PRODUCT
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Supplement the design of the Uber app with an option for teleportation
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Mobile Design
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Logo Creation
MY ROLE
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Sole UX Designer
DEVELOP & DELIVER
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Ideation
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Sketching
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User Flow
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Wireframes
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Prototyping
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Usability Testing
DISCOVER & DEFINE
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Topic Research
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Mapping
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User Research
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User Interviews
design problem
Create a seamless addition to the Uber app that offers the option of teleportation from one city to another.
research & Assumption Mapping
I began with a flurry of assumption maps, book and article research and pages of notes. What was teleportation, really? Was it even possible? Would I appear somewhere, missing my legs? Or worse, missing my clothing?
I dove deep into the theories of quantum physics and organic matter and teleportation. It was fascinating and thrilling to learn something so extraordinary. My former years as a physics instructor greatly helped me grasp the complex concepts and I was not having trouble falling in love with the problem. It was only until the end of February, when I found myself researching a paper on airport design and wondering how the flow would change if this new virus called Covid became an issue, that I realized that I had gone too deep. It was strangely prophetic, as we later learned as viral growth exploded, leaving countless empty airports. This served as an important lesson for me to stay on the topic at hand and to not research myself into different fields.
Key Points:
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The quantum mechanisms involved in teleportation are complex and need to be simplified for user understanding.
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People will naturally be afraid of this process and will need reassurance that it can be used safely.
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The technology required to make this happen is decades beyond anything we can even predict, making even time travel more conceivable than teleportation, but it is still a great exercise.
user interviews
I interviewed 8 people of various ages and vocations and was amazed at the depth and breadth of the answers. With such a broad, theoretical concept there were many misconceptions and some education was required. While many of my assumptions were verified, I very much underestimated the fears that people had about having their body scanned at one station and essentially faxed and reassembled with new matter at another location. (I carefully neglected to mention the need to disintegrate the molecules of their original forms, to be used later to create the bodies of subsequent travelers).
Common fears were the loss of body parts, evisceration of organs and splicing of limbs from other people. Projected costs varied widely, from people who thought the travel should be free, like riding an elevator, to others that said it should be more expensive than commercial flight with the implication that a higher cost would insure greater safety. The consensus from everyone I interviewed was that a great deal of testing would needed over many years before they would attempt teleportation.
The usages of teleportation were also varied with some creative answers, such as having lunch in Tokyo and attending an art show opening night in London, to family reunions in the Bahamas and travel for emergency services. Most interviewees liked the instant travel, lack of weather delays and (hopefully) a lack of lost luggage. What I discovered in this process is that having a wide topic in user research can result in a large variation in responses, requiring a much larger sample size of users to have more definitive and accurate results.
affinity & Empathy mapping
Mapping helped me summarize and group the information obtained from user research.
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The biggest obstacle was trust; how do I set up the app so that users will trust and use teleportation.
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In a similar manner, how much time and testing will be required so that users will not fear losing bits of themselves during transport.
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How do I structure the app to infer efficiency and prompt transport and the settings imbue calmness and serenity so the passengers will relax and enjoy the process.
Problem statement
Concluding this divergence and research, I created my problem statement:
As a traveler, I struggle with delays, interminable lines and long travel times because auto and air travel is exhausting and I am afraid of teleportation even though it works instantaneously.
Many of my assumptions were validated, but, more importantly, I need to better understand how to mitigate the fears and anxiety about the teleportation process.
Ideation & Sketching
I brainstormed pages and pages in my sketchbook. The infrastructure required was very complex and many contingencies had to considered and solved. I designed terminals and networks and created storyboards of travelers from opening the app to arriving at their hotel on another continent. The huge amount of requisite machinery meant that travel would have to occur in high tech ports and could not just work from a cell phone. The possibilities and travel options were limitless. Once I had created a new world in a new future using quantum molecular computers instead of chips and using nanotech bio-fiber cables to transfer information from trillions of human body cells, I was able to work backwards and create the steps needed to teleport. I created wireframes and card sorts and tested the flow sequences with users. In keeping with the existing theme on the Uber app, I had to make the steps simple and concise.
PROTOTYPING
Because of the short time frame for this project, I went from wireframes straight to hi-resolution prototypes using Sketch and Invision. I created screens represented in the app and added the maps to my destination of Paris, France. I altered the app so users would have three options to chose when they began: car transport, food, and teleportation. To try to relate the process with something restful and rejuvenating, I added several spa treatments that could theoretically be completed during a teleportation.
USABILITY TESTING
The usability testing was very positive. Most user comments were that the screens were seamless to the Uber app and the steps were logical and easy to follow. Several users, however, were still skeptical about even using such technology. I still had not solved the trust issue for such a radical means of transport. I had created viable steps that, if the technology was available, could be immediately implemented in the app and users would be confident that they would be scheduling travel to the correct destinations, but many users were not convinced that it was safe enough to attempt.
conclusion
I also learned through this project that most users were not really interested in how teleportation worked and even some pointedly did not want to know the details. Travelers just wanted to know if it would work and if it was safe to use. I realized that the technical aspects of the app were spot on, but there was only so much I could do to reassure users within the app itself. Its success would depend heavily on a large amount of successful, documented transports and effective marketing of teleportation itself before a customer would select a destination in another city or continent. In other words, it would require a large, safe technological backstory for a future that may not even exist. All in all, it was an enlightening project, I enjoyed the research and I learned how to add functions to an already great travel app.