PARKSPACE : enhancing the parking experience.

“…a case study on providing a better and efficient parking solutions using the design thinking process.”

[Source: self-created with vector image taken from google images.]

INTRODUCTION

UX designing is the field that I wanted to explore and learn about for quite some time but being from a non-design background I was not really sure where to begin. I came across this 2 Day UX Kickstarter Workshop by GrowthSchool and thought to give it a try. The workshop was really an eye-opener as it cleared a lot of doubts that I had regarding UX design. So eventually I got myself enrolled in the Growthschool UX Mastery Program which led me to my first ever Design Thinking Project.

How did it all start?

It all started with the Design Thinking Project which is a part of their curriculum. The aim of the project was to apply the design thinking principles to identify and understand the problems the users are facing with respect to that topic area and provide them solutions. It is a multi-stage process that will be explained in detail in the latter part of this case study.

We all were divided into groups with each group consisting of around 7–8 members. Each group was given a list of topics/problem areas, among which each member had to choose only one topic in such a way that no other member should share the same topic inside the group. The topics were Balcony, Parking, Terrace, Living Room, Home Office, Dining Area, Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Storage Area & Utility Area. Though all the options given were equally challenging for a first-time design project, I chose Parking as my problem area because, at that point in time, I somewhat felt it was a bit odd one out among all the other options.

Also, as a part of the design thinking process, we had to select any 4–5 members from our group who will act as a user for our project.

What is Design Thinking?

“Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. Involving five phases — Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test — it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.”

Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking

[Source: self-created with symbols taken from google images.]

This is the initial stage where we are supposed to prepare a set of questions related to the topic area we chose and then take a 1v1 interview with the users based on the questions prepared.

I tried to frame the question in such a way that it can provide maximum insights on the user’s experience with that area.

Interview Questions

1. How many vehicles do you own and what are those vehicles (two-wheeler/four-wheeler/other)?

2. How often do you take out your vehicle and what are the least and most used vehicles (if multiple)?

3. Where do you park your vehicles? Can you briefly explain to me the setup of your parking area? (e.g. open/closed parking, apartment allocated parking/own house parking etc.)

4. Are you able to accommodate all your vehicles in the parking space you have? If yes, do you have enough space left out to move any vehicle without moving the other ones?

5. Apart from parking your car, are there any other activities that you do in the parking area which make you spend much time over there? (e.g. washing your vehicle, basic repairing, or sometimes using the parking area as an extra space for any occasion.)

6. Any specific issue/issues you are facing currently in the parking area?

7. What is your ideal parking spot (realistically) in terms of ambience, lighting, ventilation, distance, space, safety & security?

8. What are the things that you feel are currently missing which could have made your parking experience better? (e.g. a tool storage unit/ an electric socket for charging etc)

9. How satisfied do you feel when you park your vehicle over there?

Once I was prepared with the set of questions, it was time for the 1v1 interviews. The interview is supposed to be conversational in nature. So, as I was interviewing, I started to come up with follow up questions based on the user’s previous response. These follow-up questions were leading me to new insights which I was not expecting initially while preparing the questions.I listened to their points carefully and tried not to interrupt while they speak.

Do not try to provide solutions beforehand or try to advise or suggest the user during this process.

Since it was my first interview, for my convenience, I decided to record the interviews (with the user’s consent) so that I could revisit the conversations at a later stage to get more insights which I might have possibly missed observing at the initial interview. Below are few important points i noted down from the user interviews.

From the notes, I could see that each user has a completely different setup of the parking area from the rest. To get better clarity of the setup, I also asked them to share few pictures of their parking area (if possible).

This is the stage where we need to list out the problem statements from the observations we made from previous stage. So I went through the documentation and recordings of the interviews I made in the previous section and started to note down all the problems the users are facing including the problems which even users don’t even realize they are facing and could be solved.

Strictly avoid getting into solutions for the problem. Focus only on the problems here.

