Deckhand Electronic Logbook
Role
UX Researcher
Industry
Enterprise
Duration
4 months
Context
Deckhand is an offline first electronic logbook used by commercial fishers in New Zealand to record catch data and comply with government regulations. As the product evolved and new features were added, the increasing complexity led to chaotic and inefficient workflows and frequent support requests.
Our Goal
Reduce unnecessary support calls
Improve workflow clarity
Make key actions easier to find
Help users recover from errors independently
Research & Insights
We combined product teardown, user interviews, and usability testing to understand why users struggled with current system. Research revealed recurring pain points across the reporting workflow.
Key Findings
Important actions were hidden.
Terminology increased the learning curve.
Error messages offered little guidance.
The interface relied on unclear icons and interactions.
Workflow progress was difficult to understand.
Design Process
Guided by our research, we focused on improving visibility, simplifying interactions, and supporting users through clearer feedback.
Design Principles
Make system status visible.
Help users recognise and recover from errors.
Create predictable and consistent interactions.
