Goride
July 2018 - July 2019
Roles: UX designer / Visual Designer / User Research / Product Management
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation through Ford Motor Co.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The product had just been stood up for initial testing and was in the early stages of a start-up process.
Improvements were needed for the existing system to help the company grow.
Research
When I first started the project, I was tasked with working with vehicle dispatchers and discovering areas of research. After weeks of interviews, user testing, and diary studies I came up with the following areas to look into:
Tracking a large volume of vehicles at once
Immature routing system
Locations in the product being recognized
Providing Refunds
Working with 3rd Party applications from customers
User Flows
With our research we realized we had to track the touch points for the product to help align stakeholders and project managers with product management. With the flow we were able to see how important the rider/driver/dispatcher needed to be improved. Specifically we had to help the dispatchers know more about the rider to help the drivers.
Personas
Personas were useful to help show stakeholders the numerous roles that would touch the product, it helped build empathy when we were advocating for the users in regards to product improvements that are needed. From this, my team and I decided we would each work with a different user, I was tasked with working with the dispatchers.
Tackling Problems, Creating Solutions
PROBLEM: How might we keep track of the history of a booking?
When I first met with the dispatchers, it was us eating lunch together because their manager told me they would have no time for formal interviews. I realized I was missing out on a lot that I needed to see how they worked. After convincing their manager that my presence wouldn’t take away from work, and after getting approval from the dispatchers to watch them work, they let me in. I first noticed they all would keep encrypted notes with initials and times, they told me they used this to keep track and keep notes on a rider in case it was late or in case they had to be rebooked. I knew I had found my first design problem to solve.
Solution - Summary
The summary page final design included a place where dispatchers could see who booked the ride, (in reference to hospital system), the time, and any payment information that was needed. Management also enjoyed using this feature as it helped collect data points and other helpful information to reference.
PROBLEM: How might we track vehicles so that dispatchers can respond to requests in a timely manner?
RUNS PAGE
The runs page is dedicated to showing the dispatchers where the vehicles are and which rider is in the vehicle. The screen is the most used screen. With it, dispatchers would make sure rides would be getting to destinations on time. During this process we worked with machine learning engineers to work out the best ride, the best vehicle with the customer pick-up and destination that would get the customer to their destination as fast as possible.
working out the flow
It was important to map out the runs screen into the basic pieces to see what problems we would be able to solve, and what we should be solving with the current selection.
ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS
WHAT DIDN’T WORK, WHAT WE NEEDED TO FIX
When we fixed the runs page we had to be able to display more riders on the page, we also needed a way to alert the dispatchers in the case that something was wrong, or that a ride was late and needed attention. The new design allowed dispatchers to view more rides at the same time and they were able to access more information while still viewing the map screen which they said was the most important. I tried to synthesize the information on the map to just information, but the dispatchers found comfort in the map, it was something I had to settle with the dispatchers.
SOlution : Intuititve Runs
WIth the new update the screens were able to:
Quick updates of trip information
Ability to sort and view multiple types of rides at once
Able to track rides visually on the map or via times and trip statuses
PROBLEM: How might we simplify the refund process?
Accounting Process
The accounting work for GoRide had to be done independently by a staff member but also had to go through a process that would allow Ford Credit, the financing arm of Ford Motor Company, to be able to access it and understand it. Due to this much of the accounting was done with a spreadsheet, which would then be sent to billing companies as well as hospitals, and other medical care companies.
Solution: Insite Accounting
With the new update the Insite accounting page was able to:
Pull up credit information within the application.
Align rider information in one system, to keep track trip history and payment history. Useful in audits with insurance companies and larger Ford.
Catch mistakes easier, improving crediting efficiency.
In REFLECTION
The company ended up having to shutdown after being in service for 3 years. We had moved to two other states and were on the verge of partnering with larger medical insurance companies like UnitedHealthCare and Blue Cross Blue shield.
It was a great experience for me to learn to have to quickly turn around research and designs, as well as presenting and collaborating with partner companies. With the knowledge and skills I learned at GoRide, I realized I wanted to explore autonomous vehicles.
