Design Brief: Dispatch Alerts

Project Introduction

Our dispatchers currently operate from a static, reactive posture, using a map interface that relies on periodically refreshed data. This forces them to manually hunt for potential problems and often learn about exceptions only after they have impacted a customer. This project will transform the Visual Dispatch Board into a live, dynamic operations map. By pushing real-time driver locations, route statuses, and critical exception data directly to the interface, we will provide an at-a-glance, comprehensive view of the entire operation. The goal is to empower dispatchers to proactively identify and manage at-risk shipments, improving efficiency and resolving issues before they escalate.

Users and Needs

Dispatchers and Dispatch Operations Teams need to:
- See the live GPS position of every driver on the map to understand the current state of the fleet.
- Instantly distinguish the status of routes and shipments (e.g., on-time, at-risk, late, exception) through clear, high-contrast visual cues suitable for a wallboard.
- Be proactively alerted to developing issues, such as a shipment trending late or an unplanned stop, without having to manually analyze raw data.
- Quickly access contextual details about an alert (e.g., exception type, order number, driver details) directly from the map to enable rapid decision-making.

Tasks

Monitor the real-time movement of all drivers and shipments on the primary map interface.
Visually identify at-risk shipments or routes via clear status indicators (e.g., color-coded route lines, warning icons on vehicles).
Receive immediate visual alerts on the map for new, in-progress exceptions as they occur (e.g., a flashing icon, a temporary callout).
Select an at-risk vehicle, shipment, or route to view an overlay or panel with specific details about the issue (e.g., "Trending Late by 15 mins," "Unplanned Stop for 7 mins," "Damaged Goods Reported").
Acknowledge an alert to signify that the issue is being managed.