MOBILE PARKING APP
user research, personas, competitive analysis, content strategy, user flow, wireframes
Parkshark: Intuitive Street Parking
With this project, I hope to solve the problem of unintuitive street parking signs with an app that provides real-time answers drivers’ questions: “Can I park here now? If so, when will I need to move my car?”
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Parkshark is a solo project where my role spanned from ideation, to user research, to wireframes.
The Problem
“I have zero problems parking my car in the city!”
The Goal
Create a mobile app that makes city parking easier.
Hypothesis
Maybe it’s just really hard for people to remember when to move their cars…
Surveys
Responses from 35 participants were collected and analyzed for trends. Below is a sampling of surveys questions and responses.
In depth interviews
I conducted in-depth interviews with 5 survey responders who have had experience with driving and parking in urban areas.
Top Findings
85% of users report spending more than 45 minutes searching for street parking
50% of users would like easier access to information about the closest lots, and be able to compare rates
43% of users report difficulty understanding street parking signage
35% of users need to move their car twice a week due to street cleaning and other restrictions
Personas
Mad Mike
“Finding street parking is nearly impossible. My car is such a burden.”
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Car status: Owns a car
Biggest Challenges: Not enough street parking, takes too long to find a spot. Having to move the car twice a week for street cleaning doesn’t help.
Frustrated Frankie
“Why is it so difficult to know where I can park?”
Location: Manhattan, NY
Car status: Frequently rents car for client meetings
Biggest challenges: Street parking signs difficult to understand, and she doesn’t want to risk getting penalized, so she’ll opt for lots. However, she has difficulty finding information about nearby garages and comparing rates.
Key Insight
“Street parking signs are not intuitive.”
Competitive Analysis
SPOTHERO
Pros: Provides information about paid parking — garages, valet, airport. Integrates with map. User can book within app.
Cons: No information about street parking if user doesn’t want to pay for parking.
ParkoPedia
Pros: Sources parking information from the DOT, provides information about garages and lots.
Cons: Information is not any less cryptic than existing parking signs, cannot book parking in lots.
ParkWhiz
Pros: Easily browse parking spots nearby and book parking in app.
Cons: No information about street parking.
PARKMOBILE
Pros: Reserve both paid on-street and garage/lot parking.
Cons: No information about unpaid street parking restrictions.
