BP Fleet Manager Application
The BP Fleet Manager flagship app is designed for micro to small-sized fleet managers in Australia and New Zealand, offering tools to streamline vehicle and fuel card management. It simplifies expense tracking, fraud prevention, and transaction reconciliation, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency on-the-go while supporting BP's digital transformation goals.
The challenge
The BP Fleet Manager app was developed to address the limitations of an outdated 14-year-old web portal built on Wix. The legacy system failed to meet the needs of fleet managers, especially those who also drive, lacking mobile accessibility and key features for effective on-the-go management.
From a business standpoint, the poor user experience led to high support costs and inefficiencies. With the system migrating to a new internally developed backend, there was a clear need for a modern, mobile-first solution to streamline operations, reduce costs, and better serve micro to small fleet managers.
Objectives
Optimize the user experience for fleet managers in Australia and New Zealand.
Empower users with self-service capabilities and decision-making tools.
Reduce support costs by streamlining operations and minimizing support needs.
Enhance trust and credibility through a reliable and user-friendly app interface.
Support BP's business growth through innovative digital solutions.
Limitations and constraints
The development of the BP Fleet Manager app faced key challenges. Limited prior research led to knowledge gaps about user behavior and preferences, prompting the team to conduct their own research to fill these gaps.
Additionally, the project required integration with disrupted systems across multiple countries and regions, coupled with technological and regulation discrepancies, which created significant complexities.
Furthermore, the mobile design maturity was lagging behind the web counterpart, necessitating focused efforts to elevate the mobile experience to meet user expectations.
My role
As the Experience Design Lead, I collaborated closely with the product and business teams to shape the BP Fleet Manager application offering. My role encompassed both high-level strategic planning and tactical execution responsibilities, ensuring the app met user needs while supporting business objectives. Key contributions included:
Facilitating discovery workshops to uncover challenges and opportunities.
Conducting user research to address knowledge gaps and inform decisions.
Leading strategic planning and prioritization with cross-functional teams.
Creating concept wireframes and visual designs to bring ideas to life.
Conducting usability testing and validation to ensure a seamless user experience.
Offering guidance and mentorship to the design team to drive collaboration and quality.
Timeline
The MVP for the BP Fleet Manager app ran from August to December 2024. August focused on discovery and user research, followed by strategic planning and wireframing in September. October prioritized usability testing and validation, while November centered on development and iterative feedback. By December, the MVP was finalized and prepared for launch, meeting key goals within a tight timeline.
Discovery phase
The discovery phase began with stakeholder workshops involving business stakeholders and the product team to align on business requirements, milestones, and objectives.
During this phase, I reviewed prior high-level quantitative research conducted by a third-party agency. However, this research was not specific to our segment of small to micro fleet managers, highlighting the need for more targeted insights.
To deepen understanding, I listened to support calls to uncover recurring complaints and user pain points.
Additionally, current state and comprehensive competitor reviews were conducted as part of the desk study, identifying industry trends and gaps. The outcome of the discovery phase was a list of assumptions that served as key discussion and guide points for planning and exploration in the subsequent user research phase.
User research
Building on the insights from the discovery phase, we identified key knowledge gaps and categorized them into two areas:
Known unknowns: These are gaps we were aware of but lacked specific details to address, such as precise pain points and workflows of micro to small fleet managers.
Unknown unknowns: These are gaps we were unaware of until further exploration revealed them, -such as unexpected challenges or unarticulated needs within the target segment.
I developed a research plan extending into Q2 2025 to address these gaps. However, recruiting external users proved challenging due to the timing (year-end) and legal considerations.
To mitigate this, we leveraged internal resources by engaging support and sales team members with domain expertise and prior experience as micro to small fleet managers.
Over two weeks, in collaboration with the design and product teams, we conducted remote interviews with Australian and New Zealand team members, uncovering valuable insights to guide the design process.
To mitigate this, we leveraged internal resources by engaging support and sales team members with domain expertise and prior experience as micro to small fleet managers.
Over two weeks, in collaboration with the design and product teams, we conducted remote interviews with Australian and New Zealand team members, uncovering valuable insights to guide the design process.
To mitigate this, we leveraged internal resources by engaging support and sales team members with domain expertise and prior experience as micro to small fleet managers.
Over two weeks, in collaboration with the design and product teams, we conducted remote interviews with Australian and New Zealand team members, uncovering valuable insights to guide the design process.
