BMW Charging — How to let users know when to charge their EVs?
In recent months the sales of EV-Cars are growing percentage-wise, changing everything in the automotive industry. Drivers must adapt to new forms of charging, which, although they’re already available, there is still much to do and learn. And with this, support the user to make their experience pleasant.
The Brief
Design a functionality that supports the end-user to predict when (time/day) a charging station will likely be available (based on past utilization) so he/she can plan their route accordingly and not arrive at a blocked station.
Digital Charging Solutions | Timeline: 1-week Sprint | Tools: Figma & Procreate | Segment: EV drivers (age 35–60) with a BMW i3
This project was presented to Digital Charging Solutions as part of a design project exercise.
Product
BMW Charging is a Mobile App that offers users to find public charging stations for their fully electric vehicles or hybrid cars.
Process
Heuristic Evaluation
First, I applied a heuristic evaluation, analyzing every screen of the App if words, colors, and buttons were correctly placed, portraying different scenarios through user flows, and checking if they matched with the goals that would be accomplished.
Review & Recommendations
One tool I use to get findings that I even sometimes recommend before conducting other types of research (such as tests, conducting interviews, or creating a survey) is to check what the users are saying or asking by taking a look at reviews and social networks of the brand and product. (sorry, readable only for German speakers because the App is for the German Market!)
Secondary Research
To understand the product and thus the user while interacting with it, I did a general study about the industry (growth, expectations, and struggles), the charging points (which types they are, how to charge an EV Car, how much money and time cost charge, charging conditions, and how often is needed to charge) and behavior of the EV Consumers.
I found some good articles, especially the research on EV Car Consumers Behavior by the Fuels Institute.
Competitor Analysis
I find this research tool essential for every project: to compare and check which practices, tools, and features are interesting to add to your design and which ones to avoid. But not only that, but I also checked some other well-known Apps for mobility, such as Uber and Google Maps.
Qualitative Research
I interviewed five potential users between the ages of 33–58: four were planning to acquire one within the next three years, and one already owns a hybrid car, so they’re informed and looking for new options for charging. I wanted to acknowledge their motivations and obstacles to consider during the solution’s proposition. Plus, validate my assumptions and research.
Problem & Hypothesis Statement
I could get some findings from users. And as all we know, every human would like to have control as much as possible. For this, users need to understand their EV car, status, maintenance, weather conditions when charging, plus how much CO2 is saved as a motivator. So I delineated my Hypothesis statement.
Wireframes
I sketched the wireframes in Procreate for interface changes and used the references from the competitor Apps I mentioned before. Plus, I decided to include an interface design of the car touchscreen, bringing not only realism but offering solutions in other interfaces, in case I would have more time and access to all the steps of the product.
Design System
I started creating a system based on: branding, previous components, redefinition of new icons for easier future changes, and the developers' handover, as well.
Screen Flows
I support myself with the screen designs to delineate the user flows to show step by step how the user interacts with the App. Also, I included the touchscreen designs.
Prototype
You can test the prototype here:
Iteration & Next Steps
- This project exercise was interesting to design, not only desktop or mobile websites /apps but other interfaces such as a car screen.
- If I had more time and access to all the Apps (including the profile interface), I would do extra research with real current users, iterate the status of the car screens interface, and talk with developers and engineers to check if it is constantly updated via software.
- Once is tested, the user could learn and thus have more control over its auto charging conditions and registers. For that, it would be good to check the current notification system.
- Another idea that came up as a next project was to create a calculator to understand the needed energy.
- During the research, there were some reviews about Customer Service issues, so it would be interesting to put it on the table as a next project.
Thank you for reading me! See ya’ in the next project!
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