Case Study: An Automotive Maintenance App
The Local Business Competition
We won the audience choice award at the Rexburg Big Idea Competition
This was an idea that a friend and I developed for a business competition hosted by the city of Rexburg, ID. We pitched the idea as a white label app that large auto maintenance chains would purchase a subscription to. We learned a lot about laying the groundwork of a startup and got some great advice from industry professionals.
Here are a few things I learned from this experience:
- Know your competition super well
- Understand the viability of your product/idea
- Practice, practice, practice the presentation pitch
My role: UX Researcher and Designer
The Problem
Understanding the problem, or “jobs to be done”, is critical with UX research
Busy car owners forget car maintenance which decreases the value and safety of their car
The Needs
Auto Maintenance Chains
- Customer Retention
- Market Differentiation
- Brand Trust/Loyalty
Automotive maintenance chains know that people are using apps. They have tried to integrate themselves into the technological world by making their own apps. You can see from the ratings, however, that consumers do not like the majority of the apps provided, and therefore do not use them.
The Consumer
- Hassle Free Scheduling
- Automated Maintenance Reminders
- Maintain Auto Investment
Our Research Process and Findings
We chose to conduct in-depth surveys to collect qualitative data
The goal was simple: validate if this problem was worth solving. So, we conducted interviews with 15 participants, some were auto experts, and others were car owners. Below are the key insights:
- Hassle-Free and Quick Scheduling — Aka “Get it done quick.”
Users don’t like to call around to schedule auto maintenance, they desire to have a hassle-free intuitive way to schedule maintenance. - Forgetful Car Owners — Aka “When did I get my last oil change?”
Users find it hard to remember when the last time they had specific maintenance done on their vehicle. - Current solutions aren’t working — Aka “The competition sucks.”
The two main solutions are window stickers and emails. Some people don’t like stickers on their windshield and others don’t look at their email enough, or don’t like receiving emails from companies. - Taking care of investments — Aka “I want my car to last for a long time.”
The frugal group of users wants to make sure that their long-term auto investment will last as long as possible.
Target Audience
Our assumed target market
- The frugal-conscious — are always aware of coupons and deals that allow them to save money. They also value and take care of their investments such as their vehicles.
- Millennials — are less conscious of car maintenance knowledge than earlier generations and they’re also comfortable with using smartphones.
- Busy commuters — are constantly adding miles to their vehicle every day with little to no time for scheduling car maintenance.
Measuring Success
What would success look like for us?
- Increased customer retention
- Increased vehicle life for the consumer
- Consumers respond to push notifications
The Competitors
Our three biggest competitors would be Carista, Torque Pro, and Car Doctor
The Underlying Issues Behind the Competitors:
- Geared toward auto experts/professionals
- Not digestible to the average car owner
- Does not allow for reminders when maintenance is needed
- Does not connect consumer needs to the business
Defining our Solution
Our “how might we” question
We wrote out all of our ideas and possible solutions before sketching anything. Our goal was to outline what our idea would need to be able to solve the problem at hand.
Our Solution
A user-friendly mobile app combined with our OBD2 scan tool
Our solution consisted of a mobile app that connects to an ODB2 scanner which retrieves data from the consumer’s car. This data is translated into reminders and alerts for maintenance through push notifications. The application connects consumers needs to auto maintenance businesses by offering rewards for prompt scheduling and completion of maintenance.
Lo-Fi Sketches
Never just “design something”. Always sketch out multiple iterations of what you hope to accomplish first.
After determining the “jobs to be done” to our “how might we” question, we began sketching our ideas. There was no such thing as a bad idea. Everything was considered and evaluated to see if improvement on the original idea would help.
Creation of Hi-Fi Mockups
After testing our sketches on several people, we created a set of hi-fi mockups for further testing
Further Iterations & Testing
Always be testing! Never be afraid to ask your target audience to test your designs.
After we presented our design, I decided to do additional user research and make some additional changes to improve the design of the app. I conducted 10 additional user tests with target users. Here are the key insights.
- Specific & Usable Data — aka “what is this app actually telling me about my car”
Users want to know what is currently going on with their car and to be able to do that, they need data to be easily understandable and put into simple terms.
- Make It Easy To Schedule An Appointment— aka “just tap and drag”
When scheduling appointments, users wanted to be able to easily schedule their appointments. They didn’t want to talk to anyone on the phone, they wanted to just tap and drag to the time slot they wanted.
- Keep the design simple — aka “I want to understand what I’m seeing.”
The app is designed to make maintaining an automotive investment simple and effective for the average person. Most people don’t have an understanding of technical automotive terms. Users want the terminology to be kept as simple as possible.
Finalizing the design
After several additional rounds of user testing and adjusting my designs based on feedback from the user tests, I finalized my designs and prototype.
Conclusion
There is always a lesson to be learned
Feedback is critical to UX designer. Being able to take and apply constructive criticism was my biggest takeaway with the “Push” Automotive App. I stretched myself with my user testing. I conducted user tests via video chat (Zoom) for the first time. It allowed me to ensure that I was reaching my target audience and getting the best feedback possible. All in all, the “Push” automotive app was a fantastic experience.
