CASE STUDY
Bird Design Challenge
Bird scooters are a sustainable and accessible form of urban transportation, and they're widely popular among major U.S. and international cities.
However, there have been reports of clutter and carelessness when it comes to parking. Bird riders can get charged for not parking their scooters correctly, and cities have the authority to ban scooters altogether if it becomes a public hazard. This design challenge was aimed at exploring possible design solutions.
TIMELINE
1 week
SKILLS
UX research
User flows
Visual design
Prototyping
Ideation
DESIGN QUESTION
How might we encourage Bird riders to park well?
SOLUTION
Increase the rider's awareness of how and where they can park correctly by creating a reminder before the ride
CUSTOMER BENEFIT
Saves riders time and money by showing them how and where to find parking
BUSINESS OPPURTUNITY
Stronger relationship and reputation with local cities by informing riders about city parking rules
Problems
• Riders struggle trying to find acceptable parking areas
• Some users are unaware of parking guidelines, no parking zones and acceptable places to park
• Waste time and money trying to find parking
Goals
• Save users time and money by showing them how to park and where to park before their ride
• Familiarize riders with local city regulations about e-scooter parking while strengthening cities trust in Bird's commitment to safe parking
DESIGN SOLUTION
The "Need to Know" Reminder
When you download the Bird app as a new rider, you're given a simple overview of how the riding experience works. However, their explanation of parking isn't very informative in the onboarding process. Specific parking guidelines are buried in the app's resources page, so it's hard to find if you're a rider who just wants to get started.
This Need to Know reminder is aiming to help users get familiar with the parking guidelines before they can start riding. Riders would find and scan the scooter they want to ride, and get a Need to Know prompt about safe parking. Once they accept the guidelines, they can safely get on the road knowing ahead of time how and where to park.
01 Before the ride begins...
Get the user's consent and remind them about parking guidelines to avoid any confusion.
02 Summary of local parking rules
Give riders access to local e-scooter laws to educate them about city rules, or remind riders about Bird's general parking guidelines if no local laws.
03 Preview of No Parking Zones
Let riders know where they can't park before the ride.
04 Parking Zones Map
Show riders where they can park before riding so they can plan their trip accordingly.
01 RESEARCH
Competitve Analysis
LIME
• User have to find the user manual to get to parking guidelines
SPIN
• Very brief explanation about parking in onboarding
• Have to find the "Get Help" page to learn more about parking rules
SKIP
• Only one short sentence about parking rules
02 RESEARCH
Customer Reviews
• Lack of warning about slow, no ride or no parking zones
• Difficulties finding acceptable parking areas designated by the app
• Users are sometimes late to their destination and have to pay more when looking for parking
"There are now slow/ no ride/ no parking zones... the app doesn't warn you before you start a ride. The only notification is during my ride, when I'm definitely not checking my phone... if you end up in a no parking zone the timer will continue counting until you walk out of it. It was so frustrating starting and ending my rides"
–Bird rider, February 22, 2020
03 RESEARCH
Target User Group: The Destination Driven Rider
"As a young adult living in the city, I want to know where and how to park my Bird scooter, so that I can save time and money getting to my destination"
Demographic
• Major cities in the USA
• Young adults, city dwellers
Goals
• Find scooter parking
• To park correctly
• Complete trip quickly to save time and money
Needs
• Know about parking zones and where to find them
• Understand parking rules
Pain points
• Doesn’t realize that there are no riding and no parking zones
• Can't find parking
• On a time limit
01 DESIGN
Ideating possible design solutions
*Reminder & Parking zones
Before riding, remind users about guidelines and parking zones
Force park option
When app malfunctions and rider needs to park to end ride safely
Checklist
Reminds users about how to park well when ending their ride
Physical parking area
Make parking spots more obvious and clearly defined
02 DESIGN
Sketches
I decided to stick with the reminders and parking zones idea– before the ride remind users about guidelines and parking zones. I felt that this idea most aligned with my defined user goals. Below are some sketches for that idea.
03 DESIGN
User Flow
Design solution
04 DESIGN
Final Prototype
How I Would Measure Success
• Look at overall ride time to see how quick rides can be for users
• Calculate cost per ride to see % changes
• Keep track of Bird's success of engagement with local cities
Areas of Improvement
• I would've liked to work with other designers for feedback and have opportunities to collaborate
• Ideate more solutions for this idea
• Explore ways users can interact with the parking zone pins by showing them how they can get there
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Dianne Worku © 2023