UX Designer & Researcher
Transportation
Figma, Figjam
2 Weeks
Overview
At the Accenture Interactive Academy, I embarked on a mission to transform Google Maps' reminders feature. The goal was to make it more user-friendly, personalized, and valuable. This redesign focused on enhancing the explore page and expanding the trip reminders feature to create a seamless, engaging experience.
Research and Iteration
Setting reminders:
I began my research by examining the current flow for setting a reminder to leave and observing my behavior and frustrations while using this feature. Right now, users have to search for a destination, view the directions, then click the meatball icon on the top right corner which pulls up a menu where they can find additional actions including the option to set a reminder to leave. By clicking that option, users can then choose if they want to be sent reminders based on their departure time or arrival time. I also looked at the user flow for the web app to find any similarities. To turn off the reminder, users will have to scroll to the very bottom of the directions page, past all the steps to get to their destination to find the on and off toggle.
The Explore Page:
I also analyzed the Explore page to see how it was connected with other features. Google recently made an update to the app where they move ”for you” recommendations to the explore page and we can see how that information is represented through the carousel.
DISCOVERY
The research methodologies for this project were a Competitive Analysis, User Interviews, and an Unmoderated Think Aloud Protocol.
I began by analyzing the current flow for setting a reminder, examining the explore page, exploring competitors such as Uber, Waze, Apple Maps, and Roadtrippers, and gathering unbiased opinions from individuals who use Google Maps and some who don't. I also conducted a quick unmoderated think-aloud protocol with one task to “set a reminder to leave for a trip” to observe users' behaviors while using this feature.
Based on my research and analysis, I was able to create a persona of a typical user of google maps. Sharon just moved to a new city for work. she is is a frequent user of google maps.
After my research and analysis, I established these three pain points for the “set reminders to leave” page. Overall, it is not very intuitive. It is hard to find, you can't edit reminders apart from just turning it off. It is frustrating to use. As mentioned earlier, Google moved its “for you” section to the Explore page but the way information on the Explore page is laid out doesn’t really cater to the idea of a “For you” page or a personal feed. All Google has provided is a carousel titled, “Latest in the area” and the rest is a community feed that is populated with posts from people and businesses around you based on your location so it feels very promotional.
With information from my research, I went on to define some improvement strategies. I iterated on this phase of the project a lot and you will see why later. To Optimize this feature I will be solving its current issue of discoverability and helping users manage their reminders. I’ll be expanding this feature by giving users a way to plan group trips, integrate other Google experiences, and connect them to the explore page.
Bringing Ideas to Life
I got some feedback from my design managers before finalizing my sketches. This helped me to think through my designs, brainstorm more ideas, and discover ways to add value through my redesign.
First Iteration Feedback:
Only one page has been designed.
A few buttons have just been added.
Second Iteration Feedback:
Still just adding buttons and reusing components.
What happens when trips disappear?
Can this be integrated with other google apps?
Third and Fourth iteration Feedback:
The third iteration was where it started to click. Instead of just bringing out the reminder feature from where it was hidden, I asked myself, is there a way to make it more than just setting reminders? This is where I began to really understand what I could do to make it better.
The fourth iteration is when I did my final sketches. I did more research and worked on updating my improvement strategy. After a lot of brainstorming on how I could connect other parts of google maps, I found out about the update to the explore page and decided to redesign it, while connecting this feature to the new trip scheduling feature.
As you can see I had a lot of iterations on sketches. At this point, I literally had one day left to complete my project. Since Google has an existing design system it was easy to build off of so I moved on to the final screens.
Set Reminders
Starting off with setting reminders. Just like you have the option to view directions, start, save, etc, users will have a new option called "schedule". Clicking that "schedule" option will bring users to this page.
As you can see from the comparison of the before and after screens, I have made the experience more comprehensive and transformed it into a trip-scheduling tool. Users can now add trip descriptions, and manage the frequency of a trip, e.g get reminders for when to leave to arrive at work early daily. You can add additional reminders, invite people for a trip and even add a trip to your Google calendar. Now assuming a user just scheduled a girl’s trip to Houston, Let us see how that information will be displayed.
View Trip Details
Tapping the “view details” button on the previous page brings us to this page where we can view and edit all the details of a trip. Starting from the top of the page, users can see the name of their trip. They have the option to edit the information they entered at the time they scheduled the trip. Essentially, tapping on the edit icon will pull up the “set trip details” page where you can manage the reminders, alerts, invitee list, etc.
Your users can add more to their trip by creating an itinerary and adding notes and this is where the social component flourishes. Users are able to connect through photos. Lastly, I added a way to tie in the explore page by including recommendations for users based on their destination Let's see what happens if a user views this recommendation on the explore page.
View Scheduled Trips
Next, we have the scheduled trips page. This solves the problem of not being able to find reminders that users set for trips. For context, this page will be found under the “go” tab. Here users can View all upcoming and past trips, see notifications for trips they have been invited to, see a summary of each trip at a glance, and manage them right there. Looks like we have found the Girl’s trip to Houston that we scheduled, now let us view more details about this trip.
“For You” Recommendations
Now, users have a more personalized experience on the Explore page. Recommendations for you are separate from posts from locals and businesses. Users can filter through and choose if they'd like to view recommendations on restaurants, attractions, etc. This page now has a lot more potential.
What I've Learned
I thoroughly enjoyed taking full ownership of the different roles involved in designing a product from end to end, including user researcher, UX designer, and UI designer. Through this project, I gained a lot of insight into thinking innovatively and crafting a strong value proposition. I also learned that even small changes in design can have a significant impact on the overall user experience.
During the iterative design process, I realized that there is no such thing as too many iterations, as each one brings us closer to the best solution.
I am curious about the potential impact of a redesign like this on the company. Would deeper engagement with the app on the user side align with company goals? Could it be turned into a revenue stream? On the development side, what technical constraints should be considered?
Overall, I found this project to be a rewarding experience, and welcome any feedback.