Day 13, 14-day UX Writing Challenge
The Prompt
UX Writing Challenge: Day 13
Scenario: A short-haul truck driver has a phone app that monitors his route, schedule, fuel & deliveries.
He has 6 more deliveries before stopping for fuel and lunch. Due to unexpected traffic, he’s behind schedule.
He can choose to stay on his planned route for a few more stops, but risk running low on fuel and missing lunch, or he can get fuel and lunch now and finish the deliveries later.
Challenge: Write a push notification alerting him of this dilemma and options.
Headline: 30 characters max
Body: 45 characters max
Button(s): 25 characters max
Ideation Process
Today we hit the road with Jack, a short haul driver. Jack makes several deliveries during the course of each workday.
He’s got fixed times for refueling and lunch, and a phone app helps him to track his fuel, the number of stops left, his route, and his schedule. This app helps him to stay on track.
Now, Jack has fallen into some unexpected traffic today which has delayed his activities considerably. He has 6 more deliveries before the time that he’s supposed to pause, refuel and get lunch. Due to the unexpected traffic, the app has identified that he may not be able to make these deliveries in time.
He can either stay on his planned route, and miss lunch, or go get fuel and lunch now so he can complete the deliveries later.
It’s up to Jack to decide what he wants to do, and we’re going to give him these options using a push notification.
But first, it is important to consider what a good push notification contains. It will include the following areas¹
1. Header Area
This area contains the app icon, the app name, header text, and timestamp (if required).
2. Content Area
This part contains the headline, as well as a short description of what the notification is trying to address. There could also be an icon here to reinforce the message being given.
3. Action Area
Here, the app user can communicate the decision they have decided to make in light of the information presented by the push notification.
In the case of Jack, let’s call the app he uses ‘Deliverite’.
The name of the app, and it’s icon would be in the content area. The content are would also have a timestamp, showing Jack what time the notification was received. This is important because, if Jack misses the notification, it would be helpful to see when it was sent, as the notification related to the use of fuel, a resource that is used as Jack continues to drive around town.
Let me explain;
If the notifcation popped up at 12.30 and Jack saw it at 1, he’d probably have made some more deliveries by then, meaning his fuel would have run even lower. So adding a timestamp is a good idea in such cases.
As a truck driver, Jack has a rather stressful job. He usually has to deal with a host of problems, including delivery issues, and possibly road rage. Today, he’s having to deal with an unexpected traffic jam which is delaying his deliveries as well. So it is important to send the message in a succint manner that he can easily appreciate, given the circumstances.
Goals
1. To inform Jack that he’s not likely to make his deliveries in the time set on his schedule
2. To give Jack the information needed to choose the best course of action, in light of Goal 1.
Result
The text chosen gives Jack an alert to reset his route. It also explains to him why this is necessary — to make time for refuelling and lunch. Finally, it gives him the option of resetting his route, or continuing.
Thanks for coming along. If you’re new, you can see more of my work here. See you tomorrow for Day 14!
[1] Sadiyah Lasania. Fundamentals of drafting good push notifications
https://uxplanet.org/fundamentals-of-drafting-good-push-notifications-181c8255c33d
