Overview
A self initiated project, conducting user research and designing the UI for an efficient, flexible vehicle rental service.
Currently a work in progress - stay tuned for more!
Research Stage
Competitive Benchmarking
User Surveys
Usability Testing
Competitive Benchmarking
As a starting point I analysed various UI elements of three car rental app competitors, Europcar, Avis and a relatively new product, Virtuo to compare the similarities and differences within the services.
Common Themes
• Strong colour way and company branding throughout the app. In some cases it's quite heavy
• Simple navigation bar visible throughout the journey - allowing user to access certain parts of the app with ease
• Option to book as a guest is a common feature, apart from in one case where the user is required to sign up at the end - which may cause users to drop off.
• Visibility on the total cost up front. Pop ups and visual prompts offering discounts if the user selects a certain criteria
Research Stage
Competitive Benchmarking
Usability Testing
Using Lookback and LetsView I conducted usability tests to see first hand how users could complete their goal of booking a car rental.
Key Takeaways
•Users wanted to go through the booking journey as a guest, and didn't want to register. In the event the user missed the 'Skip Login' option, they were appreciative of a quick sign up via a Google account
• Filtering is important to users in order to wheedle out options not needed and save the user time scrolling through options.
• Filter buttons are hard to find!
• Some apps are too heavy on the branded garish colours, making it hard to read text.
• Users find the language regarding the protection and cover can be confusing, and it appears to be an area that is important for users to give them peace of mind. Users are confused about what level of protection ensures they are completely covered.
Analysis Stage
Affinity Diagram
User Persona + Customer Journey Map
With the data pulled from the user survey, usability tests and competitive benchmarking, put together the findings on an affinity diagram. Grouping down the common themes into smaller subsections to identify areas in the process where there had more or less positive interactions, and other common themes.
Analysis Stage
Affinity Diagram
User Persona + Customer Journey Map
To build a typical user journey for an app user, I mapped out the states and behaviours a user would go through from their initial thought, through to completing a booking. I focused on goals, behaviours, pain points, positives and mental models to build a holistic view of a typical user's journey.
Designing the UI
User Flow
UI Mock Ups
I built a user journey flow which maps out how I expect the user to interact with the various stages of the booking system. The journey focused on one user in particular and how they would approach a typical booking. The flow focuses on decisions they would have to make as well as what CTAs they would select in order to move to the next stage.