CASE STUDY:
WAZE APP
Waze is a community-driven navigation app that combines data input from users to provide quicker routes for traveling. Using research, UX, visual design, and prototyping, I worked on a team of four designers to target seemingly small pain points that ultimately had a big impact on the app's usability.Timeline: 3 weeks
PROJECT OVERVIEW
RESEARCH
The original navigation experience on mobile was cumbersome.
-
The app itself offers many great features for specific user needs and wants, that other more popular apps do not offer.
-
The users don't necessarily care for additional features outside of getting from point A to point B if the process hinders their ability to drive and pay attention to the road
-
The basic functions of the app need to be intuitive and quick since most users do not plan ahead but instead open the app when they are already in their car.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
-
Extensive features overwhelm users and clutter the layout
-
"Go" and "Go Now" button feels redundant to users
-
Users were looking for a stop button throughout the navigation process
-
The turn by turn feature was too hidden for users to utilize
-
Users wanted features that were available but not easily accessible
If the functionality were more streamlined and intuitive, the user could navigate with minimal effort, increasing app use, and could therefore help to resolve densely congested areas, resulting in quicker, safer commutes.
IDEATION
fewer clicks from start to stop
Since this was the first priority of the user was to navigate from point A to point B, the main focus after the user tests, were to create a more intuitive and simple flow while highlighting originally hidden features without distracting the user from driving.
A key step to creating a layout that worked well, we compared the flow of Waze to other navigation apps and found small changes that would have a big impact on the ease of use.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
UNDERSTANDING THE DESIGN SYSTEM
While sketching for design solutions, we studied Waze's design system to find existing patterns and UI components to ensure consistency and clarity. We worked with some existing patterns and worked on new ones where there was nothing pre-established.
RESOURCES
-
Competitor Analysis
-
I Like, I Wish, What If?
-
Feature Prioritization Matrix
-
SWOT Analysis
-
Lo-Fi Sketches
-
Lo-Fi Prototype
-
Feature Prioritization Matrix
IDEATION DESIGNS
Since there were few pre-established patterns from Waze’s design system, we explored a variety of design treatments to find opportunities to make navigation easier. We looked at button placement, copy, and flows, knowing that we'd need to make adjustments to them all.
SIMPLIFY
-
Accurately labeling buttons to reflect what the user is doing to help decrease a feeling of redundancy
-
Allow users to exit navigation on the main screen to eliminate having to click to another screen while driving
-
Highlight the dropdown turn by turn list to be easily seen
-
Allow user to still see map with turn by turn feature
PROTOTYPES
High Fidelity Prototype
ITERATING DESIGNS
-
Validating our design solutions through user testing helped us to become confident in our design decisions.
-
We used the same testers the second time around in order to get their feedback on the iteration through the lens of having already tested the original version.
High Fidelity Prototype Iteration
TESTING
Our test results gave us the validation we were looking for. We were heading in the right direction, but had some more iterating to do.
USER TESTING
-
100% of users were able to easily navigate to their destination
-
70% were able to find and use the turn by turn directions
-
70% increase for users to stop navigation
NEXT STEPS
-
Iterate based on the previous user test and then to test that iteration.
-
Move on to developing the hi-fi prototype based off of the Waze design system.
-
Turn attention toward other features which initial user tests showed were difficult to discover and use mid-trip, such as reporting traffic, police, and road closures.
LEARNINGS
Because this was an unsolicited project, we made assumptions about Waze's needs based on our market research. Focusing only on the user in this scenario limited our ability to fully understand both sides of the problem, affecting our overall outcome.
-
It is equally as important to understand an agency's needs as it is to understand the user's needs.
-
Ultimately, this is a symbiotic relationship - users cannot exist without the agency and the agencycould not exist without its users. Both need to be considered.
Test ideas first before launching into a new feature
When iterating on existing products, it’s easy to become over-invested in building a grandiose feature. Coming up with practical solutions that don’t require much is a good way to start testing the idea before building an entirely new feature.