Seattle Yellow Cab
Seattle Yellow Cab
A mobile app helping riders get to a location, by finding and hiring nearby taxis
UX Design
CHALLENGE
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Seattle has its own version of the iconic yellow taxi, Seattle Yellow Cab, a network of identical vehicles that transverse the city at all hours, transporting customers in a hurry. However, their mobile application is not very reliable and is subject to constant loading and performance issues. Users often have to spend ten to twenty minutes fumbling through the experience, then ultimately have to switch to a competitor car referral application.
With the advent of Uber and Lyft and the ease of their mobile interfaces, conventional taxi use has dropped considerably.
Seattle has its own version of the iconic yellow taxi, Seattle Yellow Cab, a network of identical vehicles that transverse the city at all hours, transporting customers in a hurry. However, their mobile application is not very reliable and is subject to constant loading and performance issues. Users often have to spend ten to twenty minutes fumbling through an experience, then ultimately have to switch to a competitor car referral application.
With the advent of Uber and Lyft, and the ease of their mobile interfaces, conventional taxi use has dropped considerably.
MY ROLE
(TEAM OF 3)
MY ROLE
UX Design
Information Architecture
Visual Design
UX Design
Information Architecture
Visual Design
SOLUTION
After much consideration, and numerous tests, we came up with a navigation that sped up the user’s journey, offering a car requesting service that is quick and intuitive.
We designed Yellow Cab’s new immersive experience to be thoughtful, simple to use, and inclusive of a map of nearby cabs and geolocating, a brief comparison of potential competitor fees, a favorite routes list, a rating system, and live view of the meter reading.
Research Methods
Research Methods
Market research analysis
Customer interviews
Information Architecture
Persona
Prototype testing
Focus Areas
What are the challenges or barriers to booking through the app?
What’s important for a great ride-hailing experience?
What are the rider’s needs and unmet needs?
Key Findings
Existing Reviews
Research showed that the lacking interface and functionality of the current mobile experience ranked as one of the most frustration-inducing of all available application car referral services in the city.
An initial heuristic evaluation clearly showed that the focus for the project was to ensure that the conversion for “Hire Cab” and actual pickup were improved.
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis
After establishing the familiarity of the flows of popular car referral mobile experiences during users interviews, we decided to converge the app’s design with elements from other competitor features and concepts.
Concept Strategy
Several brainstorming sessions led to many divergent ideas. Narrowing down to a few design concepts, we white-boarded together using the Design Studio method; each of us sketching key screens and critiquing each other’s ideas.
Prior to settling on one solution, we explored multiple ideas using paper prototypes for rapid feedback with potential customers.
Usability Testing
In all, we recruited numerous participants three times throughout the paper prototype and wireframe iterations for usability testing. They were asked to think-aloud through a few task scenarios. After the cognitive walkthrough, we posed a series of qualitative questions regarding the prototype’s interface and functionality. Based on the feedback, we developed a design direction that we were satisfied with.
Defining the MVP
PROTOTYPING
We conducted usability tests to help aid customer conversations and provide interaction insights. For each iteration, we had seven participants go through specified tasks.
FIDELITY EVOLUTION
Welcome / Destination
An initial screen was designed for our user that is similar to the ride-sharing applications that she is already accustomed to.
Booking a Ride
After the user sets her destination and confirms, the application is synced with the assigned cab and an arrival estimate is provided.
Driver Dispatched
Once booked, the user will see a photo of the assigned driver and be able to contact him, or cancel the ride if needed. Once she is picked up, the meter reading is then displayed in the app, in real-time. (See night mode En Route screen at top of the page.)
Main illustration by vectornation at Adobe
Rating the Experience
Once arrived, the user may pay by cash or card and leave a rating with an emoji scale simply by dragging the icon. She will then receive an automatic receipt via email.
Learnings
Maintain a growth mindset. Brainstorming sessions are most productive when all group members are present, each with unique solutions, and then we can converge and refine them together.
Our best designs were developed through the inclusion of elements from multiple design solutions, which were then refined to encompass divergent ideas of flows, features, and layout.
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