Scout for Cars delivered an exceptional travel experience by keeping navigation data up to date and allowing seamless transfer of routing and other information between the embedded navigation system and the mobile companion app.
UX strategy, UI design, Interaction design
2012 – 2013
Scout for Cars serves as a companion for users both inside and outside their vehicles. By transferring navigation information between the head unit and the mobile companion app, it addresses various user needs during a trip. Through user research, we gathered numerous potential use cases that may arise during travel. I then mapped out the user journeys to identify the stages of the trip along with the corresponding data flows for each scenario.
Before getting into the car, the user can search for locations and find driving directions using the mobile app. Once inside the car, the user can transfer the navigation information to the car's head unit and utilize it during the drive.
As the user approaches their destination, navigation information from the head unit can be sent to the mobile companion app to offer last-mile guidance or walking directions. Additionally, the saved parking location helps users easily find their way back to their vehicles.
Problems: Safety is the most crucial factor in driving. However, due to hardware limitations, designing the user interface for the head unit screen presents a challenge. It is essential to prioritize how information is displayed on the screen. Additionally, we need to consider how users can access information and perform navigation tasks while driving. The design solutions must address users' needs while ensuring their driving safety.
Solutions: I collaborated with a Visual Designer to establish design guidelines that address the issues between interaction design and visual design:
We developed a prototype based on the designs and collaborated with researchers to conduct usability tests in various cities across the United States and China. The research objectives were focused on evaluating the application's performance, observing drivers in real-world driving scenarios, and identifying any errors, frustrations, confusions, and pain points that drivers experienced.
Findings: Stopping at a location while driving to a destination is a common scenario. To accommodate this need, a navigation system must perform a location search function along the current route. Once the new location is added as a waypoint, the navigation system will adjust the driving directions to guide the driver from their current location to the waypoint and then from the waypoint to the final destination.
The usability testing results and user feedback indicated that users in China favored the "Search Nearby Destination" function over "Search Waypoint on Route." Typically, users first look for their final destination and then search for a nearby location once they have identified that destination. This behavior often occurs at the beginning of their trip.
Learnings: One possible explanation for this behavior is the difficulty of finding parking. In large cities in China, traffic is generally heavy, making it inconvenient to locate parking near a destination. As a result, stopping at a waypoint could significantly delay arrival at the final destination. To avoid the risk of being late, users prefer to reach their primary destination, park their car safely, and then proceed to the nearby location for their secondary task.