Hammerhead Dashboard
Role: UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Technology: React Native
Duration: 9 Months
Team: VP of Design, VP of Product, Software Engineering Manager, Full-stack Developer
Hammerhead produces the Karoo, the most advanced cycling computer on the market. Hammerhead Dashboard, the companion web application for the Karoo, allows users to create and maintain their Hammerhead account and build, import, organize, and edit their cycling routes. Any updates or additions to the user's Hammerhead account or cycling routes made within the dashboard are automatically synced wirelessly to the Karoo.
The Challenge
When I joined the Hammerhead team, the Hammerhead Dashboard was my first project. Hammerhead had recently acquired a small company that housed the mapping technology that would become the Hammerhead Dashboard. The technology would allow cyclists to build or import a basic cycling route from a competitor platform and interact with it on a map. Our goal as a product development team was to integrate this newly acquired technology to create an in-house solution comparable to Under Armor's mapmyrun or Strava's route builder.
Research & Analysis
Being new to cycling, I began my research by shadowing my coworkers and some of our in-house Karoo testers as they built routes for their upcoming week. Once more familiar with the route-building process, I began researching what functionalities we should focus on for our initial MVP build-out of the Hammerhead Dashboard redesign. Using my research and our internal team's research on core functionalities, I built an initial user-flow diagram to share with our internal stakeholders and Karoo testers.
With the invaluable input and feedback from our Karoo testers, product team, and development team (all of whom are avid cyclists), we achieved alignment on the core functionalities and user flows. This consensus was crucial in guiding the creation of the initial UX & UI mockups, which were then used for layout & usability discussions with the team.
Exploration
During our collaborative exploration phase, we delved into what a broader Hammerhead platform online could be branded as and how it would function, with each of us bringing unique insights and perspectives to the table.
Early in my explorations with the product team, we decided to use a collapsible left-sided menu pane within the platform. Having the collapsible side menu pane would allow our users to choose whether they wanted to navigate between different functionalities of the platform or take advantage of the full-screen view of their current task (primarily route building or analysis). Having a side menu also allowed the team to better conceptualize how we would enable our users to build routes within a mobile browser view. We were already familiar with mobile route building directly on our Karoo device, but doing so in a mobile browser view would be an advantage over our desktop browser-based competitors.
Another significant aspect of our exploration phase was the layout of the settings pane within the dashboard. We were not fully integrated with the Karoo at the time, but once the technology stack was integrated, we planned to customize settings on the Karoo based on your dashboard choices. We also had strategic plans to integrate with other cycling technology companies, such as Strava or TrainerRoad, and provide an easy way within the dashboard to integrate with their APIs once we had these functionalities supported directly on Karoo.
Outcomes
Upon the launch of the new Hammerhead Dashboard, we were pleasantly surprised by the significant growth in our user base. Notably, we saw a double-digit increase in users who didn’t own a Karoo device. Our aim was to create the most user-friendly cycling route builder for everyone, a vision inspired by our users' needs and preferences. My unique perspective as a newcomer to cycling was instrumental in helping us achieve this goal. By focusing on simplicity and usability, we are making cycling and technology accessible to a wider audience.
Another significant achievement was the decrease in users importing routes from competitor platforms in the near term. Instead of relying on external sources, users began to build their routes from scratch within our dashboard. This shift not only demonstrates the effectiveness of our platform but also the trust and confidence our users have in it.
Key Learnings
During the buildout phase of the Hammerhead Dashboard, we faced significant challenges. Working closely with a front-end developer who had recently joined us from the acquired company, we navigated the complexities of a new framework. This was demanding and time-consuming, and we had to adjust our expectations of what we could achieve due to knowledge limitations. However, our team's resilience and determination shone through, and I am incredibly proud of what we built together.
