ACADEMIC CASE STUDY - UXDI
From frustrating to smooth.
I was tasked to improve the rental car booking process and initially I anticipated some significant challenges. Surely, the top companies in the sector must have the resources to develop an organically superior user experience, right? Surprisingly, it appears that the car rental industry is one that can substantially profit from the user experience design process.
My task: Use great design as a source of competitive advantage. Focus specifically on the booking process. The end part of the assignment required to have design and built a prototype and to provide detailed notes for development.
It appears that the car rental industry is one that can substantially profit from the user experience design process.
Considering the nature of the product, developed from scratch and not building on an existing product, my initial approach was to gain an understanding of equivalent digital products and, first and foremost, to observe how users interact with them.
An overview of the steps taken to solve the problem
How does other car rental websites solve the same problem?
In order to identify conventions, strengths to emulate and weaknesses to avoid, I examined and benchmarked four other popular websites.
Home Pages - Hertz
Top page navigation
Good selection of shortcuts to most important website functions. One drop down menu below “booking”. However, the multitude of options may provide a cluttered impression.
Additional top menu and language selection
Simple and well-positioned, this menu offers user account options and country/language selection.
Car search menu
Clear and restrained design that guides the user effortlessly to the next step. When choosing the location for pick up, the user is shown a clear dropdown menu of places categorized by airports, rail, and city. Minimalistic module design feels congruent to the overall feel of the site. Location and date range selections are snappy and clear.
Navbar on scroll.
- Offers & FAQs
Again, the simplicity of these options makes it easy to absorb the information and find the answers one is looking for.
I realized that the car booking process varies a lot across platforms.
This made it both challenging in the identification of a good booking process but nevertheless resulted in valuable findings.
In order to identify conventions, strengths to emulate and weaknesses to avoid, I examined and benchmarked four other popular websites.
Reviewing similar digital products allowed for identification of what is standard and familiar, as well as what others are doing that are working and what is not.
I captured each of the steps of the car booking process on all 4 websites.
survey
Learn more about the goals of potential users.
How did you find each step of the process?
To learn more about the goals of people who use car rental websites, what they’re trying to do and whether anything is preventing them from doing it and what other features they like to see, I conducted an online survey.
The survey consisted of a healthy mix between structured and unstructured questions resulting in quantitative as well as qualitative data.
- The rental car booking process and experience can be improved.
- There is a user request for an easier to use, more straightforward process as well as increased transparency.
- There is a prevalence of low-quality information i.e. an overload of seemingly unnecessary info, however still not clear enough.
understanding the user perspective
interview
Good software should consider the problem in its entirety not just the narrow point of which the users are interacting with the computer. It means that we need to consider the real-world environment in which people are using our software.
In order to gain a richer understanding of the user goals and the context of use, I conducted an in-depth interview.
In order to gain a richer understanding of the user goals and the context of use, I conducted an in-depth interview.
For this academic case, it was sufficient with only one participant. However, when conducting qualitative research such as in-depth interviews, a larger sample size is to be preffered in to draw conclusions of the findings.
obeserving
the user
in action
I conducted usability testing with two similar product, hence, I could compare the user interaction and collect a variety of data such as:
What users are trying to do, what users do, how each product facilitates common behaviours and what pain points and roadblocks could be removed.
What becomes so very obvious yet serves as a good reminder when conducting user research, is that when travelling, the car is just a means to an end. Users may be tired from travelling or stressed to get to the airport in time, thus, the process of booking, collecting and dropping off has to run smoothly and frictionless.
filtering and organizing unstructured data.
filtering and organizing unstructured data.
Time to make sense of all that unstructured data gathered from different soures - i.e., the competitive benchmarking, survey responses, the in-depth interview, as well as the usability testing. To aid in this, I conducted a affinity diagram session with 3 participants. This allowed for thematical analysis and natural grouping of seemingly unstructured data and due to it’s collaborative nature, it offered fast analysis and high-quality output.
3 partcipants and 3 hours of work resulted in identifying 8 main themes and 9 sub themes:
dissecting the user journey
ALLOCATING RESEARCH
FINDINGS TO EACH STEP
map
To add even more stucture to the research data, and to be able to visualise what the user experience is as they interact with the software, I created a customer journey map. In this way it was possible to highlight aspects of the user journey that could be approved upon.