Some of the problems the users faced individually or collectively are:

• Low visibility in the parking area. Good visibility can help in a quick exterior check of the vehicle to catch out any sort of damage, dents, or issues which in some cases might be fatal if not checked early thus providing a sense of protection.
• Lack of a proper identification system in apartments to find the parked vehicle. Sometimes friends or relatives (new to the place) might need to go to the parking area to grab something from the car or bring the car out. At that time it is difficult for them to find the vehicle among all the other vehicles as there will be a lot of similar vehicles parked.
• No personal parking space for the car. The car is parked in a public space and sometimes it will be occupied by another car and the user has to look for another parking spot. This causes very inconvenience as every time the user has to look for parking if it’s not available.
• Congested & disarranged parking. Sometimes the user has to move other parked two-wheeler first in order to take out their vehicle as those were blocking the passageway. This causes the user to make an unnecessary effort just to move one vehicle.
• Water overflow issue. During heavy rains, water gets clogged sometimes around the car parking area which might cause mechanical issues and damage the car.
• Open parking. The user’s car is vulnerable to physical damage and theft as it is parked openly on the streets without any extra layer of security such as gate & boundary.
• Short parking space. Due to lack of space (length-wise), the car has to be parked in a crossed manner which is a very uncomfortable position as there is a pillar on the left-hand side which might cause dent or scratches while moving in and out the car. Also, it can’t be parked straight as it will block the passageway for other vehicles.
• Tight parking space. Tightly parked vehicles due to lack of space cause difficulty to move around the car. It causes very inconvenience while getting in or out of the car in the parking area as the user has to be very careful of not damaging the other vehicles while moving.
• No water supply provision. The user has to take their car out of the parking area every time to wash the car which is very inconvenient.
• Dust issue. Dust flows into the parking area making the vehicles dusty very quickly. Proper coverage can keep the vehicles clean and prevent them from cleaning the car every time before leaving.
• Manual gates. The user has to manually open & close gates every time they have to take out their vehicle which causes inconvenience & annoyance especially when the user has to take the car out multiple times in a day.

Once, the problem statement is clearly defined in the previous stage, Now, it is time to come up with the solutions for these problems statements. I took each problem statement and tried to think of as many ideas as i can which can possibly solve the problem. Below is the list of all the ideas that I came up with:

• Bright LED lights around the parking area preferably with a motion sensor.
• Putting pillar numbers for easy identification.
• Parking layout map at the entrance for easy identification of the parking spot allocated to the room number.
• Creating space for the car by freeing up unused space inside the house.
• Proper parking arrangement of two-wheeler like parallel or diagonal parking.
• Creating an elevated parking area.
• Building a proper drainage system.
• Building a parking area with closed boundaries, translucent roofing, and a gate.
• Using a car cover and installing a security alarm in the car.
• Utilizing vertical space by using a vertical parking system.
• Using parking sensors to avoid any collision.
• Rearranging the vehicles.
• Removing unnecessary pillars.
• Extend the existing water line with a pipe and install a high-pressure pump.
• Closeout all the open spaces with glass retractable windows.
• Install an electric gate with remote control.

As per the project requirement we are supposed to come up with top 3 ideas among all the ideas listed.

Below are the Top Three ideas I finalized:

• Utilizing vertical space by using a vertical parking system. Majority of the users have space issues. Solving a space issue can give the user a hassle free parking experience, easy maneuverability and can protect the vehicle from accidental scratches while parking thus improving the user’s overall parking experience.
• Bright LED lights around the parking area. Half of the users have complaints with lights in the parking area. Lack of light makes it difficult to see the vehicle for any damage.
• Parking area with closed boundaries, translucent roofing and a gate. Most of the users prefer secured parking areas which will protect their vehicles from direct sunlight, heavy rains, dust etc and also security from thefts.

This is the stage where we had to make a representational model of the solution we came up with. However, we had to select only one idea among the top three. Since parking space is the major issue faced by most of the users, I have chosen the “vertical parking system” idea which will resolve the space constraint issue by effectively utilizing the vertical space. Since each user has a different setup of parking space, the prototype is built in such a way that it can be customized based on the user’s area. However, the fundamental design concept remains the same.

