A Divvy Mobile App
Brief:
Our group designed a mobile app for Chicago’s bike-sharing program, Divvy.
Divvy was hoping to revamp and gain some more mainstream exposure. Our group believed there may be opportunity to increase awareness of their brand through providing value added content to new bike sharers. They want to do this by providing an application with real utility for this market. Divvy wants to create a way to raise brand awareness and increase its user base.
Problem Statement: Through our research and observations, we realized that the company’s brand awareness was not the issue for converting users. We found that Divvy is not connecting itself to the user throughout the journey. Divvy does not feel accessible to its customers before, during, and after use.
Design Directions: By centralizing and connecting information and opportunities to the user, Divvy will establish a more positive relationship and solidify its value.
Discovery & Research :
Competitive analysis + User research +Contextual Analysis +Survey/Interviews + User Personas +User Journeys/Flows
We first began our research by navigating the website and exploring the overwhelming amount of “divvy related apps.” The “app” tab was located in the far right corner of the navigation bar, which is not advantageous to get people to use whatever sort of app they want/need. That page led us to see that, currently, divvy does not have their own app. Below are some frames of the current apps divvy points to:
Let’s now move to the way customers pay for the service. Members can sign up online and pay $75 for a years worth of rides. Non members must walk to the station’s kiosk and go through this process:
In addition to observing the divvy stations and their website, our group created and sent out a survey to test the market. Our data showed us that of the 60 or so respondents, half of them have used divvy and thought it was very cheap and convenient, while the other half had not used divvy and thought the exact opposite; divvy was not convenient and expensive. All of the respondents had heard of divvy mainly by seeing the bikes or hearing about it from friends. A majority of respondents and almost all of our interviewees had similar pain points with the current analog mode of using divvy: The kiosk is a timely and unappealing process, and the 30 minute ride time constraint was frustrating (see time constraint guidelines below).
0–30 minutes of each trip INCLUDED
30–60 minutes $2.00
60–90 minutes $6.00
Each additional 30 minutes $8.00
Insights:
1. members find divvy convenient and affordable.
2. getting a divvy if you aren’t a member is a lengthy, costly, and unappealing process.
3. members want a consistent, trustworthy experience.
My group generated three main user personas from the information we gathered.
- The member, first time user, and tourist.
Plan/Ideate:
Develop design hypothesis + Identify high user journeys +Identify user goals + Ideate session +Develop 1–2 prototypes + User Testing + Revised task flows
Throughout the design process, we always referred to our user personas as well as their user journeys (shown below). Their behavioral trends are such that there are members who have a key fab mailed to them to expedite the process that non members have to go though at the kiosk. Customers who are not members have to purchase the $9.95 24-hour passes. All customers face the difficulty of finding a dock and going through the whole process again once their 30 minute time frame is up.
From the existing user flows and journeys, we had an ideation session with a few classmates and my group. We presented the personas and their pain points and needs and then wrote down as many ideas, feasible or not, to generate an idea of what can and could be done to help Divvy convert more customers. Our goal was to generate as many ideas as possible and reference them to our user goals and information gathered to then sketch and prototype into a design.
Prototype:
Below are some gif’s we generated of our ideas and concepts sketched and wire-framed.
Within our scope and without disrupting or challenging the business model, we focused on connecting the users to a centered app where they can access a divvy station map to generate routes. We also added a timer feature that sends notifications when you are running low on time or if the station you are riding to is full (all 15 bikes are stationed and there is no more room for you to dock). We also input a feature called “nearby attractions,” that the user can navigate to find activities within their 30 minute time frame. A smaller feature was added more specifically for our member personas. These persons, we found in our data, have routines that they use divvy for and are accustomed to using day in and day out. The app will either let the user input their schedules and routine stations they frequent to receive updates on the availability of bikes and docks.
We tested these designs and prototypes and got some feedback that validated our concepts, but suggested that our app needed more structure. From there, we iterated on the bottom navigation to consolidate and erect a sustainable and user friendly app.
Final Deliverable:
A high-fidelity prototype that highlights the features derived from our research. Our GPS feature will help the user be proactive and find available bikes as well as keep them on the app if they need directions to where they are going. Letting the user do what they have to do at the kiosk on the app will get rid of the chaos they face when purchasing a 24-hour pass. The “nearby attractions” will appeal to Divvy’s customer base that likes to use their option as a leisurely activity. Lastly, the app that caters to the routine user will help establish a relationship the user can rely on to enhance their current experience with using Divvy as an alternative to other commuting ventures.
Conclusion:
With more time, I would like to test this app with Divvy riders in real time to observe their interaction with the app while using the bikes.
