Montyr is a car service booking app that allows users to easily book and schedule an appointment.
Our Journey to Revolutionize Car Services
A Road Less Traveled
Timeline
December 2021 - Present
My Role
Product Designer
Tools
Sketch, Zeplin, Pen & Paper
Sole Designer - Research, Wireframing, low and high-fidelity Prototyping, Conducting Usability Studies, and Visual Design(UI).
Responsibility
Meet Sarah
The Scheduling Struggle of a Modern Car Owner
Sarah's Busy Life
Meet Sarah, a working professional in the heart of a bustling city. Sarah relied heavily on Rosie (her car) to navigate her busy life. Her days are a whirlwind of meetings, deadlines, and endless to-dos. But there's one thing Sarah dreads – scheduling car service appointments. Calling workshops, waiting on hold, and uncertain availability seemed to be an inevitable part of car ownership.
Unveiling the Challenge
Like many of us, Sarah's life was a whirlwind of meetings, deadlines, and errands. She couldn't afford to waste precious hours trying to secure a car service appointment. And she wasn't alone.
Customers like Sarah are currently required to either make phone calls or physically visit a workshop in order to secure a car service appointment. This process proves cumbersome, often resulting in difficulties in obtaining same-day appointments due to the existing limitations.
Why traditional car service booking was frustrating?
Sarah’s Scheduling Struggle
Unpacking Sarah’s Car Service Journey
Sarah notices her car needs maintenance, she decides it's time to schedule a service appointment and takes out her smartphone for some research.
Step 1: Realization - Initial Inquiry
She reads online reviews to gauge the reputation of different service centers.
Sarah compiles a list of potential service providers based on her research.
Step 2: Information Gathering - Online Search
She encounters automated phone menus, long hold times, and leaves voicemails at several places.
Step 3: Phone Calls - Initial Contact
Sarah contacts a service center but struggles to find a suitable appointment date due to her busy schedule, leading to indecision and multiple exchanges.
Step 4: Scheduling Car Service
On the appointment day, Sarah drives to the service centre, anticipates her car's readiness, but learns it won't be ready until the next day, leading to disappointment. She subsequently calls the service centre multiple times for status updates and reassurance."
Step 5: Drop-off and Wait
Balancing Busy Schedules with Car Service
“Sarah's journey to booking car service highlights the challenges of the traditional process. While she ultimately gets the service she needs, the experience includes phone calls, wait times, time-consuming and a lack of real-time updates.”
Exploring the Road of Questions!
Sarah's Curiosity
“These questions reflect the common concerns users have when booking car services through traditional methods, highlighting the need for a more user-friendly and transparent booking process.”
Solution
We were determined to change the game, not just for Sarah but for everyone facing this ordeal
With a vision of simplifying car service booking, we embarked on a journey to create an app that would make the process as easy as ordering your favourite takeout.
From Question to Answers
Harnessing the Power of Data in Understanding the Car Service App Market
The Power of Data
In my research journey, delving into the vast sea of data proved to be a game-changer. It allowed me to decode the market intricacies and unveil the pressing need for a user-friendly car service app. Data not only illuminated the challenges users like Sarah faced but also highlighted the tremendous potential for a solution that could simplify the car service experience. It was in the numbers, trends, and insights that the path toward creating a practical and efficient solution for users became clear, ultimately leading to the inception of our car service app.
Real People, Real Stories
I conducted interviews with individuals within my network, primarily consisting of employed adults, including friends and family, due to time limitations. Through these open-ended discussions, I was able to uncover a range of challenges and pain points that extended beyond my initial assumptions.
“The uncertainty about the costs is a big problem. You never know how much it would end up costing you.”
Rahul Nair
“Scheduling car service is such a hassle. I have to make endless calls, and sometimes I don't even get a same-day appointment. It is frustrating.”
Gwyen Pariera
“Finding the time to book a service is challenging. It often requires taking time off work, and that was inconvenient.”
Channing Lee
“We understood the pain points - the endless phone calls, the wait times, and the uncertainty of appointment availability.”
