# Uber Case Study
> ### *Product Design Project*
> [name=German Flores] *Product Designer / UX Researcher*

# Final Version posted on Medium: https://medium.com/@gflo/uber-ux-case-study-breaking-the-language-barrier-1b0c4ef8f9d3?sk=180d4c07060d09571a42048c2467a0d3

## Background
As part of a Product Design course that I took at UC San Diego, myself along with 3 other students worked collaboratively to **foster better in-vehicle communication between riders and drivers during their Uber ride. We did this to create a greater sense of accessibility for the under-represented users who face language barriers or physical handicaps such as being deaf or mute.**

#### Why This Idea?
Since so many rideshares occur in densely populated areas, they also consist of many different ethnic groups interacting with each other. Being minorities ourselves, we want to do work that will benefit our people and do away with the need to speak specifically english in order to communicate well in this country (at least during rideshares).

>### How might we promote effective communication between drivers/riders who have language barriers or handicaps so that both parties may feel comfortable and satisfied?

## User Research
### Surverys
We sent out a Google Form survey over Piazza and Facebook to give us some preliminary data. Out of the 60 responses we received, about half were deemed useful. Although these results were a bit dissapointing, we were confident that our interview data would be far stronger since it was not limited to a multiple choice option or quick sentence or two.
### Interviews
We initially decided to go to specific areas on our campus such as the ‘Commuter Lounge’ where we knew that a lot of international students would study or relax at in order to interview users who fit our target demographic. Although we found a couple, it was still difficult for them to be international, not fluent in english, and heavily uses rideshares.

Eventually we decided to ride a couple Uber-pools throughout the week in hopes that we can run into someone who would be interested in doing a quick interview with us. We also contacted our relatives or friends who drove Uber to have a quick interview over the phone.

The last area we contacted was Rady Children’s Hospital. It was a bit difficult to find individuals who fit our criteria, but we were told that if anyone does show up that is willing, then they would contact us. Our goal was to interview 5 candidates, and we ended up being able to interview 7.

> ### Major Findings
>
>| 65% | 34% | 73% | 21%
>| -------- | -------- | -------- | --------
>| of drivers considered english to be there second language. | of those drivers felt that the inability to communicate caused problems during work. | of riders considered english to be their second language. | of those riders felt like the experience was more uncomfortable because of the language barrier.
>

## Competitive Analysis
After researching other ridesharing applications, we found that none of them offerred any language assistance features that could assist communication between riders and drivers. The rideshare apps we looked at all shared the functionality of being able to read reviews on drivers, but didn’t foster any communication methods between the rider and driver during the ride. However, Waze does allows riders to send direct messages/notes to the driver to potentially as questions or notes. We like features of translating apps like Google Translate and others that offer real-time translation to English as the common denominator language. We feel that a translation feature could potentially be extremely useful in the world of ridesharing.
>
>| Application | language assistance | in-ride communication | ability to add note to driver
>| -------- | -------- | -------------------------| --------
>| Waze | no | no | yes
>| Lyft | no | no | no
>| Curb | no | no | no
>| Juno | no | no | no
>| Google Translate | yes | no | no
>

## UX Flows
***Images will go here***

We specifically focused on the language barrier as our main pain point. The entry point is complete as soon as the rider is picked up. We felt this was appropriate because our redesign focuses on in-vehicle communication which implies that the rider has been picked up. This flow attempts to resolve the language barrier between users by allowing for a live translation. Similar to how iMessage has a ‘diction’ function that writes out what words you are saying, our feature would allow users to speak into the mic, confirm that their phrase is correct through an audio feedback, and then immediately sends to the rider or driver’s phone. On top of that we wanted to make sure that using this feature would require very low cognitive load on the users.

## Prototypes
***Images will go here***

Prototype 1 allows users to freely chat with their driver through live translation that allows riders to send and reply to messages through voice or keyboard. Uber would translate the message into the other user’s phone language. Drivers are forced to use voice and listen to audio playouts for safety. We added a couple more screens to these prototypes such as a chat history for users and drivers to return to. This not only allows users to reply at a later time, but also promotes safety in case of inappropriate messages such as threats.

Prototype 2 gives the riders a modal with options to anticipate what needs they might have in the case that riders are mute, too shy to speak out loud, or have some other disability preventing them from speaking. This version also streamlines the way riders can type in the address to a new location in the case that they need to change the drop-off location.

## Testing
***Images will go here***

Users preferred version 2 but enjoyed the way in which you automatically start talking to the driver as soon as you pressed the microphone button because it made them feel like it was more conversative application.

In version 2, users appreciated the options since it gave them an idea of what they could say to their driver. For example, one user said the “Greetings” button reminds him of the way Linkedin has preset messages that help start a conversation.

## Final Designs
***Images will go here***

After user testing with our two prototypes, we learned that users want to immediately be able to start speaking once they have pressed the microphone icon. They also liked that there were quick options that were presented because it seemed to simplify some things that would take to long to adjust from the settings such as changing drop-off location. From tests, we found that we needed easier methods to communicate more complex requests/conversation. We feel that this is the better option becuase of the flexible functionality it provides to the rider. You get quick options as well as an easy way to speak with the driver, as needed.

## Looking Back

Overall, this was a great experience in innovating accessible design and catering to very select group of users and leave a great impact. If I were to do this project all over again, I would love to speak with actual Uber stakeholders such as their investors, business execs, and marketing team in order to get a stronger grasp as to what factors are preventing them from enhancing the accessibility within their apps.

I am ultimately impressed with our work and do believe that our solution would greatly enhance the experience user's have when riding in an uber. To complete this project, I would like to incorporate what experience drivers face when taking into consideration the newly added features for users.