CUSTOMERS
“Normally, I just want to quickly multi-select the features to create TINs instead of having to select the layers.”
TIN Surfaces Redesign
Redesigning an engineering-built TIN tool so surveyors get it right the first time.
IMPACT
The redesign keeps surveyors building surfaces in Mach9. Longer dwell time, full workflow lock-in.
0
WEEKS TO REDESIGN
0%
TIN COMPLETION RATE
0s
MEDIAN TIME TO FIRST SURFACE
0%
ACTIVE USERS WHO START A TIN
PROBLEM
The TIN tool worked, but it lacked learnability and discoverability and broke the app’s mental model.
PRODUCT AUDIT
- The only entry point is buried in the left panel.
- No warning when the boundary line is missing.
- The right panel mixes sources, tools, commands and error fixes.
- Misaligned UI that forces extra scrolling.
- No way to step through errors or see what caused them.
- Nothing tells users barriers fix errors, and “barrier” vs “bridge barrier” is unclear.
- “Recalculate” is system language, not user language.
- The controls don’t follow the app’s logic.
RESEARCH
CUSTOMER SUCCESS
“Once the triangles are generated, the settings to generate the TIN are not persistent.”
ENGINEERING
“I think generally finer degree of control of what goes in beyond layers is needed.”
HOW MIGHT WE
How might we redesign the TIN tool to feel like part of Digital Surveyor 2, so surveyors get it right the first time?
REDESIGN PRINCIPLES
Progressive disclosure
Show the three steps first. Advanced settings wait until you need them.
Consistent mental model
A TIN looks and behaves like everything else in Digital Surveyor 2.
Fitts’s Law
Work primarily in the command bar, so the cursor and attention stay in one place.
PROCESS
Redesign sketches
KEY CHANGES
- Command bar as the primary entry point
- A dedicated TIN tab in the left panel
- A right-panel inspector split into generation, info, display and export, for refining after the first pass
In-app prototype
VALIDATION
USABILITY TEST
First-time users missed the layer checkboxes. We raised their contrast, and I proposed a product tour.
ANALYTICS
BEFORELAUNCH ↑AFTER
LAUNCH
- JUL 31Launched
- AUG 4Announced publicly
- AUG 14Shipped and demoed
- AUG 27Tested on a live project
- SEP 2Customer training recorded
TAKEAWAYS
- 01Redesigning shipped tools means earning trust without breaking what already works.
- 02Technical accuracy and usability aren’t a trade-off when the workflow follows how surveyors already think.
- 03Designing alongside the engineers who built V1 turned critique into shared ownership.