Clean Cars for All - An end to end UX project
REALITY BYTES
The digital experience is the human experience
The story of how a digital experience went from being a cold unconnected digital experience to a very human experience.
“We are very impressed by the outcomes, especially given the condensed time frame. Thank you for investing in the Clean Cars for All mission. You are a wonderful team!”
Vanessa Morelan Clean Cars for All, Program Coordinator
OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
An end to end UX project for Clean Cars for All. Born of a partnership between GRID Alternatives and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in California.
The program provides incentives through California Climate Investments (CCI) to lower-income California drivers. Helping them replace their older, high-polluting cars and replace it with a zero or near-zero emission replacement.
Clean Cars 4 All plans to expand its eligibility criteria and increase its pipeline of eligible applicants in the near future. Fortunately for me, I was part of the team that had the opportunity to help them
TEAM OF 3
The team consisted of 3 talented UX designers. My role was ‘task leader’ driving the team to stay on task yet being agile and through constructive ‘show n’ tell’ 10 minute morning coffee sessions allowing everyone to apply their specific strengths.
This was a tight team. As UX designers throughout the entire process, we conducted most research together including contextual research and whiteboarding, synthesis, problem definition, solution statement and designs.
Team: Ilya Benjamin, UX Designer. Jackie Ajoux, UX designer and myself.
BUSINESS GOALS
The client made it clear to us that they needed to increase application completion rates and exhaust $4.2 million dollar budget.
The program aims to focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities. A heavy emphasis on consumer protections, education of new technologies, and coordination with clean transportation programs.
TOOL & METHODS
Consisting of various interaction design, for the purpose of this case study we mostly covered the following:
• Baseline usability testing
• Contextual inquiry, User Interviews and survey
• Content audit
• Existing product analysis
• Evaluation heuristics
• Competitive/comparative analysis
• Prototype
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
Users were reporting significant usability issues CC4A website. This affects applicant completion rates and there is a negative overall perception regarding the effectiveness of the program.
Several considerations exist:
The portal is hosted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. They provide the technical infrastructure and is the primary funder of the program
Bay Area Air Quality Management District contracts with Fluxx.io to provide grant management support.
GRID Alternatives provides project/case management for the program.
While the Fluxx.io platform provides a robust and efficient back end experience for the program management team, the front end experience presents significant barriers to users, impacting successful application completion.
OUR SOLUTION
Our aim was to improve engagement and satisfaction from target users. We focused on improving the learnability, eligibility and requirements of the process. Reducing the amount of time and effort involved in completing the application and transitioning users to clean, renewable energy ‘for everyone’.
After analysis and understanding of the business goal, we hypothesized an MVP. Prioritizing the information needs and preferences of consumers. Keeping in mind designing for limited-literacy users and designing for all users.
On further user research, our solution became more than our initial assumptions. Overcoming the significant usability issue and a sticky grant application portal. We also had to manage the constraints of a giant network of government engines.
Yet we did find ways around the constraints. How did we do that? Upon further research, improving content could lead to greater engagement and inclusivity.
Our new aim was to streamline all content across all website touch-points. Increase the consistency of the experience. Using a more friendly language could gain more satisfaction from target users.
This was exciting!
Engaging the client from the start
Conducting Client Interviews was key to our journey. Conversations within and outside the organization.
Allowing us to step into their shoes and to see our role through the eyes of the client. It also helped us prioritize features and define key performance indicators (KPIs). We learned was what makes them think, what excites them about their job help. This helped us identify key problems for us to solve and to create a SOW (Statement of Work). Giving clarity to expectations, priorities & progress. This formal document captures the activities, key players, approach, timeline for the project
Bringing the client on the journey
Inviting the client into design workshops.
Engaging the client helps them understand the importance of deep research. The results allude to the solution to the problem. Bring the client on the journey also helps sell your design.
What worked well? Our whole team gathered together with all our field notes. We went through a multi-day process of distilling key insights using affinity mapping. We pulled out 20 important findings. 12 guiding design principles all of which helped guide eventual design work.
Getting into the grassroots of the user
We spent time with users to understand the playing field.
Contextual inquiry gave us qualitative information.
The interviews allowed us to understand users’ emotions, opinions, needs, and motivations. gave us qualitative information.
Baseline user testing (on the current website)
Participants:
13 testers with varying computer literacy skills
Research goal:
Understand user performance, user satisfaction levels, and identify potential design concern
THE PROCESS: GETTING MESSY
Brainstorming all findings, Whiteboarding, user inquiry, interview & surveys. Affinity mapping quickly gave us results of problems & inspired a hypothesis. Agile and rapid ideation between collaborators is my preferred style of work, allowing me to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
THE BIG EXCITING INSIGHTS
What does the data say?
