EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Electric vehicles (EVs) technology has developed rapidly over the past decade, and its adoption has grown dramatically in recent years. Environmental concerns such as air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions are continually worsening across the world because of the rapid and sustained growth of vehicle energy consumption. Electric vehicles are considered to be one of the most efficient alternatives to solve a serious of environmental and energy issues; however, we found out that the majority of today’s online vehicle selling platforms and mobile applications only offer limited opportunities for consumers to access and purchase EVs. Therefore, as a passionate electric vehicle fan, I believe that it is necessary to create a useful and accessible mobile application that helps consumers to access information about EVs and encourages them to purchase EVs.

AIMS

This project aims to help users purchase electric vehicles (EVs) more conveniently by providing reliable EVs buying customer service and practical application that allows consumers to explore more about existing EVs models and brands. The application not only serves as a platform for buying EVs but also an online community where users can access useful EVs information and gain a better understanding of both the technology and innovation of EVs.

SURVEY

For the survey study, we collected thirty responses throughout the survey study session. All of the survey questions were created and published on Qualtrics online surveys platform. Participants in this survey study were recruited online via share link and invitation. The purpose of conducting a survey study is to gain an understanding of people’s opinions toward EVs, their EV purchase intention, and the ways they access EVs information.

Key findings

• 60% of the participants would collect EVs information from social media and online news articles.

• Limited cruising range and EVs buying choices are the two primary factors that prevent participants from buying EVs.

• Better EVs battery, EV cost, and convenience of recharging are the top three factors that motivate participant to purchase EVs.

• 79% of the participants intend to purchase a new EV in the next two years but 33% of them need to have convincing arguments.

METHOD - LEAN UX CANVAS

ASSUMPTION PRIORITIZATION

FEATURE PRIORITIZATION - MOSCOW

The MOSCOW technique was implemented in this project to prioritize and manage all the features. All features were grouped into four categories: must have, should have, could have, and won’t have.

MENTAL MODEL

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

PROTO PERSONA

Creating a user persona requires adequate user research and analysis. Rather than presenting a complete persona, we developed proto personas that help us identify users’ needs and determine how to meet those needs quickly.

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP

The creation of a customer journey map is an essential method that allows UX researchers to see how customers interact with the product and gain a better understanding of the users' needs and expectations from a brand or product. UX researchers would feel more confident in offering a better experience that meets consumers' expectations if all of the weaknesses of the present product were addressed.

EMPATHY MAP

Empathy maps were constructed for both proto personas to understand the consumers' needs better. Empathy maps allow UX designers to gain a better understanding of how customers make crucial decisions by giving them a deeper look at what they truly think and feel about the product. Furthermore, constructing empathy maps is an ideal way for UX designers to "take a look into the brain" of users since it directly shows their behaviors and attitudes.

IDEATION

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

STYLE GUIDE

HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

The primary deliverable of this project is the high-fidelity prototype created on Figma platform.

1. Login/sign up pages:

When users enter the app for the first time, they can choose to sign in or sign up. Old users can log in directly with their existing accounts or via personal accounts like Apple, Facebook, and google. As new users, they can choose to create a new account or log in with personal accounts.

2. On Boarding screens:

After users successfully log in to their account, onboarding screens will be shown to provide brief introductions about the app features and demonstrate what it does for EV consumers. New users who use the app for the first time are encouraged to go through all the pages since it helps them to understand the overall experience.

3. Home page:

The home page contains following features:


1. Location button: users can change their location to access different EVs information in different areas and regions.


2. Notification: users can view reminders and notification about their bookings and important messages.


3. Filter: help users to search and find their favorite or interested EVs easily.


4. Brands: where users can access and view all provided EVs brands.


5. EVs model: users can click to view more details about the model.

4. Brands models page:

1. All brands: users can access to all the EVs brands.

2. Main brand pages: provides brand introduction and available models.

3. Model main page: information about model performance, figuration, and image gallery.

5. Comparison pages:

6. VR interior & 360-degree exterior viewer:

1. Semi-immersive VR feature where users can view EVs’ interiors by dragging left or right to view different angles and tap interactive buttons to switch and view different perspectives.

7. Groups page:

1. For You: users from this page can access EVs advertisements, promotions, and useful articles that shared by either popular EVs brands or online EVs owners.

2. Following: users are able to interact with their following brands and users.

3. Chat: primary chatting feature where users can communicate directly with local dealers, friends, and other EVs owners.

8. Profile page & charging station finder:

Profile page: where users can edit profile information, access bookings info, saved and history, mange vehicle status, and book EVs services.

EV Charging station finder: Location-based feature (GPS) which enables users to search and find nearest charging stations. Users can visit and book all nearby charging facilities conveniently.

USABILITY TEST

Usability testing was implemented in this project to evaluate the high-fidelity prototypes and collect feedback for design recommendations.

1. Participant:

Five participants were involved in the usability test session, which is an appropriate and ideal sample size. All of the participants were recruited via social media and in person, and they all consented to participate in an online recording session and were informed that their personal information would be kept anonymous.

Our participants were selected by several characteristics:

• More than one year driving experience.

• Interested in EVs.

• Have knowledge about vehicle brands and models.

• Ability to communicate in English.

2. Tasks:

During the testing session, participants were required to complete 7 tasks with unique scenarios and instructions. We encouraged participants to think aloud and provide constant feedback while using with the prototypes.

3. Metrics:

There are three primary metrics that used to evaluate the usability:

• Effectiveness: task success rate – the completeness and accuracy of completing one task.

• Efficiency: number of errors, number of assists, and total completion time.

• Satisfaction: the acceptability result from SUS questionnaire.

4. Evaluation results:

60% of the participants completed all tasks successfully without causing any major errors. 2 out of 5 participants required assistance and made significant errors while completing some of the tasks. 5 out of 5 participants mentioned that they have obtained great experience from our product and will recommend it to their friends or others. More importantly, 80% of them stated “they will purchase an EV in the future” after using our mobile application.

The average SUS score of the usability test session is 91.06 (Grade A), which identifies as “Excellent” and “Acceptable” scores. The highest score is 97.5, and the lowest is 82.5.