Image showing the prototype along with the features. [Source: self-created with few elements taken from google images.]

Image showing various possible arrangements.[Source: self-created with few elements taken from google images.]

Product Features

• Vertically adjustable platform height.
• Inclinable platform for tight parking spaces.
• Hydraulic Mechanism for heavy load carrying capacity.
• Inbuilt LED lights for better visibility.
• Parking Barriers to prevent the car from accidentally hitting the back side.
• Key locked control unit to avoid accidental button press.
• Quick & automated parking.

Below are the illustrations of various parking setups and how it could solve the problem.

[Source: self-created except vehicle blueprints taken from google images.]

This is the stage where we need to test our prototype that we have created in the earlier stage. Coming up with a solution doesn’t necessarily mean you actually solved the problem. It is just an idea on a piece of paper. So to understand whether our solution will actually work or not, it is very important to get feedback from the end-users.

So once I was ready with my initial prototype, I set up a time for a group call with my users. During the call, I presented my prototype to my users explaining why the problem is important and how my prototype is going to solve their problem. Once I was done with my presentation, the users were asked to provide feedback on the prototype along with the reason. Below are the feedback i received.

• Inconvenience in taking out the top vehicle. Since a vehicle will already be parked at the bottom, they have to take out the bottom vehicle first in order to take out the top vehicle and then again put the bottom vehicle back to its place. It will be time consuming too.
• Key locked control unit. Though it is for safety purposes, sometimes if the user changes their mind and feels like taking out the top vehicle instead of the bottom, they have to again go back and bring the key of the control unit which is a bit annoying.
• Inclination looks a bit risky. There is a chance the car might slip off due to the inclined ramp. Any support system would have been better.
• Lack of pillar support. Users feel it is a bit unsafe to park the car vertically with only two pillar support. An added support would have been better.

Revised Prototype

The feedback session was really helpful in bringing out the flaws in my design which I otherwise thought perfect. It gave me a different perspective from the users point of view. Based on the feedback, I made some changes to my prototype.

Image showing revised prototype with added features. [Source: self-created with few elements taken from google images.]

Below are the changes that I made after the feedback:

• Front sliding mechanism. The overall platform can slide forward along with the pillars without having to move the bottom vehicle.
• Key-less control unit. The control unit can be accessed with fingerprint/application thus no need to rush for keys in case of change of mind.
• Pop-up wheel stopper. Added a hidden wheel stopper on the platform which will avoid the vehicle slipping off during inclination.
• Hydraulic Support. Added an extra hydraulic support at the back of the platform giving more strength and safety.

Image showing platforms in different positions. [Source: self-created with few elements taken from google images.]

This marks the end of my first ever Design Thinking Project. It was both challenging and interesting at the same time. I really appreciate my users for the feedback which helped me to fix the flaws and come up with better solution which gave justice to their problem. I would love to work more on such design thinking projects which will help me to solve real-life design problems.

KEY LEARNING

• You are not the user. At the end of the day, as a designer, we are creating products or solutions for the end-user. Thinking and making assumptions from our own perspective will not solve the user’s problem and eventually, we will end up with a product nobody wants. So, it is very important to understand the experience from the user’s point of view and figure out the problems and solutions accordingly.
• Identifying the right problem. A wrong problem doesn’t give the best solution.Asking relevant questions along with follow up questions can lead you to the core of the problem. Always listen carefully when the user is expressing their experience or putting their views. It gives insight into the user’s behavior and interaction with the subject.
• Thinking outside the box is not always true. Sometimes solutions can be very simple, obvious, and pre-existing. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a creative, innovative, or unconventional one. As long as the solution works effectively and solves the user’s problem, it is totally fine.
• Feedback are a boon for designers. It is crucial to take feedback from the end-users as it points out the flaws in our design and helps us in refining and improving the prototype. It gives us an idea if our prototype is actually solving the user’s problem.No matter how perfect we think our solutions are, there will always be feedback.

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Keep Learning 📖, Keep Growing📈.

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