For city residents, finding parking can be a major headache, wasting precious time and adding to traffic congestion. This case study explores the design of ParkEase, a parking app designed to simplify the process by integrating real-time data, intuitive navigation, and a streamlined booking process. Our app empowers drivers to find and secure parking spots effortlessly, transforming the parking experience and contributing to a smoother, more efficient urban environment.
UX Researcher
UX/UI Designer
Usability Tester
Solo (with feedback from mentor)
Figma
Notion
March 2024 - April 2024
5 Weeks (200 hours)
Every morning, navigating the congested streets in search of a parking spot felt like a daunting task. The frustration of circling blocks, missing appointments, and starting the day stressed inspired me to find a solution.
By providing seamless booking options, the parking app will significantly reduce the time and effort drivers expend searching for parking, thereby enhancing overall urban mobility and satisfaction levels.
With a hypothesis in mind, I knew that the key to success lay in understanding the experiences of real users. I designed a research plan to gather insights directly from the users.
Research Objectives: We believe that the lack of seamless booking options is the primary pain point for drivers seeking parking. To confirm this and discover any other daily frustrations drivers face, we created a research plan to collect insights directly from those who regularly experience the challenges of city parking.
Recruitment: To ensure diverse and relevant insights, I recruited 10 participants who use parking apps at least twice a month. These participants represented a mix of age groups, professions, and driving habits, providing a holistic view of the user base.
Interview Process: Conducting user interviews is both an art and a science. I crafted a semi-structured interview guide to balance consistency with the flexibility to explore unexpected insights.
Insights: As the interviews unfolded, a narrative began to emerge. Contrary to my initial hypothesis, only 10% of participants mentioned issues with seamless booking options. Instead, a clear picture of their pain points crystallized:
of participants expressed frustration with having to roam around in traffic to find parking spots as a significant pain point
of participants cited the absence of accurate, real-time availability updates about parking spots and their prices.
of users reported occasional difficulties in extending parking times through existing apps.
of participants did ever experience the problem of seamless booking options
To consolidate the findings, I developed user personas representing the habits, motivations, goals, frustrations, and needs of our target users. An empathy map helped further understand the context and nuances of their experiences.
Mapping out the user flow helped visualize how to incorporate these features into the app. This user flow acted as a blueprint for designing the app's interface and functionality, ensuring each step aligned with the user's journey.
Brainstorming and Design: I brainstormed ideas for the visual layout and functionality, drawing inspiration from popular navigation and booking apps. The goal was to create a familiar yet innovative design.
Iterative Design Process: Utilizing user research insights as a guiding framework, I iteratively refined the design to ensure it seamlessly aligned with the user flow. This approach ensured the design met user expectations and optimized usability.
By focusing on consistency, and visual storytelling, I crafted a user interface that enhances usability and engagement. Throughout this journey, I learned the importance of iterative design, incorporating user feedback to refine the final product. This experience underscored the significance of embracing feedback and striving for excellence in user experience design.
Onboarding guides users seamlessly through the app's features, ensuring a smooth start to their parking experience. The sign-in screen offers secure access, enabling users to quickly log in and access personalized features,.
The homepage provides instant access to nearby parking options with key details, simplifying the search process. Real-time updates and notifications ensure users can easily find and reserve parking.
With clear visuals and essential details such as location, availability, and pricing, users can quickly assess parking options, reducing search time and frustration.
The select date, time and parking slot screens provide users with effortless scheduling for their parking needs. With intuitive controls and real-time availability updates, users can conveniently choose their desired time slot.
E-receipt page offers users a convenient digital record of their parking transaction, complete with a scannable barcode and detailed information. The barcode simplifies future access, while the Navigate page provides users with a preview of their path to the parking destination through an interactive map.
With a clear countdown and pertinent information, users can efficiently manage their time and parking needs. Additionally, it allows users to extend their parking time seamlessly.
I conducted usability testing with 4 participants representing the target user demographic. The testing sessions provided real-time feedback on the app's usability.
struggled to find parking within their desired price range, suggesting the need for price filters.
highlighted the absence of a cancellation feature as a major limitation.
found the reservation process efficient and user-friendly.
appreciated the clear and helpful navigation instructions.
Based on the feedback, the second iteration focused on these key features:
Users can filter by location, price range, review ratings, and facilities like CCTV, Elevator, and Guarded. Sorting options were also introduced for personalized searches.
Integrated a cancellation option to enhance user convenience.
Although it felt discouraging when my hypothesis was proved wrong, I'm glad that I found out in the very early phase of the project, rather than later. It taught me the importance of making evidence-based and data-driven decisions. The research phase of the design process truly builds the foundation of the design - from testing the hypothesis, to collecting users' motivations, goals, and frustrations, it aids tremendously in exploring and understanding the problem space of the given topic. From this experience, I have gained a deeper level of appreciation and understanding of the ways UX is rooted in research and discovery.
To really bring this point home, I would conduct further interviews to speak with more users about their experience with parking apps, as a next step. I would want to confirm two things:
1. Was this the right audience for the problem I was initially trying to solve? (In other words, was my sample size too small?)
2. Are there any other frustrations that users are experiencing that are UX-related?
With my initial hypothesis proved invalid, and due to the time restrictions and scope of this project, I proceeded to pivot my design to address a prevalent problem identified by 70% of users: the absence of real-time updates on parking availability and prices. Though I have confidence that my feature provides some measurable value, if I had extra time and resources, I would have searched for a more prevalent problem among users, so that my design could add maximal value and benefit. In addition to conducting more user interviews, I would have explored for other problems by analyzing user feedback and conducting secondary research online.