GoTime Alarm
An unsolicited design integration/modification of Apple's alarm and maps apps to make on-time travel a breeze. Whether it be a daily commute, a long-awaited meetup, or a special event, GoTime will get everyone there on time.
*since designing this project, updates to the Waze app have overlapped with GoTime functions, however, persisting disparities are highlighted under
Project Overview
Role
UX Designer for the GoTime Alarm integrated, responsive features and functionality
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, iterating on designs, determining information architecture, and responsive design
Client
Google x Coursera
Duration
8 weeks
Problem
For timely travel, smartphone users typically map their route ahead of time and set an alarm for themselves based on this estimated timing. While generally functional, I saw the potential to streamline the existing process while improving arrival time accuracy.
Goal
Design a bridge between the existing smartphone map and alarm app functions to provide travel-savvy alerts
Product
The integration/revamp of existing map and alarm apps serves as a product to better serve iOS users in their travels near or far.
Understanding the User
User Pain Points
Stress / Anxiety
Travel to meet with anyone from close friends to superiors often involves additional stress from logistically timing the arrival, users noted anxiety about making plans prior to the event in fear of affecting their timeliness
Timing Meetups
Whether from poor planning, forgetfulness, or unexpected traffic, meetups can be frustrating when one party is forced to wait for the other
App Disconnect
Maps are helpful to get travel timing estimates and alarms can be set for reminders but there aren’t alarms designed to be responsive to changing traffic, thus users use two apps just to get a somewhat accurate alarm
Current options
include setting an alarm based on the estimated travel time when you first check routes, setting an alarm with lots of time to spare to check how traffic looks closer to your estimated departure time, or relying on the predictive timing based on day of the week & time of day.
Personas & Problem Statements
Kavi is a busy chemistry student who needs a traffic-aware, collaborative alarm for travel because having to keep tabs on traffic and depend on friends' timing for meetups can be frustrating.
Annika is a working professional who needs a traffic-aware alarm (not just notification) for travel because having to keep tabs on traffic for her morning commute means less sleep and more anxiety about timeliness.
User Journey Map
[based on initial user interviews to help empathize with users in the current use of alarms for travel]
Summary
I used a combination of past conversations and experience to develop interview questions which were then used to conduct user interviews. Of a group of 6 interviewees, all reported past experiences of annoyance at location meetups based on timing issues. This was reported to result from forgetfulness or poor planning on the part of the late party. Most interviewees reported a noticeable disconnect in the process of setting an alarm for travel after searching the location in their maps app. The feedback made It clear that users were frustrated with problems resulting from the current process of setting alarms for travel.
Starting the Design
Addressing User Pain Points
Stress / Anxiety
Travel to meet with anyone from close friends to superiors often involves additional stress from logistically timing the arrival, users noted anxiety about making plans prior to the event in fear of affecting their timeliness
Mistimed Meetups
Whether from poor planning, forgetfulness, or unexpected traffic, meetups can be frustrating when one party is forced to wait for the other
App Disconnect
Maps are helpful to get travel timing estimates and alarms can be set for reminders but there aren’t alarms designed to be responsive to changing traffic, thus users use two apps just to get a somewhat accurate alarm
Peace of Mind
Alarms are default set to your live location so there's no need to wait around until your event--you'll be notified when it's "go time" to arrive on time from wherever you are based off real-time traffic data
Shareable Alarm
Efficiently and politely push all parties to an on-time meetup via shareable alarms that will notify of GoTime based on individual locations
Seamless Integration
Create GoTime travel alarms with fewer steps starting from either your alarm or maps app and let the behind the scenes connections give you the most helpful data from both apps
Sitemap
Paper Wireframes
Digital Wireframes
[click images to enlarge]
Mobile
Tablet
Usability Study Findings
A short, moderated usability study of 5 participants for the GoTime Alarm prototype revealed:
Oversimplified
One user test in I realized I oversimplified my wireframes based on an assumed familiarity with iOS which led to a confusing start and some minor text add-ins
Iconography
The existing ellipses button for additional actions was not immediately recognized as host to the GoTime alarm, including alarm icon with ellipses may improve this connection
Alarm-Share
Share button was included to show intentions for share ability even though the study was testing the general alarm setup, multiple users tried to use the share button before saving showing positive interest
Refining
Before Usability Study
After Study
To draw attention to the new travel alarm feature within the ellipses pop-up menu and improve user association to the function, the alarm clock icon was added as part of the additional menu button
Before Usability Study
After Study
The low fidelity prototype tested for intuitive processes within the most basic setting of a GoTime travel alarm, a share button was included to indicate share-ability in later iterations and multiple attempts to use the sharing function in the initial study showed a definite interest in the function's potential, one user notably commented "oh wait you can share it?" in an excited tone before an attempt to click share
After a brief post-usability study competitive analysis
Based on a brief competitive analysis of maps apps on the market, an expansion on Waze's option to set your work location was created to allow users to set a recurring alarm (easily editable for jobs with varying locations) and select their preferred get ready or 'heads up' time allowance so GoTime will wake them up with exactly the time they need to get ready and leave to arrive on time based on live routes and traffic
Accessibility Considerations
Platform Consistency
Colors were selected to match iOS themes and checked to pass WCAG contrast standards.
Headings
Following iOS typeface, font, and size create an organizational hierarchy intended for screen reader legibility
Hierarchy
Layouts and styles were designed to match those of iOS, they are designed with a clear hierarchy beneficial to screen reader legibility
High-Fidelity Prototypes
Mobile [click image to use prototype]
Tablet [click image to use prototype]
Going Forward
Takeaways
Impact
It makes me happy to see overlapping concepts make it onto existing maps apps because the idea feels validated and this way I can start to use some of the functions I was designing without needing to hire my own coders and create a whole new app. I do believe that Apple maps, as the default on the iPhone, would benefit from GoTime features and better serve users. Many users have gone through the trouble of downloading separate maps apps because Apple's functions already lack in some manner.
What I Learned
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Something I didn't realize until after this project was my tendency to ignore positives from usability studies when affinity diagramming, it's easy to focus on what users struggle with and not fully expand on what they are finding the most success in
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The moderated usability study was more intimidating at first, but after building rapport I felt I could get deeper feedback immediately following their use of the design
Next Steps
Feedback
A secondary usability study would help the design team identify any additional necessary changes
iOS Implementation
The animations of the design could be adapted to iOS standards to fit seamlessly with their existing apps
Accessibility
Adaptations of GoTime for additional operating systems would allow the function to assist a larger user pool
Developments in Waze
Crossovers with GoTime
Plan a Drive / Go Later function allows notifications for travel to a chosen location very similarly to GoTime
Remaining Disparities
While Waze is arguably one of the leading maps apps in terms of UX, their plan a drive function oddly only allows users to select a day of the week for their travel (i.e. you can only plan a drive up to a week in advance on their app) or requires them to connect their entire calendar worth of information to the app (users may not want to share that data). Additionally, GoTime's work setting allows users to input a work address - which can be changed day-to-day for contractors or others with varying job sites - and based on their selected 'get-ready' time allowance, will notify them of GoTime to arrive on time. The work feature on Waze allows you to input a single address to click once in the app, but does not provide an alarm for timely work arrival.
there is only an option to select day of the week, not a date
otherwise the user would have to allow the app to connect to their personal calendar