context
Our users are mostly American and travel in the U.S., but we do have users who travel through Canada and a small group of Canadian users. Acknowledging the diverse needs and preferences of our users, we recognized the importance of providing the ability to switch between the Metric and Imperial systems. This project answers: how can we design these system settings to best help our RVers who travel internationally?
MY ROLE
Research and final design
Timeline
Summer 2022
OUTCOME
More robust feature set
Better feature discoverability
Increased usage, especially among Canadians
The set up
RESEARCH
1
Understand how users would expect these settings to be organized: broken out, grouped together, or maybe a mysterious third option
2
Understand where users would expect to find these settings
RESEARCH
User Interviews
I wanted to understand how users navigated between the systems while traveling and how they thought about them in a general sense.
I asked them questions about their needs, their previous experiences with conversions, and whether they had ever utilized both systems simultaneously.
A/B Testing
My teammates had developed design concepts when they were first working on this project, and I chose to use these as visual references to address my first goal. I thought that these visuals would help users in conceptualize the functionality and facilitate the discussion.
Below are the two versions: one is within the RV Settings and the other within Profile Settings.
A Lesson: One user wasn't able to load the Maze test on his iPad due to the large file size and unreliable Wi-Fi at the campground he was staying in. We talked through the designs and concepts so all was not lost, but in the future I will have a backup plan for this scenario. For example, I could have sent him the Figma prototype or show him the designs side by side on my screen.
RESEARCH
Our user base skews 60+, are mostly retired and drive big rigs (think Walter White’s RV, plus some). I wanted to reach this demographic, as well as people who crossed the border at least once a year.
A Lesson: During my interviews, I was surprised to learn that 2 users had not yet crossed the border in their RV. I had included the parameters in my email communications, but it would have been best to send out a screening survey to double confirm.
These users had experience with crossing the border in their cars so we spoke about that and not all was lost, but it would had been better if they had experience with their RV’s.
Analysis
With prior research projects, I had written what I thought were fascinating Research Debriefs, but I was told it was too much text. The big question I had now was:
I decided to create a FigJam, a sort of 'museum of findings,' so my colleagues could explore at their own pace. I also included recordings from the interviews and images to help build empathy for our users. This worked well, stakeholders were very engaged!
Bonus Deliverable: We have a very passionate team and it’s important for others at the company to understand why certain product decisions were made. At the end of this project, I created a condensed slide deck with a detailed overview of the new designs and accompanying support from the research. This helped others in the company understand our design process, and importantly, to feel involved.
Analysis
I learned that flexibility between the two systems is important to users.
The systems changed in Canada in 1970 and many of our users were raised with the Imperial system and still prefer it in certain cases.
I uncovered other nuances like the fact that Canadians will measure lengths in feet, but heights in meters. This blew my little mind.
“I grew up using miles and it wasn't until high school that they decided to switch to Metric...It's still easier for me to calculate in my head: okay, 50 miles is an hour."
-Joe
“That's where it's a little confusing. Up here in Canada, our bridges are all shown in metric, but when we book a ferry, that is in feet.”
-Rick
One user mentioned the need to adjust weather settings, which we hadn't considered. I added this topic to the Research Plan and others also showed interest in modifying this setting. This revealed that users wanted the ability to adjust settings throughout the app, not just those related to their RV. Based on this insight, we decided to store these settings at the Profile level.
Designing
Looking Ahead
Some users expressed interest in automatic changes to the systems as they cross the border, as is common with new cars and some navigation apps.
Our developers didn't have the capacity at the time to implement this, but we created a design for this functionality for the Distance and Speed measurements which we felt were the most relevant based on our learnings. Here is that design:
Wrap Up
Importance of Socializing Research Results in a way that resonates and makes people feel informed. It’s a good opportunity to make the design thinking process visible and to build support for research.
Being flexible during research. A lot of what users said surprised me, and my Research Plan evolved as the project went on. I learned to treat it as a living document.
Looking ahead while acknowledging current limitations is important. We shared ideas with our developers while designing and this made sure that our Phase I was doable.
The Metric and Imperial Systems are a mess. We should all be using the Metric System, there I said it.