Case Study: PWC

IoT & AI

B2B

How we simplified PWC’s connected safety system for enterprise workforces

Client

PWC

Model

In-housing

Smartphone displaying PWC Zone Check app with high risk COVID-19 exposure alert

Services

UX/UI design

Rapid prototyping

Info

PWC's workplace safety technology needed instant adoption at massive scale. Connected products fail when users hesitate. The system's epidemiological effectiveness required voluntary adoption, yet it involved proximity tracking, data collection, and wearable devices, precisely the complexity that triggers user resistance.

PWC Zone Check app screens displaying low risk status, distancing index metrics, and SafeDistance device sync

PWC Zone Check app onboarding screen showing illustrated person under protective dome with text "Report COVID-19 tests to keep others safe"

PWC Zone Check app screen displaying low risk status with illustration, submitted test results section, and exposures

Challenge

PWC needed to deliver for ongoing client work whilst simultaneously transitioning their own resources to remote working under extreme pressure. With enterprises typically requiring more than a year for similar deployments, PWC needed to deliver in weeks whilst maintaining enterprise standards.

Our analysis

PWC's first-mover advantage in connected workplace safety meant nothing without user adoption. Speed mattered, but never at the expense of simplicity. Users reject complex products regardless of innovation. Connected products succeed when complexity becomes invisible to users.

PWC illustrations of people used throughout the app

PWC illustration with person achieving success on blue background

PWC Zone Check app "How the app works" UI showing three active features: exposure logging, location sharing, and notifications

What we did

01. Designed for instant understanding

Created mobile and wearable experiences that communicated function through interface alone without instructions.

01. Designed for instant understanding

Created mobile and wearable experiences that communicated function through interface alone without instructions.

Designed for instant understanding

Created mobile and wearable experiences that communicated function through interface alone without instructions.

02. Eliminated cognitive load through consistency

Built design systems ensuring identical mental models across iOS, Android and wearables, so users learned once and applied everywhere.

02. Eliminated cognitive load through consistency

Built design systems ensuring identical mental models across iOS, Android and wearables, so users learned once and applied everywhere.

Eliminated cognitive load through consistency

Built design systems ensuring identical mental models across iOS, Android and wearables, so users learned once and applied everywhere.

03. Made privacy visible through design

Used visual language and interaction patterns to communicate data protection without requiring users to read privacy policies or trust statements.

03. Made privacy visible through design

Used visual language and interaction patterns to communicate data protection without requiring users to read privacy policies or trust statements.

Made privacy visible through design

Used visual language and interaction patterns to communicate data protection without requiring users to read privacy policies or trust statements.

04. Turned compliance into care

Transformed mandatory safety requirements into supportive experiences through illustration and animation that made surveillance feel like support.

04. Turned compliance into care

Transformed mandatory safety requirements into supportive experiences through illustration and animation that made surveillance feel like support.

Turned compliance into care

Transformed mandatory safety requirements into supportive experiences through illustration and animation that made surveillance feel like support.

05. Validated through rapid prototyping

Tested core interactions with real users under pressure, eliminating friction points before engineering implementation risked adoption failure.

05. Validated through rapid prototyping

Tested core interactions with real users under pressure, eliminating friction points before engineering implementation risked adoption failure.

Validated through rapid prototyping

Tested core interactions with real users under pressure, eliminating friction points before engineering implementation risked adoption failure.

Smartphone displaying PWC Zone Check app onboarding screen with illustration of people and red virus particles, text "We can all stop COVID-19 together"

PWC Zone Check app screen showing "Keep our company safe" with illustrated person and explanation of exposure logging feature with toggle switch

Hand holding smartphone displaying PWC Zone Check app with moderate risk alert, negative diagnosis result, and exposure alert

Project impact

Accelerated development

Reusable component library and visual framework enabling engineering teams to expand features rapidly with consistent quality.

Accelerated development

Reusable component library and visual framework enabling engineering teams to expand features rapidly with consistent quality.

Accelerated development

Reusable component library and visual framework enabling engineering teams to expand features rapidly with consistent quality.

Frictionless deployment

Demonstrated that enterprise IoT systems can achieve immediate adoption when design eliminates complexity rather than explaining it.

Frictionless deployment

Demonstrated that enterprise IoT systems can achieve immediate adoption when design eliminates complexity rather than explaining it.

Frictionless deployment

Demonstrated that enterprise IoT systems can achieve immediate adoption when design eliminates complexity rather than explaining it.

Human-centred crisis response

Supportive user experience that transformed compliance requirement into care demonstration, driving voluntary adoption through considered design.

Human-centred crisis response

Supportive user experience that transformed compliance requirement into care demonstration, driving voluntary adoption through considered design.

Human-centred crisis response

Supportive user experience that transformed compliance requirement into care demonstration, driving voluntary adoption through considered design.

Your connected products work best when users understand them instantly

Technical sophistication shouldn’t require a manual. Connected products and IoT systems are rarely simple and are usually mask real technical complexity: multiple touchpoints, sensitive data, critical operations. But if users hesitate or make errors, your product fails. We transformed PWC's surveillance technology into something non-technical employees could navigate without training. That's the difference between deployment and adoption.

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