How to ensure passengers at JFK airport have a good pickup experience?
Overview:
This project lasted 5 weeks and was completed through the summer 2015 MFA IxD Program at SVA working with Uber's Head of Research. Also, Uber Implemented many of our features.
Collaborator:
Celine Chen, Allison Heasley, Alberto Chen, and Ning Xu
My Role:
I worked as UX Designer, User Researcher and Design strategist in a four designers team with Celine, Allison, Alberto, and I. My role was a debriefer, and my job was to ask a lot of questions, and analyze and synthesize the research data to come up solutions for the design.
Background
When your Uber car arrives at the airport, how do you know which one is yours without hopping into the wrong car? How many times have you held up your phone to match the photo with the same car approaching you? How to bridge the gap between the Uber app and drivers and passengers to ensure a better pickup experience? The problem we identified that there are issues of distrust in the accuracy of the application, the Uber systems that create a sense of uncertainty in the entire pick up experience between the driver and rider.
Design Process
DISCOVEr
From research and conversations, I found there was a fundamental issue of distrust in the accuracy of the application, the Uber systems, and between the driver and rider – creating a sense of uncertainty about the entire process.
Field Interview at JFK AIRPORT
Interview with the Uber Driver
Car arrangements to ensure optimal quality of data capture
DEFINE
To deeply understand the problem, I worked on affinity mapping, grouped pain points to review the trend patterns and differences in problems in different contexts.
Affinty mapping
- Broke interview notes into smaller ones in order to make sense
- Combined multiple pieces into something new, e.g.: development themes, implication, opportunities
Similarities in Responses
Differences in Responses
DESIGN
Driver user flow
Rider user flow
Deliver
Solution for increasing trust
Assisting Riders in Visual Recognition of Vehicle
- Display name
- Car number
Managing Expectations and Creating Transparency
- Visibility about wait time
- Prompts and relevant information to rider
Improving Technology
- Install iBeacons*
- UI modification (including terminal maps)
Standardizing Communication
- Preset texts
- Vibration Alerts
*iBeacons is Apple's implementation of Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) wireless technology to create a different way of providing location-based information and services to iPhones and other iOS devices.
The prototype maintained the Uber original UI design 2015 and added features from user research to solve drivers' and riders' pain points. Also, Uber Implemented many of our features.
App for Uber drivers
App for Uber passengers