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Volvo & Mack Trucks

Enhancing the climate control user experience

Role

UX Researcher and Designer

Tools

Figma, Qualtrics

Duration

8 months

Current situation and challenges

  1. Cluttered hardware: Physical layout and design perceived as cluttered or disorganized

  2. Having separate knobs for controlling temperature, fan and air distribution poses following issues

    • Reduced efficiency: Adjustments takes more time consuming

    • User ambiguity: Identifying the appropriate knob for specific needs is challenging

  3.   Limited digital integration

Goal

“To create a user friendly and intuitive system by simplifying controls, convenient placement, and clear indications of current settings”

Research and Ideation

Given that truck drivers operate in high stakes, distraction sensitive environments, our research focused on understanding how drivers currently interact with climate controls, where friction arose and how competitors approached the same problem.

Competitive Analysis

Purpose: Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis of climate control systems in vehicles from our competitors (trucks and passenger vehicles) to gain a better understanding of their respective benefits and usages, as well as the user perspective of having hardware or software or both and using the findings to inform the development of our own climate control system.

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Below are the few images of competitors infotainment system highlighting the climate control.

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Data Analysis from Competitive Research

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1. Hardware controls

  • Responsive hardware control that displays corresponding result on SID

  • Temperature, fan, Max defrost, Auto mode hardware controls available

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2. Software controls

  • Quick access on SID home view

  • Climate menu

  • Temperature and fan

  • Heated/vented seating

  • Max defrost

Usability Studies

I supported 5+ usability testing sessions observing how drivers interacted in existing controls in simulated and real environments. Behavioral patterns were recorded and analyzed to surface recurring friction points. â€‹
 

Synthesis
Using Dovetail, I synthesized qualitative findings from research sessions into themes and actionable insights. These were packaged into a research readout presented to cross-functional stakeholders across Volvo and Mack trucks design and engineering teams. â€‹

​​​​Key Research Findings

  • Drivers couldn't identify the right knob without looking away from the road, a direct safety concern​

  • Separate controls for related functions (temp, fan and vents) created a mental model mismatch

  • Users wanted quick access to the most used settings without navigating deep menus​
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Design Challenge

How might we optimize the climate control experience to ensure intuitive controls, efficient operation, and overall user satisfaction, without adding cognitive load for drivers already managing a complex vehicle?

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1. Physical/Hardware controls

  • Streamlined hardware layout with responsive controls

  • Clear labeling and intuitive placement for easy identification

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2. Hybrid controls

  • Integration of physical and digital controls for flexibility

  • Quick access to commonly used functions via a touchscreen interface

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3. Digital controls

  • Enhanced digital integration for seamless adjustment of settings

  • Intuitive touchscreen interface for temperature, fan speed, and more

Information Architecture
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Design

Mid Fidelity Designs
1. Hardware concepts
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2. User Scenarios
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3. HMI Component Design and Behavior
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Physical/Hardware Controls
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Hybrid Controls - Going Digital
Off/On control
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Fan control
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Temperature control
Climate menu
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Air distribution/ Vent mode
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Seat heating control
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Concept 1: Climate and Map screen
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Concept 2: Climate and Map screen
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Outcomes and Reflection

​Project Status

Three design concepts were presented to stakeholders for evaluation and decision making. As the project involved  sensitive proprietary vehicle interface work, final direction decisions were handled at the organizational level beyond the scope of my role.

What I Would Do Differently?​

  • Recruit and interview active long-haul truck drivers directly to bring richer primary user voice into the research synthesis

  • Run structured usability tests on all three concepts to compare task completion time and error rates before stakeholder presentation

  • Define and baseline key metrics (interaction time, error rate, user satisfaction score) from the start to better quantify redesign impact

Key Takeaways​

  • Safety-critical design requires extra rigor around eyes-off-road interaction time this shaped every layout decision

  • Stakeholder alignment is its own design challenge translating research into concise, decision-ready recommendations is a core skill

  • Hybrid systems best balanced user mental models with real-world driving constraints in this context

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