The goal of the service is to allow users to easily and quickly schedule a repair service for their vehicle either in-person or by delivery.
Sketches
The client had already provided the necessary steps and fields that users must complete in order to schedule a repair service and receive an accurate quote. Based on the given requirements, I then sketched some rapid prototypes in order to present concepts to stakeholders so that they can provide feedback and approval. The booking functionality required many different input fields to be filled out by users and finding the right balance between fields per page and number of pages required constant user testing and mostly desk research.
Task Flow Diagram
In addition to the sketches, I sketched a task flow diagram that represents a user's journey through the booking task. I did this in order to better understand how users actually progress through tasks to accomplish a goal and it helped me highlight points of frustration or confusion such as appointment scheduling. Knowing exactly how one piece of content connects to the next is essential in helping me produce high-quality user experience. Low-fi sketches and flow diagrams can easily be changed but designs are harder to change around a lot which is why it is so crucial to get the foundation of the website flow figured out as early on in the process as possible.
Visibility of System Status
To ensure users finish the booking process correctly and quickly it was crucial to discover user frustrations early to avoid any pitfalls. What I discovered after conducting a heuristic evaluation of my initial sketches and competing platforms was the lack of "Visibility of System Status" that would otherwise elevate the usability of the booking functionality. That is, including a way to convey to users and keep them informed through appropriate feedback within a reasonable time what exactly is going on in this booking process. I decided to include a bar at the top of each page in the booking process that visually indicates each step and what stage the user is currently on, sort of like a road map to completion.
All in all, many of the requirements of what the platform needed was already given to me and my responsibility was to compose the elements of the platform seamlessly together in a easy to understand and aesthetic manner.
