A smarter way to manage commute with your coworker
Community-driven Carpool Solution for B2B Commuter Service Platform (CSP)
The project builds for Guangzhou Automotive Corporation (GAC), an internal Commuters Service Platform (CSP) with on-demand carpool matching and shuttle route live updates powered by our 12k+ workforce. The B2B solution consists of an app and a commute management dashboard, for which I was the UX lead for the former.
Client
Guangzhou Automotive Group Research & Design Center
Role
UX Design Lead
Team
Developers 3 in-house, 5 agents dispatched), PM, PO and cross-func. leaders.
Timeline
2017.03~2017.07 ,4 MONTHS
Impact
MVP Launched in MAR 2018, followed by the second phase which expanded to 3k+ daily trip requests and 10k+users, spanning across the entire GAC workforce. It was a pilot project for the commercial release version which debuted in FEB 2019.
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Design and validate the actual need or demand for the solution with no PM support.
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Consolidated communications from various message channels (WeChat, internal msg, email, and SMS ) into one app and secure a user base with the limited MVP version.
My role
As the UX lead for the app, I oversaw the project from kick-off to MVP launch with no PM support. For cross-func alignment, I managed three co-creation workshops and weekly design review panels.
Challenges
-
Design and validate the actual need or demand for the solution with no PM support.
-
Consolidate communications from various message channels (WeChat, internal msg, email, and SMS ) into one app and secure a user base with the limited MVP version.
Challenges
-
Design and validate the actual need or demand for the solution with no PM support.
-
Consolidated communications from various message channels (WeChat, internal msg, email, and SMS ) into one app and secure a user base with the limited MVP version.
Overview
Problem Space
GAC needs to move ten thousands of people from point A to point B on a daily basis, but it does not have an existing platform to manage this.
We need to build a community-driven service tailored to GAC that leverages the existing personal commuter groups in multiple chat platforms.
This pilot project had both practical and explorative goals: First, validate the actual need or demand for a carpool service with early research insights. Second, deliver a Northstar design that would gain support from the leadership boards and provide a product roadmap for the commercial product roll-outs.
To meet both intentions, I divided the requirements into two tracks so I can allocate the resource to each one accordingly.
#1 PRACTICAL TRACK >
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Help GAC move its rapidly growing employee base and visitor around.
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Create a faster way for commuters arrangements and direct expensing.
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Leverage the existing personal commuter groups to support the entire workforce's travel demand.
#2 EXPLORATIVE TRACK >
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Generate insightful reports with data on user needs, time, location, and cost.
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Sandbox test the internal server for a small amount of supply and demand services.
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Build an MVP to run the essential core with real users in practice.
Product Vision
from factory runs to daily commutes to client visits
Help GAC move its rapidly growing employee base and visitor around with ease and reduce costs for enterprise commuter arrangement services.
*Most commercial ride-hailing apps assign the guest randomly to the best available riders. However, the internal survey in our cohorts revealed that more than 67% of our employees prefer to share rides with their cohorts instead of strangers; 36% have already joined one or more regular commute groups in instant messaging platforms, most commonly WeChat.
Solution
Carpooling App that matches supply and demand based on community input.
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Get access to the large community of carpool supply and demand within the GAC workforce.
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Manage requests more efficiently and prioritize requests from people you know first.
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Customized instructions for pick-up at work, at home, or factory runs to save time.
First strike a handshake, then make requests.
Interaction with the driver requires both the rider and the driver's consent, unlike general ride-hail apps. Safety is ensured by verifying each user's ID. An individual can choose not to receive messages from unnecessary drivers or passengers.
Manage Pick-up Seamlessly
Use built-in communication channels for seamless ride coordinations.
Key Features
Build to manage the commuting trips and bring all communication between riders and drives in one place. Promote functionalities that rival with our competitors but with better customization.
Scheduled Trips Overview
From the dashboard, The user can see upcoming trips and call the driver or rider easily.
All confirmed trips within two days will appear in card format on the top half of the page.
Group Ride Manage Tab
Drivers can directly navigate or call each rider from the rider panel. A map showing each rider's exact position will help to improve visibility.
Auto-match for reoccurring trips
Auto-match activates when saved lists are accessed without extra steps. Establishing ride-shares with coworkers in the same group is easier.
Special requests can be left in a friendly note.
Got extra bag? Taking your dog to work today? Just send notes to your driver or rider.
Approach & Feature Prioritization
For our MVP to have a real world basis, we must validate user needs.
Approach 1 - Reality Check - validate and map user flows to the route logistics obtained from the existing shuttle bus services.
As a means of determining whether or not the solution is actually needed, I overlaid the proposed user flows with the existing route logistics. Taking into consideration which roads are over-filled and have the potential to be the most profitable for our first roll-out offer, I prioritized the features so that the core of this app is usable and useful.
Approach 2 - translate observation into design implications.
Weekly feedback sessions were held with stakeholders to share insights and observations. A framework of Observations, Hypotheses, and Implications (OHI) was used to identify the design directions.
Research & Early Insights
Research Method
Focus groups, questionnaires, data analysis and stakeholder feedback.
We have less then 2 weeks before the developer teams start, so a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research method was applied.
Research Takeaways
Visiting the existing personal commuter groups and we found out that:
"36% have already joined one or more regular commute groups on instant messaging platforms, most commonly WeChat." reported our general management department.
We discovered that some coworkers see ride-sharing as networking opportunities. So our end product emphasizes "chat first, book later" and allows verified users to respond to coworkers faster with auto-reply.
Interactive Modal
I designed multiple modals that included time, situational, and quantitative attributions.
Time flexibility is important to know ahead.
Your driver will appreciate the extra time when he knows you are running 15 mins late.
These snippets ask for user information that increases the chance for a successful auto-match.
Tell the system who you preferred with tags.
We use trip history to introduce users to the drivers they have rated positively. Adding more tags will boost their visibility in the list.
Conditioned travel allowance for one-time trips.
Visitors can also get the same service with pre-determined destinations and times when GAC sends them a code.
Set the numbers right away.
More riders can be added to a trip. A know will signals you when the maximum limit has been reached.
User Flow
Wireframes
Before we headed into the actual development, I communicate design directions with our stakeholders mostly with wireframes.
Proof of Concept (PoC)
The interactive mock-ups expedited the process of reviewing design decisions.
Back in 2017, I've used any tools at hand to build prototypes for various conversation. From powerpoint click-throughs to html page.
Below is one version, which I rebuild with protopie to demo the flow:
Visual Directions
As a strategic move, I also art-directed the visual language that matched the key experience we want to push for.
Without a clean visual the app would act like a convoluted enterprise product and loses its appeal surely.
The foundational UI components were defined and built to convey a sense of structure and ease of use With card components taking center stage, we make sure the user gets the feeling of the full potential of this service.
