Google Maps Parking

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TIMELINE

Spring 2022

PROJECT LENGTH

80 hours

ROLE

Product Designer

METHODS

User Research, User Flows, Wireframing, Brand Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing

OVERVIEW

Parking is stress-inducing, and sometimes anxiety-ridden, aspect of driving that is commonly overlooked by navigation platforms. Google Maps is the most downloaded navigation app by smart phone users as of 2022. While the product delivers remarkable usability for mobile GPS navigation, there is room for potential in offering parking aid to its' users.

The goal of this project is to extend Google Maps usability by integrating features for parking aid and vehicle management. These features assist users when actively searching for parking on the road, providing parking information at their destinations, and helping users be accountable for their vehicles while parked.

Context

problem

Parking is stressful, overwhelming, and often distracting for drivers

Nearly half of Americans consider parking to be a stressful task, according to a survey by Spothero. The term Car Park Anxiety was coined to describe the symptoms caused by anticipating a situation where you'll be unable to properly park your car or find a spot to park in at all.

Solution

How can we integrate parking assistance into a popular navigation app?

Google Maps is the most widely-used navigation app for smartphone users, amassing more than a billion users monthly as of 2022. The app covers a wide range of navigation services, but how can we extend the app's usability to include parking assistance?

Research

MARKET ANALYSIS

How can features of parking apps be integrated into navigation apps?

In order to understand what users needed out of a parking aid feature, it was crucial to not only examine how current navigation apps, are accommodate parking, but also analyze parking-first platforms like ParkMobile and ParkWhiz.

It stood out to me that navigation apps don't provide assistance to users in finding parking while actively driving, which seems to be a common pain point for drivers alike. Many of these products also do not offer much aid past the point of the user reaching their goal, to find parking, despite cars being parked. How can usability be extended to help users mange their parked car, when they're not near it?

USER RESEARCH

I surveyed 25 users who are familiar with navigation apps. My goal with these surveys was to gain analytical data on user relationships with parking. What are they currently using to manage their parked car? What factors of an environment make parking stressful? What has been the worst consequence of poor parking?

68% found parking to be difficult in their city

64% have received a parking citation

56% spend at least 10 minutes finding parking

68% take a photo of their parking spot or take notes

Research Insights

I held user interviews on participants who all lived in major cities across the US. My goal with conducting interviews specifically for users in major cities was to uncover how their environments impact their relationship with parking. I was able to come to a few insights after examining their parking experiences:

"Can I park there?"

Parking signs, loading zones, permit requirements are some things drivers look out for when finding a parking spot, which can also be distracting and overwhelming.

Proximity, safety, and price are parking priorities

Close proximity to destination, safe parking areas, as well as free parking, are drivers' main motivators when searching for somewhere to park.

Phones to save parking information

Many users were already using their phones to save parking information, usually by taking a photo of their parking location, or saving it in their notes.

Brainstorming Solutions

After coming to a few insights, I had a good idea of musts for the design solutions. I jotted them down with consideration of their priority in accordance to the data.

p1 Inform users of parking rules in real-time

p1 Warn user-reported unsafe parking areas

p1 Present all parking options by price

p2 Remind users of when their meters will expire

p2 Ways to plan out parking before getting on the road

p2 Parking hub for users to save location + take notes

Usability Testing

I held a round of usability tests on 5 users, and a 2nd round for the park assist feature on Maze. I tested 3 different flows users might find themselves in when interacting with Google Maps in regards to parking. With each of these flows, I had a distinct goal in mind.

Questions Asked

You're headed to The Grove and want to plan parking ahead. You want parking that is under $20, in a garage, and within 5 mins of walking distance.

Goals

Are users able to find parking assistance when going about their normal navigation? Do these filters accommodate to user needs?

Completion Rate

100%

You have dinner plans with friends tonight and you're not familiar with the area. You want to save where you parked on your phone. Remember to note that you parked in lot 34b in front of the fire hydrant, and add your meter to the app.

Does the parking assistance fit user needs? What isn't accounted for? What shouldn't be accounted for?

100%

Google Maps has introduced a new feature called Park Mode to assist users in finding parking while on the road. You're approaching your destination and you need help finding parking. Activate Park Mode and observe the features that appear. Tell me what you infer from these features.