User persona & journey mapping
We updated the legacy persona for micro to small fleet managers to better reflect the segment's current needs and behaviors. This involved incorporating insights from interviews, support calls, and desk research to create a more accurate and actionable representation.
I also mapped their journeys, highlighting key tasks, pain points, and opportunities across their workflows, providing a foundation for designing solutions tailored to their specific challenges.
Feature inventory
I curated a comprehensive inventory of 120 features based on our research findings. This feature inventory provided the business and product teams with a clear roadmap for prioritizing features for the MVP and planning future iterations, enabling a cohesive and informed approach to product development.
Prioritization exercises
The feature inventory document became a critical tool during the prioritization phase, facilitating alignment between the engineering team and business stakeholders.
Through a series of prioritization exercises, we used the inventory to evaluate each feature against criteria such as user impact, technical feasibility, and business value.
This collaborative approach ensured that the engineering team had a clear understanding of development priorities, while stakeholders could see how the roadmap aligned with business objectives. These exercises helped us refine the scope for the MVP and establish a phased feature coverage plan.
Aspirational experiences
To align with BP’s long-term business objective of creating a comprehensive super app for fleet managers, we conducted an aspirational experience exercise.
This exercise focused on exploring future features and capabilities that could address all fleet management needs on the go. Drawing inspiration from industry and non-industry innovative user experiences, we explored ideas such as:
Site and Service Locator: Enables fleet managers to quickly find nearby fuel stations and service centers, ensuring best discounts and aid with route optimizations.
Pay at the Pump Functionality: Streamlines the refueling process by allowing managers and drivers to pay directly at the pump, saving time and improving efficiency.
Predictive and proactive notifications: Provides real-time notifications for fraud detection, maintenance needs, and upcoming payments, enhancing security and operational planning.
AI-Driven Optimization: Offers data-driven insights to help managers identify cost-saving opportunities and make informed decisions to boost business success.
Help & guidance: Simplifies troubleshooting by offering self-service support options, reducing reliance on customer support and lowering associated costs.
Cost-Saving, Rewards, and Loyalty Programs: Incentivizes usage with discounts and rewards, driving customer satisfaction and promoting long-term engagement.
These aspirational concepts provided a vision for the app’s evolution beyond the MVP, ensuring the solution could grow to meet the holistic needs of fleet managers while supporting BP’s strategic goals.
Information Architecture & Concept Development
During the information architecture and concept development phase, we mapped out the app’s structure to ensure a logical and user-friendly flow that aligned with fleet managers’ needs. This process included defining key navigation elements, organizing features, and prioritizing essential tasks.
With the IA in place, we began developing early wireframe designs, focusing on intuitive layouts and workflows that addressed user pain points and streamlined key functionalities. These wireframes served as the foundation for validating concepts and iterating on the design.
Prototyping & concept validation
I created an interactive prototype to bring to simulate key user workflows. This prototype was accompanied by a detailed guide for concept and user testing, outlining scenarios, tasks, and questions to gather targeted feedback.
Visual treatment
In the final stage, I applied BP’s global design system components to ensure the app maintained a unified visual language consistent with BP’s global offerings.
This approach provided a cohesive and recognizable user experience across regions. By integrating these design elements, we achieved a polished and professional look that aligned with both user expectations and BP’s strategic goals.
Final results
We successfully delivered the MVP and released it one week before Christmas to a selected group of fleet managers as part of a beta run. This milestone marked the culmination of months of collaboration and effort, resulting in several key achievements:
A functional MVP tailored to the needs of micro to small fleet managers.
A seamless beta launch, providing early feedback and insights for future iterations.
Key takeaways
The BP Fleet Manager project was a journey of collaboration, innovation, and rapid lean design process, addressing the challenges of modernizing an outdated system while meeting the unique needs of micro to small fleet managers. Here are the key lessons learned:
Collaboration is key: Close alignment with product, engineering, and business teams ensured the project met both user needs and business objectives.
Strategic planning: A well-curated feature inventory and prioritization exercises provided a clear roadmap for the MVP and beyond.
Agility in execution: Overcoming challenges such as limited user access and system discrepancies demonstrated the importance of flexibility and innovation.
Global Consistency: Leveraging BP’s design system unified the app's visual language, reinforcing brand identity across global offerings.
Early Wins: Delivering the MVP on time for a beta release provided valuable feedback and set the stage for future growth toward BP’s super app vision.