ACERTUS: Personally owned vehicles
User Researcher | Interaction Designer | UX/UI Designer | User testing
#responsive-web #mobile-first-design #B2C
Background: ACERTUS is a vehicle logistics company, moving cars and more across all 50 states, mostly in a B2B capacity. Our board of directors realized the untapped market potential of personally owned vehicle (POV) shipments had a very large TAM and we already had the infrastructure to tap into it. They asked us to quickly stand up a proof-of-concept for a new web-based application for consumers.
Challenge: How do we redefine a portion of our business from B2B to B2C and launch a new product in a new market where we have little data?
Outcome: New product launch and market insights.
Process
Research & Discovery: Conducted competitive analysis to learn how other companies are solving this problem.
Define, Ideate & Strategize: Identifying our scope and constraints.
Interaction Design: Created user flow to optimize the process.
UI Design: Leveraged existing Design System that I created for ACERTUS.
Research & Discovery
To begin to develop the web application, we needed to understand more how other companies were solving for this problem. Our focus here was on key user needs and familiar design patterns to develop user trust.
Methodologies
Generative Research:
Competitive analysis - To determine how this problem is being solved by other organizations.
competitive analysis: Montway
Montway was a well-known competitor of ours, providing solutions to both B2B customers as well as B2C. We analyzed their user flow and design patterns to gain insight into their approach.
Insights
3 steps for quick-quote, Origin and Destination, Vehicle type, Contact
Clear display of all previously input information
Parsed information into digestible steps with clear breadcrumb trail
Flexibility to add multiple contacts for pickup and delivery
Easy, user-friendly, and approachable
Our takeaways
Breaking down the parts of the process prevents user overwhelm
Clear display of input information builds user trust
Flexible use allows for wider variety of users and use-cases
Competitive analysis: roadrunner
Roadrunner is also a main competitor of ACERTUS, serving both B2B and B2C clients.
Insights
Map visibility it very valuable, but no display of previously-input information
Older style of UI design
Large blocks of inputs can be overwhelming
Our takeaways
Map display builds on user trust and adds clarity
Persona
As there many types of people and reasons to ship a vehicle, creating an inclusive persona is difficult. However, we can still empathize with the user, no matter who they are as individuals. Here’s what we learned about these potential users and what that meant for us and our design approach.
a general understanding of our user
Most likely 25 or above
A vehicle is often someone’s most valuable or second most valuable asset
They may or may not be the actual owner of the vehicle
In most cases, they will likely only need to move a vehicle once in their life; repeat customers are low (exceptions being snow birds, and possibly college moves)
Younger users more likely to use mobile, older users most likely to use desktop
How this guided our approach
Accessibility
Clarity in communication
Trust and credibility are paramount
Flexibility for a variety of users and user needs
We’ve only got once chance to get their experience right the first time.
Responsive design
Define, Ideate & Strategize
Defining the Design Problem
Since this was a request from our Board of Directors, our product team knew we needed to work quickly and focus on creating a Proof-of-Concept/MVP. Our goal was to stand up a new product with a stronger B2C focus as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I had already developed a Design System for our organization that we could use for rapid ideation. We also knew this was a marketing opportunity, so I worked closely with our marketing department for copy, visual design, and sales integrations.
Rapid design for efficient results
How do you create an MVP with only 8 weeks to do it in?
Constraints
Time: Our operations team wants this FAST. We want to launch an MVP and grow from there.
Data: We knew little about B2C users as our business traditionally focused on B2B.
Approach
Leverage our Design System for rapid iteration and development
Focus on best practices for usability and accessibility
Leverage this as an opportunity to gather user data
Interaction Design
Focus
We knew a core aspect of our approach was the creation of a quick-quote tool to generate leads and get customers into the sales pipeline. We also knew trust and credibility were crucial, so we didn’t want to be flashy or overwhelming. We wanted a modern UI approach that was easy to digest and parse into different sections with a simple breadcrumb trail and easy visibility into the information a user has already input. And we leveraged a mobile-first responsive design approach for ease of access on any device.
Hi-fidelity Wireframes
Planning out the design of the new process, I used our existing Design System to quickly design layouts that matched our brand styling. We parsed the user inputs into digestible information, and kept visibility on price, a map, and additional details on a panel on the side. We added in flexibility with additional radio buttons for choosing or adding new contacts.
Personally Owned Vehicle shipping - responsive designs
Project Impact
After launch, we were able to access an entirely new business segment, with a large TAM. This allowed to grow our business and our capabilities in a new direction without adding additional operational expenditures.
What Comes Next for the Personally owned vehicle app?
Gather user data to continue to iterate and improve the POV user flow and experience