Smartpark is a 5-story car parking facility with 100 car parking spaces available on each floor. Users want to be able to find, locate, and reach an exact empty spot to park their car, instead of exploring vacant spaces all across the parking space on different floors. Users should be able to easily locate their car and way out when they're back.
I received an assignment to design a mobile App and an experience to identify empty car parking available when a user enters the car parking facility. With very limited information, I had only 5 working days to deliver a solution for this case. I started with brainstorming and benchmarking. Some key questions were asked during this process:
1️⃣ Does the user prefer to find a specific free parking spot or a relatively free parking area?
2️⃣ What information does the user need during in-door navigation?
3️⃣ When the user is in a rush, what is the most important information that is needed?
4️⃣ Does a facility layout map really make sense for users?
5️⃣ Can the user reserve a parking spot?
6️⃣ How to reduce the feeling of parking tensions and anxiety?
7️⃣ What if the desired parking spot is taken when the user is heading to the place?
8️⃣ Can the user settle up payment within the App?
My methodology follows a User Centered Design approach. I adapted it to be more condensed because of the limited resources and time that I was having.
To empathize with users, I created a persona and a user journey map that can represent an experience with a conventional parking facility.
The user journey was mapped out in eight main phases as shown below:
With this user journey map, I identified some user needs at each phase, and accordingly came up with some key features to solve the pain points. My plan in the next stage was to create an upgraded user journey using the Smartpark App.
When integrating the user needs and features to a new user journey map, I realized that there are two representative scenarios: parking with reservation and without reservation. Hence, I introduced a second persona into the map.
As shown in the personas, Emma has her reservation already with the App and her goal is mainly to find the reserved spot. Alex uses the App spontaneously but has his specific requirements for the parking spot. Having both persona and their scenarios can cover a lot of common use cases.
Due to the time limitation, I didn't create two separate user journeys for each persona, instead, I combined these two use cases into one user journey map. They both start from the ''First-time use'' and converge at the point of ''Locate the car''.
The User Journey Map with Smartpark App highlights the actions of users in two scenarios and maps out the key features along each action.
For transferring the user journey into a tangible solution, I decided to focus on one simpler use case and liner task flow. With this Smartpark App, users should be able to finish the task sets below:
👀 View recommended parking spots.
🔍 Find a desired and empty spot.
🧭 Navigate and reach the spot.
✅ Check the parking status and locate the car.
🚗 Find the way out of the parking facility.
Subsequently, a flow chart was created for the user to finish the tasks:
At the initial stage of the design, I focused more on the information architecture and laid them out in the draft version of wireframes.
In the next stage, interaction architecture was considered, I especially had a look around Mobility sharing Apps like Lime, Miles, etc., and got a lot of inspiration. My opinion is to have the interaction very intuitive and as simple as possible because the users are most probably using the App when driving. And make sure only the most important data is displayed.
Finally I interpreted the materials into the Lofi prototypes.
Completing this rapid prototyping task has provided me with valuable insights into my independent design capabilities and highlighted areas for improvement in my role as a UX designer. I recognize there's room for growth, and I welcome your feedback and look forward to collaborating with you. Your input is highly appreciated as I strive to enhance my skills and contribute effectively.
