Timeline
March - April 2024 (5 weeks)
My Role
Team lead
UX/UI designer
Task
UX research, solution design, journey mapping, wireframing, prototyping in Figma and testing with users.
Introduction
Go Together is equipping school districts with safe and reliable community-based K12 transportation options that utilizes a modern approach to the time-tested carpools, walking, biking or taking public transit together. The objective was to redesign an existing prototype from a previous team to develop an attractive user experience for a student mobile that would encourage active usage.
Understanding users
To further understand the problem, I tested the current prototype with a few people. Here's a glimpse into the insights garnered during these interviews:
Users are frustrated because they cannot find the trip status after creating it.
Users get confused by feature titles: e.g the purpose of "Create new pool"
Users are frustrated by the lack of customization while creating trips.
Users find the app confusing and feel they can’t rely on it to bring their kids safely to school.
User Flow
This user flow serves as a navigational blueprint and acts like a map for the user journey through the prototype. It lays out a visual pathway to ensure users can easily navigate the main pages and their related subpages.
Competitive Analysis
Investigation into our primary competitors and summary of the discoveries.
GoKid
Strengths:
Carpool title, departure time, driver, and participants are indicated on the schedule.
Convenient adjustment of the driver or the time with a single button
Creation of carpool group texts
Parents can manage their carpool groups with personalized invitations
Weaknesses:
Absence of schedule calendar view
Lack of real-time update on location
Limited flexibility for editing carpool details
No indication of spaces in the vehicle
High cost associated with accessing all features
Style Guide
ZUM
Strengths:
Safe and vetted drivers: rigorous background checks for all drivers
Real-time tracking: Parents can track their children's rides in real-time
Customizable scheduling: parents can schedule rides according to their specific needs
Secure communication: secure messaging system and updates about rides
Parental controls allow parents to manage their children's transportation preferences
Weaknesses:
Scheduling Constraints
Geographic Restrictions
ZipShare
Strengths:
Map shows schoolmates who live closest and what school activities they participate in
Group messaging with trustworthy people
Calendar syncing / automated reminders
Shows number of riders and the driver’s name
Weaknesses:
Cannot share the trip on a map with parents.
No live tracking of where the driver is.
Doesn't have a notification system between parent-kids about the trip.
Designed only for IOS
Design
Problems to address:
The user interface is inconsistent, which makes the app appear untrustworthy. This can be solved with consistency, ethical design, and satisfying visuals.
Insufficient personalization in search and scheduling during matchmaking lowers the accuracy of finding matches.
Crucial trip details are difficult to locate on the homepage, and it's not possible to view all trips simultaneously.
Wireframes
The wireframes served as a low-fidelity depiction of the design, aimed at visualizing the key content groups and user interface interactions. Multiple versions were created for various screens, and then tested through A/B testing to determine which one we move on with in the subsequent design phase.
Final Screens
Looking Back
Our team generated over 180+ frames.
I led 8 team meetings and managed communication between clients and our team, including coordinating with interviewees.
I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this project and am immensely proud of our accomplishments. Redesigning an app within a tight deadline of 3 weeks presented its challenges.
While there were moments where I wished to contribute more, it allowed me to advise clients on best practices and implement updates to enhance the user experience and flow of the student app.
Reflections
If I had more time, I would’ve loved to
Perform a second round of usability testing with students and parents to pinpoint any pain points.
Monitor retention and gather user feedback
Furthermore, there are numerous enhancements to be implemented in the design system as Go Together's reach expands.
The integration of AI could be a core element of the product and I would be excited to observe how its implementation enhances the overall user experience.
