DLVR — a crowdsourced intercity delivery app

The DLVR app allows people to send and receive lightweight packages to and from different cities with the help of willing travellers(volunteers). This can include flights, trains, and overnight buses. The following is a record of the thought process behind the design assignment for the DLVR app.

This was a design assignment given to me as a part of the hiring process. *Spoiler Alert! I got the job. 🤩

Design Prompt

Imagine you have been approached to design the first version of DLVR — a crowdsourced intercity delivery app. Through this app, people can send/receive lightweight packages to/from different cities with the help of willing travellers (think flights, trains and overnight buses).

For some more context, here’s a happy flow:
1. The sender raises a request on the app to send a package from Delhi to Lucknow.
2. The app sends a request to willing travellers on the platform.
3. A volunteer who’s travelling to Lucknow accepts the request.
4. Sender and the volunteer chat about the details of the package.
5. The sender pays 100% of the delivery charges upfront. 50% is immediately transferred to the volunteer as an advance fee.
6. A DLVR partner picks up the package from the sender and delivers it to the volunteer’s address in Delhi at the agreed-upon time.
7. Once the volunteer reaches Lucknow, a DLVR partner will be allocated to receive it from the volunteer. 50% of the sender’s fee is credited to the volunteer.
8. The DLVR partner delivers the package to the sender’s intended address in Lucknow.

Methodologies

Since the assignment began with no prior knowledge about the design problem, I conducted qualitative research. A qualitative approach was used to understand the context behind this concept. It helped me to get a deeper understanding of the topic. Due to time sensitivity, I conducted 5 user interviews with friends, family and individuals belonging to the working classes.

Terminologies

Terminologies used in the design are:

1. Sender- The person sending the package from City A.
2. Receiver- The person receiving the package in City B.
3. Volunteer- The person travelling from the sender’s city (City A) to the receiver’s city (City B).
4. DLVR partner- The person who picks up and delivers the packages.

For a better understanding of the functionality of the app, I created a rough diagram.

App functionality

Target Users

Based on the design prompt, DLVR’s target users are:

1. People living away from their friends and families.
2. People looking to make some extra money while travelling.
3. People who often travel to different cities.
4. Delivery guys looking for employment.
5. People seeking alternative options for shipping packages to other cities, beyond traditional courier services.

User Requirements Gathering

I conducted in-person interviews for the research. Five interviews were conducted. All the participants were informed beforehand about the purpose of the interview and all of them gave their explicit consent to be interviewed. Out of 5 participants, 3 were female and the remaining 2 were male.

• Participant 1- Househelper (44, Female)
• Participant 2- Security Guard (49, Male)
• Participant 3- Small Business Owner (28, Female)
• Participant 4- Student (22, Male)
• Participant 5- Homemaker (52, Female)

Data Analysis

For analysing data, I decided to use the affinity diagrams approach. Google Jamboard was used for this brainstorming activity. Sticky notes were used to put all the relevant information on the board, which was then sorted out into different categories based on similar themes.

Raw data from the user interviews

I categorised the raw data into 8 themes:

1. Demographics
2. Motivations to use parcel service
3. Challenges faced by participants
4. First impression of the DLVR app (from description)
5. Concerns as a sender
6. Concerns as a volunteer
7. Ideal payments
8. Willingness to join the DLVR network

Analysed data into themes

User Persona

Based on the data analysis, I made a user persona.

User persona

What Do Participants Want?

I listed down a few common user needs for the DLVR app:

1. Trustworthy network on the app. (High priority)
2. Need to know the constituents of the package. (High priority)
3. Ability to track their package.
4. Multilingual options for diverse target audiences.
5. A cheaper option than traditional ways to send parcels.

User Flow

After going back and forth from the initial ideas to design the app, this was the final user flow.**

** This is not the complete and final user flow for the app. It is focused mainly on the screens involved in solving the design problem. It is subject to change with further development in the app.

User Flow

This app will have three modes:

1. Send a package: This is for senders. Users can search for volunteers and add details of their packages.
2. Carry a package: This is for volunteers. Users can add their travel information and their preferences to carry a parcel here. They can also track their payments and stay updated about their upcoming trips here.
3. Track a package: This is pretty basic. Here users can track their parcel easily by just entering the tracking ID of the package.