With this part of testing, I wanted gather feedback of this feature rather than having them complete a task.

N/A

Affinity Map

I combined all the feedback from the usability tests into an affinity map grouped by successes, pain points, and suggestions. Once I was able to visualize the feedback in this way, I was able to leave with valuable insights on how to improve my designs.

Participant 1

Participant 2

Participant 3

Participant 4

Confused prices on map for gas prices

Confused green/red in Park Assist for traffic and not street parking

Assumed safety indicators referred to lots/garages and not streets

Confused at why there were safety indicators in unparkable areas

Unsure of what safety indicators referred to

App navigation was organized in the way it was expected

Green/Red indicators on Park Mode indicate parking allowed

Add "Saved Parking" button to the bottom

Add another button to Add Note and Add Meter

Parking icons should also include safety indicators

Add confirmation when the user taps Remind Me

Additional features to make Park Assist more obvious

revisions

For the most part, the feedback I received were sizing, button, and minor navigation concerns. For park assist, more rounds of testing was needed, as I struggled to find an overlay that was understood similarly across users. Below are the different versions of Park Assist from the initial to the final.

Previous Versions

Final Version

Before

After

Parking Icon
In the first version of the parking icon, it's not made clear that the icon denotes available parking spots. These icons are meant to display garages or lots with their rate for spot, so I added in a parking symbol for clarification!

Unsafe Parking
In the first version, the thumbs indicators advised users of safe and unsafe parking zones reported by other users. This was a confusing concept for participants, so I changed it to only notify users if they were in an unsafe zone by using a warning sign.

Parking Spot Indicators
Many participants mistook the red and green lines as traffic indicators, and in the final version, I revised the designs to mimic the look of a parking spot rather than a flow of traffic.

Moving Forward

TAKEAWAYS

Designing for the User

Because I struggled so much with finding a design for Park Assist that made sense to all users, it really allowed me to understand the importance of designing for every user, which is UX Design at its core!

Ask the right questions

There is an art in the way we formulate our questions in user interviews. Setting up the right environment and giving the user space to give a quality answer starts with the questions we ask. Keeping the tone conversational, digging into users' journeys, and stepping away from biases/assumption are ways that we can receive the best answers from users.

Keep track of analytics

This being my first design project, I neglected the importance of recording analytics as a data tool and my designs did suffer from it. The only record I kept was task success, but I believe tracking error rate and SEQ would have been beneficial to this project.

CHALLENGES

Working within a pre-existing infrastructure

With a product of this scale, finding a way to seamlessly integrate the add-ons I wanted to incorporate was difficult, as I often found myself wanting to change the frameworks of the app to work in my own favor. Understanding how to work within a company's constraints, as well as accommodating to a mass scale were things I unexpectedly learned from this project. I found making a sitemap and mapping out user flows to be exceptionally helpful in overcoming this challenge, as I was able to broaden my perspective to visualize users expectations.

Finding methods of design intuitive to all users

I especially struggled with this on the Park Assist feature. Because that was the most abstract idea of the project, the impressions and feedback I received after the first round of usability tests were all over the place. I struggled to find a design that matched the expectations of all my participants. Through this I learned that design is truly iterative, it can take many rounds of small changes to finally create something that is usable to all.

Navigating user research

This was my first capstone project in my bootcamp, and at the time I thought I was asking the right questions during the research phase to receive insight. In hindsight, I think I can improve on formulating questions that warrants insight pertaining to what I'm in need of discovering.

FUTURE STEPS

Experimenting with different displays of ParkAssist overlay

I think what I have so far is a good start, but with more iterations and changes, it has great potential to be an seamless overlay for parking assistance. I believe this feature specifically could also greatly benefit from testing multiple designs rather than one, using comparative user testing.

Expand usability to other vehicle types

I hadn't envisioned the product to be limited to only cars, but nearly all of the participants I had only drove cars, making it difficult to collect variety within data. With more research and modifications, I would like to expand on making it accessible to users outside of car drivers, and including bikes, motorcycles, etc.

Incorporate parking reservation system

The system would allow users to reserve parking spots before driving to their destination. To add onto that, parking payment directly through the app would be an even better addition. This would allow the parking management system to be all inclusive, aiding in parking management, allowing users to find parking while on the road, and securing the spot.

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