Lieu
Connecting car owners with freelancers to eliminate the stress of parking schedules
MOBILE APP DESIGN | OCT 2018
PROBLEM
Parking ticket fines in NYC are among the highest in the US, with the #1 violation being street cleaning. Car owners need to move their cars to accommodate weekly sweeping schedules.
SOLUTION
We designed an app that allows car owners to book recurring parking services, providing convenience and ease of mind.
SCOPE
2 weeks
TOOLS
Sketch
InVision
TEAM
Alice Bae
Naomi Krenitsyn
Alex Iadarola
MY ROLE
Competitive Analyst
Interaction Designer
Visual Designer
DISCOVER
Competitive Landscape
We sought to evaluate existing solutions and discover unmet user needs in the street parking problem space. We looked at parking-specialized apps like SpotHero and SpotAngels, as well as general task services like TaskRabbit and Fiverr, and identified key opportunity areas:
There's a supply of unused parking spaces, as well as high demand for them
Current freelance & odd job services are highly generalized (don’t offer the specific features necessary for parking tasks)
Car owners seek the assurance of having a guaranteed parking option
User Interviews
We spoke to:
Primary users (7 car owners)
To understand their frustrating parking experiences
Secondary users (4 freelancers)
To understand their motivations in seeking odd jobs
Interview data was synthesized through affinity mapping to identify patterns in behaviors, attitudes, and pain points.
Car Owners
Parking is stressful & costly
I have to adjust my schedule around parking regulations
I’m wary of other people driving my car and need reassurance
I’d pay $10-30 for someone to move my car
Freelancers
I’d drive someone’s car if there’s a system that protects me
I’m always looking for ways to make money during my free time
My minimum rate is $10-20 per hour
DEFINE
Defining the Target User
We integrated our research insights to develop personas that represent primary and secondary users. Emily needs help parking her car, while Guy is looking for odd jobs. A service that connects the two would meet both users' needs.
We focused on unpacking the primary user’s frustrations by charting Emily’s journey map throughout the street sweeping parking process. There is clearly an opportunity to improve the entire experience, including phases preceding and following the actual parking period.
The Problem
How might we relieve car owners of the stressful task of parking during street cleaning hours?
DEVELOP
Features
We chose to design a mobile app so that car owner could manage parking requests and track their cars anywhere, anytime. Our goal was to create a parking service app that delivers convenience and safety - key needs of our target audience.
Flexible Booking
Custom date, time and distance that fit each user's schedule and parking preferences
Notifications
Instant alerts for updates during parking jobs
GPS Tracker
Live location of car to provide reassurance
Parker Profiles
Background checks and user reviews to certify quality of care and reliability
Insurance Policy
Further reassurance for both car owners and parkers
Wireframes
Mid-fidelity wireframes helped lay out the 3 main task flows: "Book a Parker", "Create an Account" and "Manage Booking". We continued refining our designs to find clean, effective ways to present content.
BOOK A PARKER
Date, time, location settings
Parker stats & reviews
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Car model details
License plate number
DELIVER
Usability Tests
We conducted 2 rounds of testing on mid-fi prototypes to identify gaps in the user experience.
Tasks were mainly designed to assess the core features of the app: "Book a Parker" and "Manage Booking”.
TAB BAR
Problem: Users were unfamiliar with the parking icon since it doesn't have a standardized meaning
Solution: Parking tab was integrated into Home, eliminating uncertainty
FIRST PROTOTYPE
FINAL PROTOTYPE
EARLY PROTOTYPES
FINAL PROTOTYPE
MANAGE BOOKINGS
Problem: Users struggled to find the “Manage Bookings” button when placed in Parking or Profile tabs
Solution: Button was moved to Home for greater visibility and quick access
Final Design
ONBOARDING
A series of onboarding screens introduces LIEU to first-time users with a quick walk-through of app features and functionality.
CUSTOMIZED PARKING SERVICE
Users can schedule their cars to be picked up on a specific day, time and location, and set distance limits for how far the car can be moved. Customizable booking provides a convenient way to accommodate street sweeping schedules.
GPS TRACKING
The Home screen instantly shows the car's exact location, providing a sense of reliability and reassurance. Users can track real-time during a parking job to monitor the course.
RECOMMENDED PARKERS
LIEU generates a "Best Match" parker through an algorithm based on requested day, time and location, as well as previous booking history. Automating the browsing process can expedite the booking task flow. Users who want to evaluate parkers themselves still have the freedom to browse others.
VERIFIED PARKERS
Detailed parker profiles and background checks reinforce the safety and credibility of the service. Each profile shows work history with LIEU and customer reviews to validate the parker's performance.
INSURANCE
Both car owner and parker versions of the app include information on insurance policies for each user type. LIEU addresses issues with liability and protection - main concerns of both primary and secondary users.
