Location History
Designing a visual timeline for understanding machine activity.
Context
Location History provides operators with visibility into where machines have been, what they were doing, and when key events occurred over the previous 24 hours. Originally designed for the web, the feature was later re-imagined for mobile to support operators working in the field while preserving a consistent visual experience across platforms.
My Role
Led the visual and interaction design for both the web and mobile experiences, adapting the feature to each platform while maintaining a consistent visual language and user experience.
Designing for Two Workflows
Operators need to understand machine movement and status over time, but the context in which they access that information varies significantly. Users in the office often investigate historical activity across multiple machines, while operators in the field need immediate access to the current status of a single machine. The challenge was to create experiences that supported these distinct workflows while maintaining a consistent visual language across both platforms.
Designing for Analysis
The web experience was designed to support operational analysis, giving users the tools to review machine activity over a selected 24-hour period. Operators can compare the history of multiple machines, navigate to previous dates, and step through events using an interactive timeline that updates both the map and machine details. This connected experience makes it easier to investigate field activity, understand machine behavior, and reconstruct what occurred over time.
Designing for the Field
Rather than recreating the web experience, the mobile design focused on the information operators need while actively working in the field. The experience emphasizes quick access to recent machine activity, presenting a live 24-hour view centered on a single machine. Timeline interactions and event details were intentionally simplified, allowing operators to understand machine status with minimal interaction while maintaining a familiar visual language.
Impact
By adapting the experience to the unique needs of web and mobile users, Location History provides operators with the right level of information for their environment. The web experience supports detailed operational analysis, while the mobile experience prioritizes quick understanding in the field. Together, they deliver a cohesive cross-platform experience that makes machine activity easier to review, interpret, and understand.
Improved operational visibility
Operators can quickly understand where machines have been and what they were doing over time.Optimized for each workflow
The web supports deeper operational analysis, while mobile provides fast access to the most relevant information in the field.Faster understanding
Interactive timelines and contextual information make machine activity easier to interpret.Consistent cross-platform experience
Shared interaction patterns and visual language create a familiar experience across web and mobile.
Innovation
This work contributed to a provisional patent related to digital product and interface innovation.
Reflection
This project demonstrated that designing for multiple platforms isn't about recreating the same interface on different screen sizes. It's about understanding how people work in different environments and delivering the right information, at the right level of detail, in the context where it's needed most. Adapting Location History for both web and mobile reinforced the importance of balancing consistency with context, creating experiences that feel connected while meeting the unique needs of each platform.