Creating the future of charge planning
Overview
Through 1:1 user interviews, we uncovered needs and sentiments that influenced an updated design of the Locate a Charger tool and concept for a Route Planner.
Locate a Charger (Web, Pre-auth)
We focussed on recommendations that increased comprehension and consistency with the rest of the Electrify America ecosystem. Decisions were driven by key insights from research and were continuously iterated on, and then reviewed by participants. User-evaluated MVP designs went live in December 2022.
Route Planner (Native App, Pre & post-auth)
Product research uncovered users’ need for trust in their EVs as they make a trip and trust in EA to support them along their route. Our recommendations were geared towards personalization, ease, and empowerment. We tested personalized routes, route information, and educational content to uncover what drivers would need from an EV route planner. MVP designs were created for Electrify America to invest in when the budget allows.
The challenge
EV drivers and intenders experience intense anxiety around unfamiliar factors of owning and charging an EV such as range, charger locations, and station safety. It’s stressful for drivers to find chargers in new locations and EV intenders are hesitant to switch because they aren’t sure they can still take their favorite trips.
Electrify America wanted to visually communicate that they have the largest open DC charging network in the U.S. and that users can take longer trips using the network. Unfortunately, there was a lack of consistency between tools and no information explaining the different types of stations on their network.
Process
Our team leveraged usability testing, qualitative interviews, and concept testing to create a vision for the web-based Locate a Charger and app-based Route Planner.
We uncovered that the Locate a Charger (web, pre-auth) tool was predominately used on a laptop by users looking for immediate charging options in their local area.
The Route Planner would be predominantly used by Premium Offer holders (users who get a discount on Electrify America charges). That meant they would be in the app, planning trips specifically with Electrify America chargers.
The solution
We created custom solutions for each stage of the charge planning process and a funnel from one-time web use to repeated app use. Locate a Charger would act as an introduction to the Electrify America network and charging process while upselling the app. The Route Planner would help users build trust in their EV and in EA to support them along their route.
Locate a Charger highlights
Introduced a pin key to help users understand the different options and how they could impact the charging experience.
All participants understood how commercial stations differed from non-commercial stations after reading the message stating price differences.
Added key station information to facilitate high-level decision-making (pictures + distance).
All participants voiced how pictures help them assess the station’s safety and exact area of the station.
Uncovered applied filters to increase visibility and ease of resetting filters.
Introduced recently viewed tags to help users stay oriented
All participants found recently viewed tags useful to reduce re-clicking on a station, especially if they are searching in an unfamiliar area.
Introduced progressive reveal of station information to avoid overwhelming users searching the map.
Created an introduction to the size of the network with a full view when landing.
Consistency between the displays and controls on the web vs. app created a more unified visual voice and an easier transition to the app for users.
The app display also had the highest comprehension among users.
Upselling the app with features such as real-time availability and pricing information created an incentive to upgrade.
Route Planner highlights
Easily customizable
Users value personalization in vehicle capabilities,
comfort level (range anxiety), and
trip hazards (weather, elevation, traffic).
Get helpful messages and feel confident about the road ahead
All participants valued educational content.
Novice road-trippers vocalized that most of this information was new to them (ie: weather warnings, battery consumption). Experienced road-trippers voiced how more personalized content (weather) was good to remember.
View, edit, and swap to make the most of your charge
Most users do not need the following: Charging percentage per stop and charging time per stop.
*Users expect to charge to a full percentage at each stop, especially users who have higher range anxiety
Users need the following information about their route:
Visuals of the route and stops, back-up station options, number of charging stops along route, total driving time vs. charging time, and distance between charging stops.
“The Locate a Charger & Route Planner Electrify America project was a huge success thanks to Zoe. This project had a lot of designs to juggle with hundreds of iterations and Zoe stayed on top of it all. Both Route Planner and Locate a Charger had messy, ever- changing feedback from multiple stakeholders and from the noise she produced simple, straightforward designs that users loved... Zoe was a strong partner throughout the entire project. She watched all the user interviews, had open collaboration sessions with the whole team, and quickly implemented design changes per user feedback. I really appreciated how Zoe balanced user feedback with design best practices - whenever she felt a design change wasn’t best in the long run, we brainstormed together on other possible solutions. I felt the research was being fully integrated into the designs and I enjoyed working closely with Zoe on the designs; Zoe created beautiful designs that met users’ needs.”
