Green P Redesign
Overview
Green P is a parking management company owned by the city of Toronto. Users can pay for parking on the website or app by inputting the corresponding Location ID of their parking space or lot. As city drivers and existing customers of Green P, we had experienced personal frustrations which were validated through user research, and we collaborated to solve these problems.
Project Scope
3-week sprint for General Assembly
4 member team
My Roles
Create project timeline
Competitive Analysis
User Research & Analysis
Surveys
Interviews
User Journey
Existing Style Guide Inventory
Sketching/Ideation
Site Mapping
User Flow
Usability Testing
Presentation Deck
Tools Used
AT A GLANCE
CASE STUDY CONTENTS
THE DESIGN PROBLEMS
Users Need Efficiency
On the App store, Green P is rated a high 4.7 out of 5 stars with users saying they “love it” and it’s an “awesome app”. But when we looked at user reviews more closely, we noticed that these same users considered there to be key features missing from their parking experience.
As existing customers of Green P, we had personal frustrations with the navigation of the app. As we interacted with it, empathizing with other Green P users through their reviews, we discovered misleading links and multiple categories that could be consolidated.
THE DISCOVERY
Researching the Current Market
Our team produced 2 surveys to better understand:
Current users’ evaluation of the Green P app and website
Current users’ and non-users’ perspectives on their overall parking experience in Toronto
How to effectively design for the missing features
“It’s often hard to find parking and understand parking guidelines quickly, in the moment”
Identified Frustrations
From our survey findings, we uncovered 4 main problems:
1.Misleading Street Parking Information
Green P’s colour-coded street parking map (only accessible through the website) implies all streets in Toronto can be parked on at all hours of the day, and as experienced city drivers we know this is not the case. And if you’re an experienced city driver as well, you know that downtown parking can be pricey, more than the $2-$3 per hour that this Green P legend suggests.
2. Confusing Street Parking Signs
Through user research, we discovered a common theme: street parking signs are confusing which often leads to parking tickets. In fact, out of the 2.8million tickets issued for parking violations in 2018, over 379,000 were issued for parking at a time or day that parking was prohibited in that area.
3. No Information on Lot Availability
Another common user theme within the Green P app reviews: driving to a full lot is frustrating and a waste of time.
4. Location ID is Undetectable
While using the app, users feel like their smartphones are lacking the “smart”. App store reviews showed an overwhelming consensus that users expect the Location ID of their parking space/ lot to be automatically recognized.
THE ANALYSIS
Journey Mapping
Uncovering these problems led us into journey mapping where we experienced a day in the life of our typical user Jamie, who
Jamie
Uses the app 1-4 times per month to pay for parking
Uses it when attending a social event and
Prioritizes parking close to their destination
Competitive Analysis
To gain insight into the current pay-for-parking market, we researched how other cities cater to their drivers, such as San Francisco (SF Park) and Singapore (Parking.SG). We also looked into Parkopedia and SpotAngels, two platforms that provide parking lot and street parking locations and information.
SF Park App: Sensors for Real Time Parking Availability
Parking sensors detect when a parking space is available and informs users through the app and website.
Parking.SG App: Utilizes Smartphone Location Services to Render Location ID
Users of Parking.SG are presented with the nearest car parks and their corresponding car park codes (known as Location ID to Green P users), eliminating the need for users to physically search for the code in order to start their paid parking session.
SpotAngels: Street Parking Locations and Information
Only the streets that can be parked on are clickable (in blue) and informs users of accurate pricing and parking times.
THE DESIGN
Each team member tackled an identified user frustration by separately sketching multiple solutions.
With our sketches we performed our first round of usability tests and discovered that the integration of Green P’s existing colour-coded map was overwhelming and frankly, non-inclusive. We needed to convey lot availability and street parking prices directly and without excluding users.
With a new found user understanding, we designed mid-fidelity wireframes into a working prototype and again, turned to usability testing for feedback.
THE PRODUCT
We redesigned Green P’s app to save users time by 90% by adding and tweaking main user problems and by optimizing the user journey.
Users now have access to an interactive map on the landing page directly displaying accurate street and lot pricing, as well as lot availability. They can browse the available parking close to their destination and upon arriving to a parking spot, they can pay for their length of stay, without the need to consult confusing street parking signs nor physically find the Location ID. Once their paid parking session has started, the user has the option to extend or cancel their session.
LESSONS LEARNED
Draw It Out
With visuals, we were able to get our ideas across and understood each other much quicker than when we only gave a verbal explanation.
Assume They Don’t Know What You Mean
Even with visually expressing our ideas, we still had misinterpretations within our group. We began to reiterate each other’s ideas to ensure the intentions were properly understood.
Collaborate Often
We each took on an identified frustration and proceeded to design individually. But the next day we realized that all of our designs overlapped each other, and it would’ve saved us time to collaborate on all of the identified frustrations together instead.