Pain Points
Pricing
The majority of garages lack the technological capability for online appointment booking, resulting in users needing to physically visit the garage or make a phone call in order to schedule an appointment for their car.
Time
The garage sector is very unorganised. People find it time-consuming to wait just for the appointment. The entire procedure of securing an appointment proves to be excessively time-consuming for people.
Digitalisation
The majority of garages lack the technological capability for online appointment booking, resulting in users needing to physically visit the garage or make a phone call in order to schedule an appointment for their car.
Innovation in Action
Putting Wheels in Motion: Laying the Foundation for Success
We've streamlined, clarified, and simplified every step because car service should never be a hassle.
Details regarding services and pricing are readily accessible. We have prioritized a clear and transparent pricing structure, ensuring users have visibility into the costs before proceeding to book a car service.
Information
Keeping in mind the user’s busy life we made sure the user will be able to book a car service quickly and easily.
Navigation
We established distinct statuses to provide users with real-time updates on the progression of their car service. Additionally, we integrated a support feature to cater to any immediate assistance needs.
Communication
Sarah's Seamless Car Service Booking Flow: Designing User Flows for a Seamless Journey
Our mission to make user flows, tailored to simplify Sarah's journey, involves outlining the steps she would take to achieve her goals seamlessly.
We started by outlining every step she would need to take, ensuring that each one led her closer to her goals. But we didn't stop there. We knew that true success lay in refinement. We took feedback from our talented team, who brought fresh perspectives to the table. With their insights, we fine-tuned the user flows, making them even more intuitive and user-centric.
Mapping Convenience: Paper Wireframes
Our main focus was on the booking flow, and how Sarah get from selecting the service to completing the booking, making sure Sarah could easily navigate through the app. We visualized transparency in pricing, real-time updates, and effortless booking
Visual Highlights
Testing, Feedbacks & Iterations
We did some usability testing and got some feedback. We got some feature requests as well and had to push it to P1. Our priority was to make the booking flow as smooth as we could. The second round of testing was done after I completed the UI design. I presented the prototype of the final design to 6 members of the company including stakeholders for user testing.
Live Updates on Home Screen
Feedback
Users had to navigate deep into the app to find updates on their car service. In Order History.
Solution
When you open the app, your current car service status is at the bottom.
Taking this idea from other app like Zomato where they show current status of food orders at the bottom.
The Big Question
Did the Solution Truly Solve the Problem?
Feedback
“I barely noticed it there, and honestly, it blends in with the rest of the app.”
“They didn't draw my attention.”
Solution: Optimizing User Experience
Placing Live Statuses at the Top and making it prominent for Seamless Visibility
Why We Moved the Card to the Top?
When it comes to showcasing live status updates, we experimented with different styles, including placing the card at the bottom. However, we noticed that users typically start browsing from the top, which sometimes led to missed updates. To ensure our users never miss a beat, we've now positioned the live status card right at the top.
Previous Approach
Initially, we had positioned the live status card at the bottom of the screen.
Visibility Concerns
Users starting their interaction at the top of the app sometimes missed the card, leading to potential visibility issues.
Our response to this challenge was driven by user behaviour, habits and feedback
We understand that users often start their journey from the top of the screen. By relocating the live status card to the top, we align with user habits, ensuring that critical updates are unmissable.
User-Centric Approach
You'll now find the live status card right where you expect it, making it more accessible and user-friendly.
Improved Accessibility
This change guarantees that you stay informed about your car service progress without any hurdles.
No More Missed Updates
From Concept to Reality
From Frustration to Satisfaction: What People Have to Say
Takeaways
I felt so lucky to be a part of this growing team! I got a chance to work with Asad who worked previously as a Sr. Engineer at Square. Also, Other team members were talented and experienced. I felt here in this company I spoke more than I normally do and was more confident in making design decisions.
The more you empathize with the user the easier it gets to understand the problem. In the end, we are building for the people (No designer biases :P).