eMPX

Overview

eMPX is a cloud-based digital platform designed to modernise the traditional Master–Pilot Exchange process — a critical workflow where a ship’s Master and harbour Pilot exchange and confirm key information before entering, navigating or berthing at a port.

The project focused on moving a largely paper-based process into a more structured digital experience, enabling critical information to be shared earlier, improving communication and reducing the risk of important details being missed.

My Role

I was involved across the full 0→1 product development process, with most of my contribution focused on the early research and discovery phase to product prototype.

My work included:

• Client and stakeholder workshops
• Problem framing and requirement discovery
• User research and interviews
• Research synthesis and UX direction
• UI/UX design & Prototyping

Starting With an Ambiguous Problem

Master–Pilot Exchange is a highly specialised operational process with established practices, terminology and safety requirements. At the beginning of the project, our challenge was not simply to digitise existing forms. We first needed to understand how the process actually worked, where the friction existed and which parts of the workflow could meaningfully be improved through digitalisation.

I participated in a series of workshops with our client, Ports of Auckland, working alongside experienced maritime professionals, project stakeholders, designers, developers and managers.

These workshops helped us build shared domain knowledge, map the existing MPX process, identify pain points and establish an initial direction for the product.

Learning From Domain Experts

Working directly with Ports of Auckland gave us access to deep operational expertise. Through collaborative workshops, we explored questions such as:

• What information does a Pilot need before boarding a vessel?
• When is that information currently available?
• Where does communication break down?
• Which parts of the process rely heavily on paper or manual preparation?
• What information needs to be standardised across different vessels, ports and users?

One of the strongest themes was timing. Important information was often prepared or exchanged relatively late in the process, creating unnecessary pressure and increasing the possibility that information could be incomplete or overlooked.

Communication was another major challenge. Pilots regularly work with Masters and crew from different countries, languages and cultural backgrounds, so ambiguity in terminology or expectations can introduce additional friction into an already safety-critical workflow.

Validating the Direction With Independent Users

After the initial workshops, we deliberately conducted research at another port with Pilots who had not been involved in the project.

This was important because they did not share the context or assumptions developed during our workshops. Their feedback gave us a more independent way to test whether the problems and design direction we had identified reflected the broader reality of the MPX experience.

I participated in these user interviews and research exercises, gathering first-hand feedback from Pilots with different levels of experience and from different age groups.

Turning Research Into Product Direction

Across the workshops and user interviews, the research began to establish a clear product direction.

The opportunity was to create a digital workflow that could:

• Enable key information to be exchanged earlier
• Give Masters and Pilots more time to review and prepare
• Standardise how critical information is structured and communicated
• Reduce ambiguity across language and cultural differences
• Reduce reliance on paper-based documentation
• Create a more consistent and traceable exchange process

The goal was not to replace the professional judgement of Masters and Pilots. It was to give them a clearer and more reliable way to prepare, communicate and align before the critical on-board exchange takes place.

From Research to Prototype

Once the product direction had been established, I also contributed to parts of the UI/UX design and prototype development.

The prototypes translated what we had learned through research into tangible workflows that could be tested with users. This allowed the team to continue validating assumptions, identify usability issues and refine the experience before development progressed further.

The process remained iterative: research informed the design, prototypes created something users could react to, and their feedback helped us improve the next version.

Outcome

The product progressed from an initially ambiguous digital-transformation opportunity into a released digital MPX platform.

It modernised a traditionally paper-heavy maritime workflow and created a foundation for Masters and Pilots to exchange critical information earlier and more consistently.

The project was recognised with a Bronze Award for User Experience at the 2020 Best Design Awards.

Impact

Originally developed by Ports of Auckland, eMPX evolved from a digital transformation initiative into an internationally adopted maritime SaaS platform.

The product replaced traditionally paper-based Master–Pilot Exchange workflows with a cloud-based experience for planning, sharing, reviewing and managing pilotage exchanges.

It was later adopted across more than 26 ports in New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the UK, including rollout across Associated British Ports in Europe.

In 2024, stewardship and global distribution of eMPX transitioned to Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure, where it continues today as part of its professional Navigation & Piloting product portfolio.

What This Project Demonstrated

This was one of my early experiences working through a complete 0→1 product development process — from understanding an unfamiliar and highly specialised domain, to defining the problem, validating assumptions with real users, shaping the product direction and helping turn that research into a tested digital experience.

It reinforced an approach that has continued to shape how I work today: start by understanding the real problem, use research to reduce assumptions, and turn complex operational workflows into experiences that are clearer, simpler and easier to use.