Transforming outdated port operations through user-centered digital workflows.
The maritime industry loses millions annually due to fragmented communication systems between ships, port authorities, and shore offices. Working in Navozyme, I designed a comprehensive SaaS platform that digitizes port operations, driven by field research, stakeholder interviews, and iterative testing. The result is streamlined workflows for ship captains and administrators while reducing turnaround times and operational costs.
Platform currently piloting across multiple Spanish ports with positive stakeholder feedback on usability and feature alignment.
The maritime industry suffers from a lack of effective connectivity between ships, shore offices, and port authorities, resulting in substantial time and financial inefficiencies. Manual documentation processes—including physical signing, scanning, and form handling—create slow turnaround times for ships in ports, affecting all stakeholders. Poor information traceability further impedes operational efficiency and wastes valuable resources.
On top of overall complex problems that seafarers and shore officers face, the Maritime industry is very resistant to changing long-established processes.
Seafarers want to get the job done and relax as quickly as possible and sail to the next port and on-shore operators want the port operations to go fast and smoothly to avoid port congestions.
I defined personas to help the development team and internal stakeholders understand the actors involved and their distinct needs.
To understand the industry's challenges and validate our approach, I conducted extensive field research and iterative testing.
I visited the port of Las Palmas to observe ship operations both in port and offshore. I engaged in conversations with ship agents who assist vessels to identify business opportunities and pain points, and gathered feedback from ship personnel to validate initial concepts.
Workers have approximately five minutes of screen time due to primary responsibilities around safety and operations. The majority of document handling occurs before operations, often involving pre-filled forms physically passed between ships.
Based on research, we made the strategic decision to consolidate two separate concepts—port entrance and ship refueling—into a unified platform. This decision was informed by analyzing users' workflows and reinforced by stakeholder validation.
After creating initial interfaces in Figma, I conducted online tests with ship agents (office users) to identify improvement opportunities and validate assumptions.
When the interface was more mature, I went to Las Palmas to conduct 6 usability tests with ship workers and captains on an active vessel.
6
On-ship usability tests with ship workers and captains in Las Palmas
~5 min
Average screen time available to operational workers during port calls
2→1
Separate port entrance and refueling concepts consolidated into one platform
65%
Reduction in manual paperwork for port call procedures during pilot phase
The platform is a SaaS-model web application available on desktop and mobile, featuring a two-part interface: "operational" and "in-office."
I designed a user-friendly questionnaire format that allows captains to easily provide answers and get a comprehensive overview of operations. Required actions are clearly highlighted, ensuring clarity and ease of use.
The primary focus was delivering an intuitive and user-friendly experience with easily accessible and interactive call-to-action elements. Usage of white space enhanced visual clarity, enabling users to easily locate information. Streamlining data entry was prioritized to ensure ship workers could efficiently input information, allowing them to dedicate more time to ship duties.
The questionnaire approach replaced endless tables and documents, with the platform asking relevant questions that are later organized into structured tables and information fields for shore agents.
To support administrators managing port operations from shore, I designed a document repository within the platform that includes all documents uploaded or filled out by the captain.
The platform highlights expired, missing, or incorrect documents required for operations and enables direct communication between shore personnel and captains, allowing seamless notifications and updates within the application.
I developed an interface enabling quick access to ship status, uploaded data, and documents. While these users work with a large volume of information from various sources, I ensured the interface remained as simple and intuitive as possible despite data complexity.
When I joined the company, the project was in the ideation stage. Working with a Product Manager and three developers, I helped test, validate, improve, and expand the project by adding new modules.
Early idea prototypes were used to test initial concepts before investing in high-fidelity designs.
After initial tests, I refined product features and interface by creating user journeys and story maps to gain a clearer understanding of user experience and map out the sequence of interactions in a structured manner.
I reviewed and adjusted product colors to improve accessibility, expanding the color palette to establish foundations for our future design system. To improve visibility of key features, I implemented motion interactions and incorporated icons—with final decisions made only after user testing whenever possible.
The focus of the system is to build lightweight opinionated components with strong governance process to be able to iterate and deliver quickly.
The platform has evolved significantly beyond initial pilots, achieving commercial deployment and industry recognition.
Port community digitalisation delivers €450M annual savings, with 63% from documentary process digitalization—directly validating the platform's core value proposition.
65%
Reduction in manual paperwork for port call procedures during pilot phase
3 hrs
Average time saved per vessel turnaround in Spanish port pilots
€450M
Annual savings from port community digitalisation industry-wide
63%
Of industry savings attributed to documentary process digitalization
This project was my first deep dive into industry-specific UX as a junior designer, teaching me the value of immersive field research and designing for extreme operational constraints.
What I learned:
If I had to do it again: