Uber Eats Mini Project
Help part-time Couriers optimally experience
Uber Eats platform to achieve their desired goals
Type Individual Project
Role UX Designer/Researcher
Tools Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Protopie
Timespan Spring 2019 | 2 weeks
The Problem
Uber Eats has grown exponentially in recent years, as the product now drives many of Uber's sales. The way it works is to fill the
delivery needs of a user (Eater) by utilizing the time and transportation of another (Courier). In this regard, the role
of these two stakeholders, Eater and Courier, is of utmost importance in Uber Eats business.
For this summer, I will be joining Uber Eats Courier team as a product design intern, and I was curious about the
problems my team is trying to solve; so, I asked. I was able to receive the answers from the team, and here are three
core problems that my team attempts to solve:
1) How might we help Couriers know how to be successful on the Uber platform? For example, when should they deliver? Where should they go to get the most dispatches? How to make the most money?
2) How might we help Couriers know where to go to find parking and have a successful order pick-up at a restaurant?
3) How might we help Couriers know how to successfully deliver to an Eater/Customer? And note any delivery instructions that need to be addressed?
Based on what I received, I decided to run a short project. I especially would like to focus on the first prompt: how might we help know how to be successful on the Uber platform? - This question strikes me as the heart of everything, and I expect that the second and third problems can be addressed to
some extent through the process.
Re-defining the Problem Space
It is always imperative to re-define the prompt clearly:
How might we help Couriers know how to be successful on the Uber platform?
Couriers: Couriers can be classified according to a variety of criteria. For example: age, working hours (part-time /
full-time), delivery method (cars, bicycles, walking, etc.). Although accurate demographic information is needed, I thought I could divide Couriers into two types: Couriers who
deliver with a car, and Couriers who deliver without a car.
Successful: The meaning of success may vary depending on the characteristics of Courier. In this case, success can be
defined as: 1) earning profits as much as desired through Uber Eats, and 2) having pleasant experience from registration
to delivery on the platform.
Based on the facts that 1) users must have a car to become a Couriers in my current city, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and 2) the
majority of users I can research are full-time student/young working professional, I re-defined my problem as follow:
User Research: Survey and Interviews
As re-defined previously, my target user for this project 1) has a car, and 2) is full-time student/working
professional. Keeping this in my mind, my research goals are to better understand and answer the following:
Target Users:
1. What does “part-time” mean to target users?
2. How recognized/popular is Uber Eats as a food delivery platform?
3. What does “being a Courier at Uber Eats” mean to target users?
4. What are my target users’ expectation for Uber Eats if they decide to join as a Courier?
5. Is Uber Eats a competitive option among other part-time jobs?
Uber Eats Current Product & Competitors:
1. What are the greatest strengths of Uber Eats when users join as a Courier?
2. What are the most challenging parts of Uber Eats for a Courier?
3. What are other competitors’ key strengths compared to Uber Eats?
Accordingly, I conducted survey with 80+ potential target users, full-time students/working professionals. In addition, I
conducted two in-depth interviews, one with someone with experience as a Courier on Uber Eats, and one with someone
never used the service as either a Eater or Courier.
My Hands-on Experience
I also wanted to have hands-on experience as a Courier; I asked my friends to do the delivery together - I needed help as I don’t own a car. I thoroughly explored every step from registration to delivery, which enabled me to build empathy with my target users.
Key Findings & Insights
From both user research and hands-on experience, I discovered the following key findings and insights:
Design Opportunity
Even though all findings deserve exploration, some are hard to address solely with design solutions. In this regard, I considered what I can solve as a designer, and discovered some design opportunities based heavily on my hands-on
experience and in-depth interview with an ex-courier.
1)
Progress bar when registering might be helpful: Even if the user should upload 5+ documents as well as dealing with other screening process, it was hard for users to
know where they are and what to expect next in the process. I personally felt frustrated because I could not prepare all
required documents at once, as I was not informed of what’s next or what to prepare to expedite the process.
