Operations teams live in a world of constant interruption. Unlike software engineers who might have blocks of focus time, ops teams are reactive by nature—responding to exceptions, fielding calls, updating statuses. This fundamental reality shaped every design decision we made in Convoya.

Principle 1: Glanceability Over Density

Most enterprise software tries to pack as much information as possible onto each screen. We went the opposite direction. Every view in Convoya is designed to answer one question at a glance: "What needs my attention right now?"

This meant larger touch targets, more whitespace, and aggressive prioritization of what appears "above the fold." Users can always dig deeper, but the default view shows only what matters.

Principle 2: Keyboard-First, Mobile-Ready

Power users live on their keyboards. Every action in Convoya has a keyboard shortcut, and we invested heavily in a command palette (⌘K) that lets you navigate anywhere and take any action without touching the mouse.

But we also knew that ops teams are often away from their desks—at warehouses, on calls, dealing with emergencies. So every critical action works on mobile too, with thoughtful touch interactions that don't feel like a shrunken desktop app.

Principle 3: Progressive Disclosure

New users see a simple interface. As they grow more sophisticated, advanced features reveal themselves. We never hide capabilities, but we don't overwhelm new users with options they're not ready for.

What We Got Wrong (At First)

Our initial designs were too minimal. Operations veterans felt patronized by interfaces that assumed they needed hand-holding. Finding the balance between approachability and power took several iterations and lots of user research.