Newflow was a 0 to 1 blockchain innovation project for US Department of Homeland Security. The goal was to build end-to-end traceability of cross-border oil imports using blockchain technology,  helped Custom Border Protection (CBP) accelerate customs clearance

My Role

• I was the sole UX Designer/Researcher in the Mavennet team, I led e2e UX process including research, design, testing and implementation.

• I collaborated with cross-functional internal team and external stakeholders

We started the project by defining the problem. Based on the research we have learnt, 9% of cross border crude transaction got disputed globally, and the diluent imported to Canada and the crude oil which was produced in Canada were hard to trace. This created a double taxation issue, potentially other products were commingled and enter the US undeclared.

There were four types of end-users in the Neoflow system, including Oil producer, Refiner, Transporter and CBP. We conducted user interviews and stakeholder interviews to understand different users' needs and motivations. Due to the limitation of time and resources, we built the personas with a combination of research and assumption.

First, we empathized with our users and stakeholders, understood the challenge our team was facing from the users' perspectives. Second, we generated ideas based on empathy, it was an important step of design thinking towards solutions. 

Design Focus - From end-users' perspective 

• The information crosses the supply chain is huge, how can we make it clear and useful?
• How can wedeal with information transparency and privacy?
• How can we determine and prove the origin of the product?
• How can we track accurate composition when the oil product got transformed?
• How can we build a portal that is consistent for each party?
• How can we build a solution that aligns with the current work process in the industry?
• …

Scope and PoC specific - Skateholders and customers' perspective 

• As a PoC, how can we simplify the design to prove the key concept? Also keep it easy to understand and make sense to the timeline
• What scenario can we use to demonstrate the core features?
• What are the core technologies are we using for this project and how it affects the user experience design?
• …..

We created a story map that was based on the end-to-end scenarios and the existing business flow, to understand the requirements and functionalities that the users need to accomplish their goals.