2)
Additional message on why users do not have various delivery methods might be helpful: When I first saw that I only had an option delivering by car, I became confused. I have heard Uber Eats can be delivered by
bike, walk, etc., but on my screen, I couldn’t find other options besides a car. More importantly, there was no
explanation. I just had to assume myself that this was perhaps due to geographical factors.
3)
Providing Couriers with information regarding end destination, expected time and earning might be helpful: From user interview, I found that the user wanted to know the final destination rather than only being informed pick-up
location first. It would be helpful for couriers if they have better information about the entire delivery journey in
detail before confirming requests.
4)
Providing Couriers with information regarding Eater’s gender: There were feedbacks that Couriers, especially females, - even for ride-sharing service - feel unsafe when using the
platform. This was mainly because of the negative stories they heard before. In order to help such users feel more
comfortable, providing Eater’s gender by icons or illustration might be helpful.
5) Settings that allow users to decide purpose of driving might be helpful (e.g. ride-sharing only? Courier
only? Or both?): I only wanted to deliver but couldn’t find a way to change my setting for this. I was also confused that “am I only
receiving requests for Uber Eats? Or am I getting ride-sharing request too?” I finally realized that it’s shown when I
received the call. However, I wish I could set up the setting first depending on my preference just to be free from
potential mistakes accepting ride-sharing requests.
6) Mentioning “slide the button” might be more helpful than arrow mark: As a novice user, as soon as I received the order, I couldn't pay attention to details of the screen, so I kept tapping
the “start delivery” button instead of sliding it. I tried several times and became embarrassed as I was not able to
accept the request. Later, I figured I should slide it to accept the call. The user I interviewed also highlighted this
as well, so I think the button may show “slide to delivery” instead start delivery with arrow mark – arrow mark is not
easily visible.
Competitive analysis: Grubhub
Before I jump into design solution, I would like to take a close look at how the other delivery works from courier end.
Although Grubhub does not function in the exact way as Uber Eats does, I choose Grubhub for competitive analysis as they
have been a dominant player in the market.
I did this through thorough desk research and was able to find some key screens and insights as below:
Final Design
Prototyping & Key Features
1. Know what you need
Users can know why they do or do not have various options on how to deliver. It might be depending on their location or etc. This design solution may enable users to know the reason for this, reducing potential confusion.
Also, users can be well-prepared for initial registeration as a Courier; it would let users know all required documentations at once before jumping into the actual process. It will help users better understand what to prepare to expedite the registration process.
2. Know where you are
By having progress bar on the top of the screen during the registration process, users can expect how many steps remaining in the process.
Also, "continue" button with the number indication functions just like progress bar, which informs users of what to expect and when to end the whole process.
3. Enjoy more information
Users can have a better idea of their final destination, expected time, and expected earning before accepting the orders.
Also, "slide" to delivery button would create less confusion for novice users. Users also can ask for help and contact Uber easily whenever they encounter problems by hitting "any problem?"
4. Do what you prefer
Some users mentioned that they would like to utilize account setting menu in order to reflect their preference when accepting calls (Driver only? Courier only? Preferred genders to deliever?, etc).
In this regard, I would like to add Preference tap in account setting, which might help such users feel more comfortable as a Courier also meet their needs. This would help users to have personalized experience as a Courier.
Limitation & Reflection
This project was solely initiated by myself with neither brand/design guideline nor accurate information about Uber Eats. In this regard, the design solutions I suggested might not fully consider feasibility nor reflect critical factors I should
incorporate.
Also, 1) user research I conducted is narrow-focused – very limited – in terms of demographics of
respondents, and 2) I couldn’t fully explore and analyze competitors due to personal reason – I didn’t own a car.
However, the project provided me with better understanding about the product, and I was able to build empathy with couriers from both user research and my hands-on experience; I tried to find pain points and needs of couriers and wanted my solution to reflect important findings.
In the near future, I hope I could be better equipped with more accurate data, protocols, and brand guidelines, so I can
better help couriers optimally experience Uber Eats to achieve their goals.
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