Business Impact

Improved driver satisfaction and reduction in overall re-routing occurrences by 10%

The Challenge

Facilitate a streamlined experience for trucking operations with an emphasis on safe and efficient task completion.

Business and project context

HERE Navigation provides location-based services for both passenger and commercial vehicles. With a growing focus on the trucking sector, the company aimed to enhance its offering for a wider range of commercial vehicles, from light vans to heavy trucks.

Design was brought in to explore improvement opportunities, in the current product. It was driven by recurring client feedback about driver dissatisfaction — particularly around routing experience. Quantitative investigation pointed to a high volume of rerouting-related calls during tours which corroborated with the the discontent trust amongst drivers.

Contextual research

To inform design decisions and uncover improvement areas, we conducted in-depth contextual research focused on understanding the day-to-day realities of truck drivers and fleet operations teams.

Focus areas

  • Understand the journey of both the drivers as well as the fleet management over the course of a tour.

  • Study the tools and processes being used by the stakeholders.

  • Scope out the causes behind higher occurrences of navigation rerouting.

  • Discover pain points in the drivers’ overall navigation experience.

Audience and research location

On-site visits were conducted at 2 fleet operation centers to observe planning workflows and tool usage in context.

Additionally, six truck drivers from the U.S., Germany, Italy, and Belgium were interviewed to understand their navigation habits, pain points, and real-world workarounds.

Fleet center team uses a FMS system to track and dispatch orders

Fleet center team uses a FMS system to track and dispatch orders

Order dispatch station where truck drivers would interface and pick up/drop off tour jobs

Order dispatch station where truck drivers would interface and pick up/drop off tour jobs

Drivers would have a list of orders on a handheld device provided by the company

Drivers would have a list of orders on a handheld device provided by the company

The handheld device a would provide overview of the tours, and also provide navigation

The handheld device a would provide overview of the tours, and also provide navigation

Drivers would update the vehicle parameters for their trips to accordingly calculate appropriate routes. Pictured TomTom truck navigation

Drivers would update the vehicle parameters for their trips to accordingly calculate appropriate routes. Pictured TomTom truck navigation

Drivers would also sometimes prefer using non truck navigation since they'd have better features in some instances

Drivers would also sometimes prefer using non truck navigation since they'd have better features in some instances

Outcomes from the research

The research uncovered key friction points in the driver journey and coordination with fleet operations. It revealed gaps in usability, and information flow within the current navigation experience. These findings highlighted clear opportunities to reduce complexity, improve communication, and better support truck navigation.

A generalized journey map was put together to visualize key moments, challenges, and opportunities across a typical delivery tour, helping align the team around user pain points.

Core takeaways

1

Ordering stops was confusing and time-consuming, as ad hoc stops came through multiple channels mid-run, delaying route re-planning.

2

Tour planning is very sensitive to traffic conditions, and it affected departure and rest stop times.

3

Truck-specific road restrictions were often missed, due to insufficient visibility in the interface.

4

Vehicle parameters could change multiple times during a tour, with changing cargo possibly impacting compliance with road restrictions.

5

In large venues like warehouses, drivers lost time locating exact pick-up/drop-off points.

6

Drivers with local knowledge found restriction routing was too rigid at times, causing unnecessary detours around “soft restrictions”.

 

Solution discovery

Based on the insights gathered, we explored several conceptual solutions and identified key intervention points within the existing flow. These ideas were evaluated and prioritized according to their potential user impact and their criticality to core business objectives, helping to focus efforts on the most meaningful improvements.

High level map of existing flow with intervention opprtunities

Auto arrange stops for ideal routing.png
Pick time to leave for ideal traffic conditions.png
Incoming order.png
Confirm vehicle settings.png
Indication of restriction ahead.png
Route overview with visibility of restricted routes.png
Last meter navigation aid.png
 

Concept testing

To validate our ideas early, we conducted concept testing sessions with truck drivers on a range of design fidelities. The tests were carried out in a mix of in-context and online setups.

Key findings

  • For time departure times selection, time-based traffic selection was perceived as too detailed; users preferred a simpler overview.

  • Drivers wanted to see route restrictions upfront to better evaluate alternative paths.

  • In instances of approaching restrictions, audio alerts for were considered helpful for timely adjustments.

  • Drivers wanted the ability to access more details on restrictions—especially for time-based rules and less familiar symbols that were not immediately understood.

  • In last-meter navigation standard map view lacked necessary detail and context needed to confidently reach the exact pickup or drop-off point

The final designs were adapted based on the feedback.

Final updates

2–3 Optimal Time Slots instead of granular list.png
Visual indication of restrictions on route plan & detail view.png
Pick time to leave for ideal traffic conditions.png
Satellite view for last meter navigation.png

Release and Impact

The features were rolled out incrementally across the roadmap. Following their release, key usage trends were compared against the previous version of the application. Notably, re-route request volume dropped by approximately 10%, indicating a measurable improvement in route stability and driver satisfaction. Additionally, the customer’s regularly conducted driver satisfaction survey also reflected a positive trend, with drivers reporting increased confidence in the routing system and fewer complaints related to navigation issues.

Some features, like ad hoc stop additions, also sparked initiatives about deeper integrations—specifically the potential to offer API access for fleet management systems as an upsell opportunity.

Additionally, the work prompted cross-team engagement with POI geocoding teams to improve the accuracy of last-meter navigation points.