THE PROBLEM
Right now, Uber only has individual rider accounts. To expand its audience and ridership, Uber needed to create a way for families to use the same account and payment information. To accommodate the younger members of a family, Uber also needed to lower the minimum rider age to 14.
These ideas included the development of accounts that multiple riders could bill with additional security features for peace of mind.
MY ROLE
Product strategist and copywriter. I also crafted all major content strategy and presenting these ideas to Uber.
PROJECT DURATION
The graduate Boulder Digital Works program frequently hosts 2-day design sprints. The sprints include intensive design and prototyping sessions meant to solve real world problems with industry partners.
THE PROCESS
In the advice of Erika Hall, author of just Enough Research, we began by defining our target audience. We then engaged in a series of interviews with Uber drivers and families. We wanted to understand the core pain points for all involved participants. From this initial gathering of information, we created personas and scenarios.
KEY INSIGHTS
We discovered two things. First parents were eager for their children to gain independence. Second, parents wanted to know where their children were at all times. Last, we discovered the social phenomena of group safety. Families were more likely to allow for independence if there was an added security of group travel.
WE ALL RIDE TOGETHER became our solution.
THE SOLUTION
We developed a way to help families use the same account payment information. Users could add additional people to their accounts with one route for billing. The solution would create a two-pronged approach with two types of users.
- Sub-users who would have unrestricted access to Uber
- Limited sub-users would be restricted to preordained destinations.
WE ALL RIDE TOGETHER
The second part of the solution was focused entirely on the pain point moment when the teenager was alone in the Uber car.
We based the safety solution on video and live tweeting. By utilizing an existing behavior of smartphone use, we proposed a partnership with Periscope. Many teens are equipped with smartphones and fluent in broadcasting languages of SnapChat and Periscope. We focused on this behavior in order to create community. With this partnership, Uber riders would have the ability to broadcast, real-time, to the Persicope network and create a community around them. This feature would allow riders and drivers to feel supported when riding together.
EXAMPLE OF A LIMITED USER ACCOUNT
