The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation. An increasing number of people are prepared to shun car ownership in favor of mobility services that enable them to use vehicles flexibly. As a consequence, the use of transport means will significantly change, especially in cities and metropolitan regions. This is putting automotive manufacturers under increasing pressure and is leading to high investments beyond their classical business areas.
In summer of 2017, Mercedes Benz Mobility Services, a subsidiary of Daimler AG, commissioned my team at Experience One (former Nolte&Lauth) to set up a concept for a mobility service and to develop an MVP for a test phase. As one half of the two-person UX team on this project, I led the conceptual development of the service structure, designed the information architecture, user journeys, and interaction models, and collaborated closely with technology teams to ensure a seamless integration for market launch.
Flexperience is a mobility service with a flexible rental model that enables customers to adapt their vehicle to short-term changes in their mobility needs. As a key customer touchpoint, we designed an app that provided a seamless experience for all customers with regard to the use of the service. Major use cases included vehicle browsing and booking, vehicle exchange (pick-up & return), as well as remote opening and closing of vehicles.
A series of initial workshops with our clients and other stakeholders, such as Mercedes Benz customers, sales personnel and service staff, enabled my Design Lead and I to define the scope of the project and to understand the relationships between all actors and systems involved. Based on our findings, I created a Service Blueprint that enabled us to identify and visualize all processes within the organization of the service, and to elaborate an implementation plan for the conceptual development of the app.
After the completion of the Service Blueprint, I worked through an iterative process to create the information architecture, user flows, as well as concept screens and interaction models. The development was based on the formation of work packages such as browsing, reservation, and usage. For each of these packages, I created a number of low-fidelity wireframes, which were then transformed into high-fidelity concept screens. The last step consisted of defining the interaction models and compiling a product documentation.
The Homepage allows users to browse through vehicle categories. Users can set a rental period, swipe up a bottom sheet to show the Rental Overview, or click on the menu to more settings.
The Model Overview shows available vehicles in a respective category. Users can set the rental period, browse through the feature list of a vehicle, and submit a booking request.
The Calendar allows users to specify a rental period. Once specified, users can either confirm a booking or return to the Model Overview, where all available vehicles are being displayed.
The Rental Overview allows users to manage all their past, current, and future bookings. Further information about a respective rental is accessible through the rental tabs.
Users collect and return their vehicles through a three-step process. Firstly, the vehicle is opened remotely through the application. Secondly, users are asked to document the condition of the vehicle. Finally, user are guided through a checklist to complete the process. The return process is identical with the individual process steps being performed in reverse (checklist, documentation, lock).
