UBER

UX Research Exercise

Context:

In 2018, I had an opportunity to interview for a user experience researcher role at Uber, India. This is a case study of that assignment. Time taken for this was around 5–6 hours.

Problem:

Design a study to understand the usage patterns of the app. People in the Delhi-NCR, have started using a new app to find jobs, track their working hours and understand the tax implications.

The app developers launched 6 months ago and have seen some interesting uptake patterns. In the five main cities where the app has been downloaded, two of the cities have very high usage patterns.

The other three cities users are using the app and then don’t seem to be returning.

a. 3 weeks to start and then submit deliverables

b. Identify at least two deliverables you’ll create

Redefining the problem…

Approach

Asking the right questions:

To begin with, there is a need to list down every question we could think of. Which would help to come up with the purpose of the study…

I started with a quick mind-map of all the things related to the app. This helps to make sure that we don’t miss any obvious thing in the beginning. Also ignites a lot of thoughts for everyone to think upon in a team.

Purpose of the study

To identify the reasons behind the increased usage patterns in 2 states and the fall in other 3.

Directions:

To structure the study, we need to split the problem into smaller chunks. As per the problem statement, change in the usage pattern could be because of three reasons.

Each reason/direction gives us an opportunity to approach this by using specific methods and to look for specific deliverables. Combination or overlapped results of these could also lead us to the right answers.

Research Plan

A plan is made. Suitable methods are discussed & chosen for each direction.

These methods are thought through with various factors of consideration, reasoning, need, impact, projected duration, resources, dependencies.

They are prioritized based on needs, execution, planning(scheduling & logistics).

Executing the Plan

Methods have to be scheduled based on their priority, interdependency, and feasibility. There is always a need to look out for Plan B (which was not covered) and every week it’s important to document the work and check our biases towards the study.