Too many forms, too much process. Not enough information was the root cause of the problem. The Fluxx portal and too many sticky points in the process. Filling out forms online is tricky and takes time.
“Am I eligible?” “How do I apply?”
The current Clean Cars for All website and Fluxx 3rd party portal. There is friction in the learn-ability of the grant process and who is eligible to apply. It does not follow consistency and standards in the online eligibility. The application process makes the experience arduous, disconnected, and complicated.
Due to these challenges, users are more likely to abandon the website or the process altogether. Adding extra burden to GRID case managers and undermining the CC4A program altogether.
Analyzing client input and User feedback:
AN APPROACHABLE LANGUAGE: The problem of communication
The website currently uses unapproachable language reducing user satisfaction. We conducted various cultural probes and an audit on the language used on the site and tested different versions of copy at the Clean Cars for All Oakland event.
Drawn from our user observations and grantee questionnaires we conducted cultural probes. Gathering further inspirational data about people's lives, values & thoughts helped us shape what we learned with regard to empathy mapping and content writing. Developing consumer-facing information tools, you are faced with the difficult task of imagining what your end-users will find understandable and actionable. Our assumption led us to reword the language.
Old language ‘The program focuses on providing incentives through California Climate Investments (CCI) to lower-income California drivers to scrap their older, high-polluting cars and replace them with a zero- or near-zero emission replacement
New language ’The program focuses on providing incentives through California Climate Investments (CCI). Eligible-income California drivers can replace their old, high-polluting cars with a zero- or near-zero emission replacement’.
From this learning and through an update of the form design we were able to move potential grantees through the process fast.
PERSONA “discouraged decider”
UNDERSTANDING OUR USERS: Having synthesized our survey findings we discovered 2 motivation types. From there we built the user archetype for the discouraged decider
Our user was somewhat computer challenged. Is time-constrained and in need of a vehicle upgrade for security and reliability. They need support with involved applications. The user is more comfortable goal-directed and needs a high return on investment on new activities. These new learnings about our user helped shape the empathy map for the user archetype
CONSTRAINTS
We analyzed the websites. We reviewed consistent features from the BAAQMD parent site of which there was none. There was no real design standard. To follow the BAAQMD design standards for the Clean Cars for All website was a task unto itself.
Due to the existing portal, we had certain constraints.
The existing website made our grand design ideas for the website restrictive.
Limited engineering resources available for the website and the Fluxx Portal.
Out-of-the-box application
Limited configuration was available.
Yet, we worked around it. We recycled as much of the existing website & improving where appropriate. We challenged the BAAQMD tech manager. We discovered that we can in fact change the content. We could even add images. As well as some assumptions made based on how other grant organizations use Fluxx.
Happy clients / Project Success
This design project culminated with positive feedback from our client. They were excited to receive recommendations that can be implemented immediately. They delighted at the creativity we demonstrated to achieve more.
Our recommendations to help them further was also appreciated. We connecting them with Code for the city to help with nonprofit support.
REFLECTION & LESSONS LEARNED
Iteration and iteration:
Inspired by the work that Clean Cars for all do I am confident the research and work we delivered did help the client understand the problem. We felt proud to influence at least a few ideas. This can launch and scale the great work done by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The key learnings are not unique to this project but the advice I would give to any fellow UX designer.
Getting everyone on board: A Design System is not a one-man project and if you want it to succeed you need everyone on board. The more integrated you want it the more disciplines you need at the table. Involve your clients with regular check in’s or updates. Collaborate and check with the client often. Bring them on the journey and ultimately sell the new design.
Plan and Prioritize: Failing to plan is planning to fail. We toggled between working on a design system, enhancing the application, and planning. Prioritizing tasks is imperative.
Breaking the news to the client: Although, our clients wanted this change for a long long time. It was important to keep them involved and excited about the changes we were proposing.
Synthesize all insights early to shape the journey to the solution.
Testing early and often. Test again.
NEXT STEPS
DESIGNING WITHOUT CONSTRAINTS > The Prius vs the Tesla
We are confident that we were successful in delivering a simple addition to the ‘Clean Cars for All’ website. Also the first step in helping the users take more control. Streamlining all content across all website touchpoints. Increasing the consistency of the experience. and gaining more satisfaction from target users. However, in an ideal world.
If we could redesign the website without the restraints of the existing Government website framework with respect we would consider improving the website further by implementing the following:
Create a brand manual based on known consistent elements
Reinforce the brand with a strong pattern & consistent font
Search bar, either a redesign or the use of BAAQMD search component.
Language options, user stats.
Social media links.
Further user support with an automated email campaign
Chatbot service