1. Overview1.1. IntroductionUXD AWARD is the first user experience design competition held in China by the organization DDF·UPA CHINA. It began from 2009 and every year thousands of university students who are interested in UXD take part in it.

In 2011, my friend and I enrolled in the Third User Experience Design Award as a team called Runners. We worked out an app named StreetPilot and this mobile application which runs on Android offers help for the people who are living in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen with taxiing trouble.

1.2. TeamXi Ding, team leaderXi Ding has a strong background in interaction design and he is good at prototyping. In the competition, he controlled the schedule of whole project.

Tianjie Li, user experience design leadTianjie Li has a strong backgroud in HCI & design. She is skilled at user research and usability study. She loves contacting with the different kind of users. She conducted the framework building and the usability testing.

Ruotian Wang, interaction design leadRuotian Wang is almost an expert in interaction design and she enjoys studying the interaction between human and computer, providing a better way for the users to deal with problems in life. She was responsible for the interaction design.

Mengdi Wang, interface design leadMengdi Wang is proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. She led our product's interface design together with visual design.

Yunpeng Li, product design lead

Yunpeng Li is experienced in IT product design and he used to be the product designer during his internship. In this competition, he conducted the design process.

1.3. ProblemIn 2011 during my intership in Baidu Inc., I had to work late every night due to the massive tasks. Thus, there was usually no buses or subways that we should take a taxi home. The company lies in Zhongguancun, Beijing which is the Silicon Valley of China, together with many IT companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Lenovo and so on. Most of the staff had the same situation with me. Therefore, a problem came out although the taxi industry is prosperous here, it was always very difficult to taxi in time as tens of thousands of IT practitioners didn't have an exactily time to finish their work and go home.

1.4. MethodsCompetitive analysis, user interview, focus group, contextual inquiry, field study, questionnaire, information synthesis, brainstorming, sketching, framework building, prototyping, usability study and testing

1.5. ToolsPhotoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, MindManager, Axure, Flash, SPSS

1.6. DeliverablesProject introduction report, MRD (Market Requirements Document), concept design, preliminary design, high-fidelity prototype, demo

1.7. Learn moreView the website of 2011 UXD AWARD>>

View the website of our project, StreetPilot>>

Watch the video of the project process>>

Interact with the demo/prototype of the app StreetPilot>>

2. Research2.1. Demands analysisDemands analysis firsly aimed at reassuring the problems we discovered was indeed existing in daily life but not a pseudo-proposition. Secondly, we wanted to make sure that our target users' demands. Would they be eager for solving this problem? Which solution would they prefer, using a tool, improving the policy or even they would compromise to change their life style? How much propotion in these people would be prone to use an app and would they feel trouble with mobile application?

We designed a questionnaire to investigate their demands, psychology, attitudes and working habits. We interviewed 30 members and investigated 500 people.

2.2. Competitive analysisIn China, there was almost no app for taxiing before 2011. Thus, all the apps we could find are from foreign design. We found 3 apps running on Android or IOS for competitive analysis, Uber, Get Taxi and HAILO. As these apps actually couldn't run well in China, we converted them into prototypes, analyzing them through usability testing and wireframes. At the same time, the differences between countries were crucial in the analysis.

2.3. Contextual inquiryOur team went to the companies such as Baidu and Tencent to observe and interview the practitioners, so that the information we gained were true and effective.

2.4. Information synthesisAfter all the research work mentioned above finished, we synthesized the statistics data, survey information and competitve analysis results together, providing the Market Requirements Document and Users Requirements Analysis.

3. Design3.1. BrainstormingAfter analyzing the information and the investigation data we achieved in the preliminary study of the users, our team member began to brainstorm.

The methods we used during the brainstorm are field study, think aloud and group focus. We recruited 6 participants in Beijing and Shenzhen who had the similar problem in everyday working. We observed their behaviors and reactions without any interference and recorded the details and keypoints in the process. After that, we conducted a focus group.

3.2. SketchingFor the first time design, every member of our team proposed a scenario without any discussion. Then we were devided into 2 groups and the members in each group summarized the problems or discoveries he or she met in the first round design. Next, both of the 2 groups synthesized their work and put forward another 2 solutions. In the end, the team got together to compare the 2 scenatios and revised one of them into a better one.

The methods in this part contained think aloud, contextual design, navigation map, framework building. The deliverables were wireframes and sketches.

3.3. Interaction design

When we worked out with a final scenario, the next step we did was the interaction design, some details in interacting with your mobile phone, such as the icons, layout, page skipping, window pops and so on.

3.4. Visual designThe most essential things we had considered in visual design is color, shape and size. In this part, we use the results from the pre-research and what we had achieved from our previous study in our design courses.

3.5. PrototypingWe use Photoshop for visual design, Axure for prototyping and flash for demo.

3.6. Iteration & usability testingOur team conducted usability testing after every iteration with 10 users and all the users we elected were real target users who working in a big city and having a demand for taxiing. As the using conditions of our mobile app are usually very special, for example, in the office or maybe during a meeting, on the road, in an emergency or any other situation we could not predict, we asked the participants to act in the real environment.

We analyzed the usability problems found in the testing and came up with the final revision after 4 iterations.

4. Solution4.1. Solution summaryWhat can you do with StreetPilot?

First, create your own ID for taxiing and this provides security for your information. Using your ID will record the taxiing history and the credits you have earned by using the app. The accumulated credits will offer you benefits from the companies collaborating with us.

Second, search your route and check the distance with the fee before calling for a taxi. While asking for the taxi, you can cancel or call the driver directly at any time before arriving. Your route will be recorded and you can edit them for convenience. You can also choose to be monitored by our system which will guarantee your safety during the whole journey and the system provides you a way to call the police for emergency with the fastest reaction. This function is conbined with Google Map.

Finally, share your comments for the app or the driver with all the other users and give us or the drivers your feedback to improve your experience.

What are the advantages of StreetPilot?

Security. Not only for your personal information, but also for your whole experience during the taxiing.

Usability. A Walk-up-and-use interaction design is self-explanatory so that first-time users can use it effectively without any prior introduction or even trials. It also meets the every single demand of the users.

Friendly interface. The attractive and well-formed interface fits the psychology of the target users.

Open StreetPilot on Adroid Splash screen Sign in and login First way: fast selection

Add to new choice Taxiing processing (cancel) Emergency call (to driver)Second way: target enter

Check history

Dialing

Taxxing over Feedback Dialing to the taxi center Taxiing infomation Exit StreetPilot

4.2. Main user interface