How we optimized the notification system for remote water pump monitoring
1 min read

Pump Portal is a platform for remote monitoring of pumping systems that provides fast fault detection and emergency response. As part of the redesign project, we updated the interface and improved key features, including a notification system that informs about pump failures.

In this article, we'll share our experience in solving the problem of setting up complex notifications, which became an important and challenging part of the Pump Portal redesign.

Problems and Solutions

The main problem was that the process of setting up notifications was quite complicated and inefficient before the redesign. Users had to manually add email addresses and phone numbers separately for calls and messages to activate notifications. This created inconvenience, as even for one contact, the data had to be entered up to eight times.

We decided to simplify the process by allowing users to add the necessary contacts once and set up notifications using checkboxes. This would allow them to determine who to send messages to and who to call without re-entering the data.

We seemed to have solved the problem by greatly simplifying the process of setting up notifications. But at this stage, the client came up with a new requirement — to automate notifications so that the system could notify contact B if contact A did not respond to the alert within a certain time.

At this stage, we started to carefully rethink the settings to make them more flexible. We added the ability to select an action and add as many steps as the user needs. This solution allowed us to customize the sequence by automatically going to contact B, providing a more reliable response to emergencies.

However, this led to another problem: not all users needed such complex functionality, and it could scare them away from using the platform. To make it convenient for everyone, we combined both types of notifications. As a result, we kept a simple checkbox option for basic settings and added the ability to switch to advanced options for those who need more flexibility.

At this point, the client also decided to stop using the Ant Design System, so we created a new UI that was more adapted to the platform's needs. But that's not what we're talking about today.

When switching to more complex settings, all added contacts were saved by default, so users didn't have to enter them again. For additional convenience, we also provided the ability to create templates of settings that can be edited and reused in another device or pump if necessary.

Conclusion

Overall, we have created an intuitive solution that meets different user needs: a simple and fast interface for basic settings and flexible features for more complex notification control.

This approach improved the platform's usability while maintaining its functionality and efficiency. Notifications are critical for this type of platform, as the lack of water or flooding in factories or other facilities can lead to significant losses. Therefore, we paid special attention to ensuring the reliability and efficiency of this functionality, which minimizes risks and ensures continuous operation of the system.

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