Park
Away
01
About the Project
ParkAway was created to improve usability and to improve user experience by addressing pain points, increasing convenience, and reducing parking-related stress.
My Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, creating persons,Affinity mapping, creating User-Centered Models, interactions, and high fidelity prototypes.
02
User Research
Contextual Inquiry
Using contextual inquiry, we interviewed 8 people (average age 25) in their natural environments to understand their experiences and challenges with parking apps. and found that parking apps often fail to deliver a smooth experience.
Common issues include unreliable real-time availability, unclear navigation, confusing payment processes, and a lack of awareness about app features.
Security concerns, unclear rules, and frequent crashes also undermine trust and usability.
Apps Explored:
ParkMobile
Passport Parking
03
Interpretation
After the contextual inquiries, we collaborated to analyze the collected data using different models:
Flow Model
Flow Model was used to understand the breakdowns the users were having.
Artefact Model
Artefact Model was used to get a better understanding of the existing solutions.
Cultural Model
Cultural models were used to visualize the external factors that influenced the users while making parking decision.
Affinity Map
We created affinity map to organize and analyze the data, uncovering common themes and insights.
04
Visioning
User Personas
We created affinity map to organize and analyze the data, uncovering common themes and insights.
The On-the-Go Seeker values flexibility and convenience, using parking apps to find spots in real time. They prefer simple, intuitive navigation and adaptable solutions that fit their changing plans, seeing parking as a quick, functional part of their journey.
The Planner is an individual who values organization and preparation, ensuring that every detail is accounted for. They prefer to avoid last-minute stress by planning ahead and often pre-book parking to save time and ensure convenience during busy schedules or events,
Story Boards
The problem storyboard highlights user frustrations with parking apps, from securing pre-booked spots to arriving at full lots.
Solution storyboard highlights a parking app designed to make life easier for users.
05
Solutions
Parking Availability
The Problem: Users often face frustration when parking apps show available spots that are sometimes occupied upon arrival, leading to wasted time and inconvenience.
The Solution: Color codes in green, orange, and red will help the users by showing the availability of parking lots.
Pre-Booking
The Problem: Users pre-book and pay for parking spots, only to arrive and find the parking lot full, leading to loss of trust in the service.
The Solution: Potential availability can be seen by users while pre-booking, based on the selected time.
Wallet System
The Problem: Frequent parkers often find it frustrating and inefficient to make separate payments for each parking session throughout the day.
The Solution: A wallet system was created to allow easier and quicker payments during booking. Bulk payment option was also included to accommodate multiple bookings at once.
Location Confirmation
The Problem: Users sometimes mistakenly pay for an adjacent parking lot instead of the one they parked in, leading to confusion and additional charges.
The Solution: To prevent users from accidentally paying for the wrong parking lot, a confirmation pop-up was added.
Feedback
The Problem: Users sometimes park in lots with various issues but lack a convenient way to report their experiences.
The Solution: Feedback feature helps build trust within the community by allowing users to share their experiences and contribute to improvements.
06
Conclusion
We discovered that even basic parking apps can cause user frustration. Affinity mapping and Sequence model helped us identify key user frustrations with parking apps, such as navigation issues and lack of real-time updates. By creating flow and cultural models, we pinpointed solutions like pre-booking, better zone labeling, and real-time availability.
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