8 Week Product Design

The End-To-End Process

START > 1. secondary research  2. problem space identification  3. proto-persona identification  4. HMW development  5. project planning + strategy  6. value proposition canvas  7. business model canvas  8. hypothesis development  9. primary research 10. persona development  11. experience mapping 12. user stories  13. task flow analysis 14. sketching and ideation  15. grayscale wireframing + prototyping  16. 3 rounds of user testing & iterations  17. mood board curation 18. branding + visual identity  19. hi-fi Sketch designs + prototyping  20. multiple design critiques  21. 2 more rounds of user testing & iterations 22. UI library  23. responsive marketing site design  24. case study presentation

Over the past 3 years alone, bike theft has increased by 26% in the city of Toronto, with only 1% of bikes recovered by their owners. 

Bike registration has proven to be successful in returning stolen bikes to their owners.

Before user testing the high-fidelity wireframes, the task flow was refined to accommodate the user’s need for freedom.

Round 1 User Testing Insights

1. Login / Sign-up moved prior to onboarding.

2. Streamline onboarding text.

3. View app features without giving personal info.

4. Tabs added to assist navigation.

5. Preference for Safe Zone default view.

6. Settings brought higher in the hierarchy.

7. Users want real-time data.

Gives users the freedom to view and report real-time theft data without making bike registration mandatory.

Bike Registration - New User Flow

Click on an image to enlarge.

Project Overview

Name

STEEL

Year

2018

Duration

8 weeks

Platform

Android: Material Design Guidelines including an 8dp grid & use of elevation. 

Team Members

Kristen Iboi

My Role

To develop a mobile app concept from the point of inception all the way through to hi-fidelity prototyping, user testing & case study presentation.

Problem Space

Over the past 3 years alone, bike theft has increased by 26% in the city of Toronto, with only 1% of bikes recovered by their owners. 

Constraints

1. To design a product that did not require the involvement of local law enforcement to reduce bike theft.

2. Focus on keeping bikes in the possession of their rightful owners by preventing theft before it happens.

Challenges

1. To design a desirable user flow that gave the user freedom, but also was able to capture key personal information without user drop-off.

2. Immediately overcome my personal biases as a cyclist, and focus on the key insights that would benefit all cyclists as a whole.

Assumptions

I was shocked to find out that not all cyclists had a vigilante attitude such as myself, and only a small number of individuals on a cycling Facebook page shared my zeal. It was also assumed that most people registered their bikes, since they either had their bike stolen or knew someone that had, but this was not the case and was uncovered during primary research. Five out of 5 interviewees had not registered their bikes.

Key Research Insights

Secondary research conducted over 4 hours. Primary research was conducted with 5 people in a 20 question 1:1 interview.

1. Only a small percentage of cyclist had registered their bikes, usually because they didn't know that the service exists.

2. Bike registration has proven to be successful in returning stolen bikes to their owners.

3. Most cyclists surveyed said that they bought their bikes new at an average investment of $1000.

4. Cyclists are generally willing to spend 10-15% of the cost of their bike in the purchase of a high quality lock.

5. People surveyed thought that the current cost of GPS tracking was too expensive, or simply didn't know of it's existence.

6. All cyclists surveyed were interested in having access to real-time theft data.

7. Toronto Police are taking a hands off approach when it comes to dealing with the bike theft epidemic.

HMW

How might we reduce bike theft in the city of Toronto by engaging cyclists in the city?

Design Goal

To keep more bikes in the possession of their rightful owners, even without the help of local law enforcement.

Design Solution

Provide cyclists with a easy bike registration tool, and give access to real-time theft and safe zone data through theft reporting, and information on secure lock-up and storage locations.

Key User Testing Insights

User testing was conducted with grayscale wireframes for 1 round, and in a hi-fidelity prototype for 2 rounds, for a total of 3 rounds.

For a visual reference, refer to the grayscale wireframes 1.0 and task flow 3.0 found in the images above.

1. A majority of users expected to login before they enter the onboarding screens, so the task flow was refined to match users expectations.

2. Keeping onboarding text succinct made for a better user experience.

3. People had the expectation that they would like to be able to view the app features without having to give their personal information or register their bike right away, thus the task flow was simplified to reflect their need for freedom.

4. Filter tabs were added to the map view to help users navigate safe places to lock their bike, and also high risk areas.

5. Users preferred to see the safe zone view as a default on the map page.

6. In future testing, provide users with affordance so that they know that they can drag and drop their registered bikes into different positions within the list.

7. Initially the settings and notifications were being overlooked at the bottom of the users' profile, so a 5th tab icon was added to make this feature easily accessible.

Next Steps

1. Test additional navigation including tabs for data filtering by date.

2. Design and test a chat feature enabling users to interact.

3. Further exploration of design patterns & the Material Design Guidelines.

4. Possible consideration for a paid version with proprietary GPS hardware integration to track bikes in the case that they are stolen.