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Case Study

Rethinking Uppsala Bicycle Garage Service
Enhancing User Experience
Service Design

What is Service design

Service design is a holistic approach to designing and improving services with a focus on creating meaningful and valuable experiences for users. It involves understanding the entire service ecosystem, including user touchpoints, processes, systems, and stakeholders. Service design employs a combination of research, analysis, ideation, and prototyping techniques to uncover user needs, identify pain points, and develop innovative solutions. By considering both the user perspective and the business objectives, service design aims to optimize service interactions, enhance customer satisfaction, and deliver seamless and efficient experiences. It encompasses the design of physical and digital elements, as well as the intangible aspects such as communication, emotions, and overall service delivery.

Type: Interaction Design Course - Uppsala University, Sweden
Project Date: Dec 2021 - March 2022
My Role: UX Researcher & Designer
Team Members: Anna Lindström, Klara Holmberg, Ruby Abeywickrama, Saeedeh Azad Gholami, Syed Adnan Majid Shah
Type: Interaction Design Course - Uppsala University, Sweden

Project Date: Dec 2021 - March 2022

My Role: UX Researcher & Designer

Team Members: Anna Lindström, Klara Holmberg, Ruby Abeywickrama, Saeedeh Azad Gholami, Syed Adnan Majid Shah

About this project

The Uppsala Bicycle Garage application, created by Uppsala Municipality, aimed to simplify bike parking and promote sustainable commuting. This case study highlights the redesign process undertaken to improve user experience and enhance security. While our primary focus was on optimizing parking and retrieval functions, we also identified additional service issues. Using agile management and service design methods, we tackled challenges related to bike tracking, multilingual support, and establishing a secure app-garage connection. Our goal was to create an app that enables users to efficiently utilize the garage while addressing accessibility, usability, and reliability concerns.

The challenge

The project aimed to overcome usability challenges, enhance security measures, and cater to the needs of international students and security personnel. We needed to address issues of accessibility, reliability, and user-friendliness while considering technical constraints and business objectives. The specific challenge was to create a more user-friendly app that promotes commuting and provides a secure environment for bike parking.


Existing problems in the Garage & App
  • Lack of connectivity between physical place and mobile application.
  • Not a trustworthy first impression and hard to understand how it works.
  • Language only in Swedish and only accessible from a Swedish phone.
  • Lack of control for the user.
  • Payment issues.

The project aimed to overcome usability challenges, enhance security measures, and cater to the needs of international students and security personnel. We needed to address issues of accessibility, reliability, and user-friendliness while considering technical constraints and business objectives. The specific challenge was to create a more user-friendly app that promotes commuting and provides a secure environment for bike parking.


Existing problems in the Garage & App
  • Lack of connectivity between physical place and mobile application.
  • Not a trustworthy first impression and hard to understand how it works.
  • Language only in Swedish and only accessible from a Swedish phone.
  • Lack of control for the user.
  • Payment issues.

The project aimed to overcome usability challenges, enhance security measures, and cater to the needs of international students and security personnel. We needed to address issues of accessibility, reliability, and user-friendliness while considering technical constraints and business objectives. The specific challenge was to create a more user-friendly app that promotes commuting and provides a secure environment for bike parking.


Existing problems in the Garage & App
  • Lack of connectivity between physical place and mobile application.
  • Not a trustworthy first impression and hard to understand how it works.
  • Language only in Swedish and only accessible from a Swedish phone.
  • Lack of control for the user.
  • Payment issues.

Solution

To address the challenge, we employed a user-centered design approach and utilized various management and service design methods. Through workshops, field studies, and usability testing, we gathered insights and developed a solution that focused on tracking bikes using QR codes, providing multilingual support, and offering indoor and outdoor maps for guidance. The redesigned app aimed to improve the overall user experience, enhance security, and address the specific needs of international students and security personnel.

New Features

  • Tracking Check-in / Check-out.

  • Tracking available parking slots

  • Interactive maps

  • Park, change slot or pick up

  • Multilingual solution

  • Multiple Payment methods

  • Report problems

  • Easy onboarding

  • Includes tutorials.

Designed Use-Case

Results

The project achieved success in terms of improving user experience and enhancing security measures. The redesigned app received positive feedback during usability testing, validating the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Although there were time and technological limitations, the project showcased the feasibility of the design and identified areas for future improvement.

Key takeaways

The lessons learned from this project will inform future iterations and refinements. The next steps involve creating a high-fidelity prototype, implementing universal design techniques, and incorporating feedback from users to further enhance the app's usability and inclusivity.

The Design Process

The Design Process

Click here or on any section to read the comprehensive case study

PROJECT PLANNING

Double Diamond method

Chosen methodology

On-site visits

Pragmatic approach

DATA GATHERING & ANALYSIS

Identify stakeholders

Security personnel and International Students

Competitor Analysis

Examining other parking and bike-related applications

Empathize

Empathy maps

Ideation workshop

Futuristic design workshop approach envisioned future app states, exploring innovative ideas.

Personas

Personas guided design decisions and ensured a user-centered approach.

Journey Maps

Ensure design decisions aligned with user goals and delivered a satisfying journey.

Use-case design

Exploring user flow, interactions, and functionality.

PROTOTYPING

Identify Initial requirements

Initial requirements

Main issues to address in the a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Prototype Video Walkthrough

Designing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Testing and Iterative Refinement

A/B Testing

Validate the effectiveness of design solutions

Test Data Analysis

Identify usability issues, areas of confusion, and opportunities for improvement

Propose Solutions

Meet User and Business needs and enhance user control

Final Solution and Evaluation

Final Solution and Evaluation

The goal of this project was to improve the bicycle garage experience for commuters. We redesigned the application to meet user needs and enhance user control through instructions, tutorials, and interactive maps. Due to constraints, we used QR codes for tracking instead of more advanced technologies. The current prototype focuses on international students, but future iterations will consider other user roles for a more inclusive design. Despite limitations, we believe the current solution is viable and can be further improved based on user feedback.

Solution to lack of connectivity

  • Track bikes

  • QR codes at entrance and racks

Trustworthiness

  • Tutorial/onboarding

  • Easy login

  • “Help & Support” in head menu

  • Report service added to head menu

Language Issues

  • Unique to international students

  • Adding multilingual support

Granting User Control

  • Interactive maps

  • Notifications

Better Payment Solutions

  • Security Deposit

  • Additional payment methods

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