What I thought I would do… but didn’t end up doing

1. Three modes of the app: At first, I was trying to create a one-stop app for all users, think Zomato and Swiggy, promoting delivery, dining, Blinkit, Instamart, Genie, Dineout and whatnot on just their homepage and navigation bar. I thought I would do the same, but realised it looked too cluttered and confusing. The IA might work for Swiggy and Zomato, but surely would not work for DLVR, considering a lot of technologically challenged people might be using the platform. Keeping that in mind, I decided to create 3 different modes of the app, think Myntra (Myntra, Fwd and Luxe). This brought a lot of calm in the chaos. (more on this in the wireframes section)
2. Building trust: Upon conducting user interviews, it became apparent that DLVR needed to earn the trust of its participants. Users were finding it difficult to believe in the credibility of the volunteers. To address this issue, they suggested a solution that involved tracking the location of the volunteers and enabling direct contact with them. While this idea may seem practical in theory, it poses ethical concerns. To ensure the privacy and safety of volunteers, users can track their package, but not the volunteers using the tracking ID. I took the following steps to ensure mutual trust between users:

• Verification via an Aadhaar card, PAN card and/or driver’s license is the only way to sign up/sign in to the app. (lesser chances of fraud and scams).
• Senders are required to disclose the constituents of the package. (mandatory)
• A “verified user” tag against every volunteer’s name card to ensure trust.
• Users (both senders and volunteers) can give feedback and ratings to each other.

Storyboarding

To roughly illustrate the flow of the app, I created a storyboard.

This storyboard follows the story of Lata, a house helper who lives far away from her elderly parents. Lata's mother is in a wheelchair, and her father spends all his time taking care of her. One night, Lata received a call from her parents, informing her that her mother's health is deteriorating rapidly. Her mother needed some lifesaving medication immediately, but it was not available in their village or the neighbouring areas. Fortunately, Lata was able to find the medication easily in Delhi. However, she now needs a way to send the medication to her parents as soon as possible. Courier services would take at least 3-4 days to deliver, and Lata is unable to be there in person due to her work commitments. Feeling helpless, Lata remembered an app that her friend Kamla had told her about. The app is called DLVR, and it connects users to travelling volunteers who are willing to carry parcels to different cities.

Storyboard

Wireframes

Paper Wireframes

Create a few paper wireframes for the app before going digital.

Paper wireframes

Digital Wireframes

During wireframing, I focused on designing the home screen and one other screen of my choice as per the assignment.

• Mode Selection Screen /Home Screen (to send a package)

I decided to make the two modes for the home screen. I believe it was important to make separate modes of the app for the following reasons:

1. Users are highly unlikely to use both the Sender and Volunteer modes simultaneously.
2. By creating different modes, I have tried to simplify the app for first-time users, technologically challenged people and people with low attention spans. This is an attempt not to overwhelm users.
3. Each mode is designed in a simple way where it serves its purpose without confusing users. I prioritised usability and accessibility over visuals.

Homescreens

• Sender’s v/s Volunteer’s POV

Creating a safe environment for the users was one of my top priorities. Based on the interviews conducted with the users, I noticed that a majority of the participants were concerned about the package constituents, and rightfully so. Therefore, I designed Sender’s form in such a way that it covers all the necessary information related to the package and its constituents, without violating the sender’s privacy.

Additionally, I thought the choice to upload a photo of the package might be a good addition as it might help volunteers make a more informed decision regarding carrying the package.

For designing the volunteer’s form, I tried to get all the necessary information related to their trip that might be helpful to a sender (such as their travel dates and mode of travel). Additionally, I asked volunteers about their preferences when they carry a package.

Sender vs Volunteer mode

Additional Screens

Onboarding Screens

• The idea is to design the DLVR app in Indian regional languages to make it more inclusive.
• Onboarding Screens are supposed to give the gist of the app’s functionality.

Onboarding Screens

Sign Up Screen

• To assure credibility and genuine users, sign-up is only possible using an Aadhaar card, PAN card and driver’s license.
• This is to limit and avoid fraud.

Sign Up

User’s Profile Cards

User’s profiles

Prototype

Prototype

Here is the link to the prototype:

Accessibility Considerations

1. Added a Language selection option to make the experience more inclusive.
2. To prevent confusion among users, each mode is designed with a unique colour palette.
3. The colours used in the design have been verified using the WebAIM Contrast Checker tool.