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Hard

Multi-Stop Courier Handoff

Design a chain-of-custody workflow for a parcel that changes couriers across several timed stops and recipient types.

Mobile, Tablet

The brief

Understand the problem

Background

A same-day medical records service uses bicycle, van, and building couriers to cross a city. Every transfer needs identity, seal, timing, and condition evidence, even when connectivity is unreliable.

User context

Ada carries a sealed records pouch from a clinic to a transport hub. A replacement van courier arrives because the assigned driver broke down, and the receiving office closes in ninety minutes.

Product problem

Ada needs to verify an unplanned courier and complete a fast handoff without weakening custody evidence or revealing record contents.

Objective

Create route overview, courier verification, handoff capture, and exception escalation for a multi-stop delivery.

What to design

Define the experience

Required experience

  • Review the parcel, custody history, and next stop
  • Verify an assigned or replacement courier
  • Complete a two-party seal and condition handoff
  • Recover from a mismatch, refusal, or offline transfer

Screens and states

  • Route and custody overview
  • Courier verification
  • Handoff confirmation
  • Exception and offline recovery

Core user flow

Follow the critical path

  1. 01

    Ada opens the pouch record and sees the original driver replacement

  2. 02

    She verifies the new courier through the dispatch-issued rotating code

  3. 03

    Both scan the seal and confirm condition and time

  4. 04

    The receipt syncs later and dispatch sees the updated custodian

Product rules

Requirements and constraints

Requirements

  • Show current custodian, next recipient, deadline, and permitted handling
  • Verify both parties without exposing parcel contents
  • Capture seal, condition, location confidence, time, and acknowledgement
  • Support an offline signed event that cannot be silently edited
  • Escalate identity or seal mismatches before transfer

Constraints

  • A courier cannot accept custody without the required authorization
  • Precise route history is restricted to operational roles
  • Offline events need conflict handling when they sync

Reality check

States worth considering

The replacement courier is not in the latest local cache
The seal number does not match
One device is offline
The recipient office closes early
A handoff is recorded twice

Finish line

What to deliver

  • Four handheld screens covering an authorized replacement courier
  • A custody event model with offline, disputed, corrected, and acknowledged states

If you want more

Optional extensions

Add a dispatch investigation view
Design a recipient refusal flow

Optional direction

Visual resources

Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.

Color palette
#79674F
#EDE6D2
#090C0F
#B7B7B7
#A7A7A7
Font pairing
UbuntuLora

Ubuntu & Lora

Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.

Icons
Illustrations