The more we understand about the wider context, the better we can design software that fit in to that context.
To add even more stucture to the research data, and to be able to visualise what the user experience is as they interact with the software, I created a customer journey map. In this way it was possible to highlight aspects of the user journey that could be approved upon.
The more we understand about the wider context, the better we can design software that fit in to that context.
Goals, behaviours, mental models, thought processes, pain points, positives, opportunites of each of the steps in the booking process were mapped out.
The map in this case does not represent one single use case, rather, it is based on patterns revealed when analysing all the research data.
The journey map will be useful in the design phase, when we address the critical areas, emulate the positives and explore the opportunities.
creating a smooth journey
Getting into design mode now and beginning to work on solving the problems for the users. When designing this high-level flow for the website, the overall objective was to fix all the issues that I uncovered during my research, highlighted in the affinity diagram and the customer journey map.
The new high-level booking flow went from the homepage to booking confirmation screen and laid the groundwork on which I would build the design.
This flow diagram focuses on a primary use case. In reality you might neeed to design multiple flows to make sure you’ve covered all the major use cases.
generate ideas quickly
With low-fidelity sketches
Considering all the interactive elements and addressing all the issues and user goals identified in the research and analysis, sketching acts as a problem-solving tool - a vital tool before commiting ideas to protoyping and digital wireframing.
testing and validating the solution
Translating my initial design sketches to actual clickable prototype allowed me to validate the solution with 03 participants, and improve the initial design.
handover - communicating the solution
As part of the transition from design to build, we need to communicate clearly to our developers what exactly they need to build.
The annotated wireferames included the hierarchy and structure for the system.
Rules are also included in the document. These are the notes that detail the functionality and behaviour of how the product should work, define how the system behaves, how it responds to actions as well as how it communicates results and how it helps fulfil intentions.
As part of the transition from design to build, we need to communicate clearly to our developers what exactly they need to build.
The annotated wire frames included the hierarchy and structure for the system. Hierarchy is represented by the organisation of the information architecture, while structure is covered by well documented user flows. User flows should help developers understand where the screen sits within a given structure, understand it’s sequence in the main flows, and be conscious of different or changing screen states. Rules are also included in the document. These are the notes that detail the functionality and behaviour of how the product should work, define how the system behaves, how it responds to actions as well as how it communicates results and how it helps fulfill intentions.
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SEARCH LOCATION INPUT FIELD
Make magifying glass icon, “pick-up and return”-text, “City, airport, Address”-text and line one clickable item. When hovered, field clears and slightly changes color. On selection, pre-written text disappears to indicate Upon typing the first three letters of a city airport or address, or abbreviations, in native language or English, system unrolls a drop-down menu with options. -
PICK-UP DATE FIELD
Make “pick-up date”-text, pre-written date and time example as well as line one clickable item. When hovered, field clears and slightly changes color. On selection field is cleared and drop-down date picker appears. -
RETURN DATE FIELD
Make “Return date”-text, pre-written date and time example as well as line one clickable item. When hovered, field clears and slightly changes color. On selection field is cleared and dropdown date picker appears. -
RETURN SAME LOCATION TEXT
Return at same location is the default state. Make text as well as chevron one clickable item. Upon hovered, shade changes slightly. Upon selected opens up the option of return at different location appears. -
SHOW MY RIDE BUTTON
Upon hovered, shade changes. When clicked takes the user to the Search Result page, screen 02.01.
Final note
As I reflect on the journey of improving the rental car booking process through UX design, this project has been a rich source of invaluable lessons that have not only shaped the outcome but have also significantly contributed to my growth as a UX designer. This case study encapsulates the key takeaways that have defined my approach and mindset throughout this process.
This project reinforced the idea that design is not just about aesthetics; it’s about crafting experiences that resonate with the end-users. The user testing sessions and continuous feedback loops were not just checkpoints but opportunities to truly connect with the users, understand their needs, and address their pain points. Data-driven decision-making became a guiding principle, underscoring the importance of grounding design choices in tangible insights.
Lastly, this project instilled in me the notion that a UX design process is a commitment to continuous improvement. As I navigated through emerging technologies and user trends, it became evident that staying relevant and competitive requires an unwavering dedication to growth and adaptability.
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