Bixby
Client
Bixby is an app that makes rental living easier for both tenants and property managers. Through the platform, tenants can pay rent, submit maintenance requests, and order services, such as dry-cleaning pick-up or house calls from a doctor.
Mission
Bixby was in the process of forming partnerships with moving companies, allowing users to place requests moving services through the app. I was tasked with coming up with a design that would encourage use of this new feature.
Role
As the solo UX Designer on this project, I conducted research, determined the user flow, designed the wireframes, created prototypes, and ran usability tests. I worked directly with the CEO to ensure my designs took into account business needs.
Step 1: Researching the market for moving services
Comparative App Analysis
To understand the marketplace, I looked at 6 apps that let users book moving services. I kept track of each one's user flow and content strategy.
Discoveries
# of screens it took to submit a request for a moving estimate:
3 to 20+
One app asked users for the dimensions of every item they wanted to move
...uh where's my tape measure?
apps provided any explanation for their pricing system
Zero
Step 2: Interviewing users about past experiences
Real Talk
I chatted with five people who had moved in the past year and had considered using a moving service. First hand, I heard their pain points - a few are highlighted here.
"The experience was very sales-y, very pressure-y."
While preparing to move, this user tried out a web service that gave him estimates from several moving companies. But he found the process stressful, discovered moving companies were too expensive, and wound up using a U-haul.
"I have more books than furniture."
Everyone expressed frustration about how difficult it was to explain to movers what exactly it was they needed to move. One grad student used a small second bedroom for book storage - but moving companies kept assuming she must have furniture in it.
"It took us two weeks to get our stuff."
A couple moved from New Jersey to North Carolina - and didn't realize that their moving company's delivery date was a justvery rough estimate. They had to adjust to their new locale while living out of a suitcase.
Step 3: Ideating solutions using core insights
Insight
Every move is unique
Users might be moving across the street or across the country. Some are only taking boxes, but others might have a living room, dining room or office full of furniture.
Solution
Allow for flexibility
Users need to be able to provide details about their unique move - like how far they’re moving and how much furniture they’re taking with them
Price is a priority
4 out of 5 users named price as a key factor in selecting a moving service. If they couldn’t get pricing information upfront, they were likely to pick a different service.
Provide upfront price information
Users need to see price information ASAP. This information should adjust as the app learns the specific details of the person’s move.
Moves are complicated
There’s quite literally many moving parts to manage - and many moving service apps add more stress to the process by asking users too many confusion questions.
Create clear design & copy
Users need to know what’s they are being asked and how to answer the questions correctly. They also need to understand how the moving service works.
Step 4: Making low-fidelity wireframes & rapid prototypes
Wireframes & Rapid Prototyping
With my three key solution ideas in mind, I created rough wireframes in Sketch of my screens. Because it was so important to make sure users could accurately use my design to order moving services, I wanted to get a prototype in the hands of users ASAP. I printed out my wireframes and conducted my first round of testing with a paper prototype - a fast way to create a flexible, functional digital test. This lead to two important learnings and improvements.
Adding testing notes to my paper prototypes.
Key Test Finding #1:
Furniture Screen Confusion
First Iteration
Problems:
1. Testers were unsure how to select or de-select a table row using the checkmarks.
2. Testers wanted more info about the furniture categories, yet did not tap that information button.
3. When asked about "bedrooms,"
testers gave the number of bedrooms in their apartment, which was different from how many beds they needed to move.
Solutions:
1. Testers intuitively understood how to interact with switches.
2. I listed more detailed information directly on the screen, eliminating the need for users to tap another button.
3. Instead of asking about bedrooms, the new screen specifically asked about the number of beds and dressers.
Final Iteration
Key Test Finding #2:
Pick-Up & Delivery Date Problems
First Iteration
Problems:
1. Testers were hesitant to select a pick-up date without knowing how long the move would take.
2. Initially, users could pick a delivery date to receive their belongings - but testers did not know if the date they were selecting was realistic for the movers.
Final Iteration
Solutions:
1. Users now see an estimated move time. This helps them feel more confident when they choose a pick-up date for their belongings.
2. The option to pick a delivery date was eliminated; instead, users now see an estimated drop-off date, based on the pick-up date that the user selects.
Step 5: Continuing tests to ensure success
Mobile Prototype
As I iterated on my wireframes, I moved them into InVision to create a digital, touch-friendly prototype that could be tested on a phone screen. I created several versions of each screen, so I could test the feature with five different user scenarios. When I saw that several users could accurately interact with the prototype for each scenario, I knew the feature had the flexibility and usability necessary to be a success.
Preparing screen & flow variations for testing:
Result
The feature was added to the Bixby app. Based on learnings from this project, I designed two more similar features for Bixby: cleaning services and floral delivery.
Curious about this Bixby feature? Have a moving story of your own?