Ziyi Shao Portfolio

Evaluators identified mismatches between the system and the real world, especially on the Home and Valuation Output pages.

Two out of three evaluators identified a lack of user control and freedom, especially in adding a completely different car.

Home Page and User Onboarding

Access to valuation tool from the navigation bar and the banner.

A short description about the tool and its capabilities with how the tool woks.

Concept Sketch

Data Visualization

View price trends with a color-coded graph indicating rises and falls.

Easily compare prices of multiple cars within the tool.

Hover over the graph to see specific price changes.

Access a chart illustrating how each factor influences the car's value, both positively and negatively.

Save cars to the garage and share valuations with others seamlessly.

Vehicle Information Collection

Choose the purpose: buying a new car, buying a used car, or selling, and receive tailored recommendations.

Provide additional car details for a more accurate valuation.

Compare values by adjusting parameters to understand their impact.

Select the desired period to view the car's value.

360-Degree Car Inspection

Explore 360-degree exterior and interior car views to assess the vehicle's condition comprehensively.

Identify specific touchpoints that influenced changes in the car's value.

Last semester in my Psychology Research Methods course, I worked with a team of five to solve a real-world problem for Carputty, an Atlanta-based auto-financing startup. We used iterative research and design methods to create a solution that balanced user needs and business goals. Carputty's Vehicle Valuation Tool utilizes predictive AI and industry data to help customers view their vehicles as investments by forecasting future values.

In a Snapshot...

Solution

Initial Problem Statement

Research Questions

Website Walkthrough

Literature Review

Survey

Timeline

How might we improve features and visualizations in the Vehicle Valuation tool to help customers make more informed vehicle financing decisions?

Problem

What are the current challenges with the V3 valuation tool?

Why and when do users use valuation tools?

Impact

User Problem

Customers have difficulty understanding the purpose of the Valuation tool

Customers don’t find the current data visualizations reliable nor explainable

Business Problem

Difficulty in retaining customers to continue using the Valuation tool

User drop-off from the tool in the middle of use

✔️ Customer interaction with the Valuation tool over time projected to increase by 32%

✔️ Drop-off rate in the Valuation tool projected to decrease by 26.5%

Solution

A rethinking of the Valuation tool, providing Carputty customers with actionable insights based on vehicle data, collaborative features to make vehicle decisions, and more user freedom in input options.

Additionally, the solution improves customer retention and drop-off by providing proper user education about the tool.

1. Optimized Home Page Experience

Home Page Redesign

Enhanced the visual appeal and functionality of the home page.

Tool Description

Introduced a concise yet informative description of the tool prominently on the home page.

Enhanced Accessibility

Enabled seamless valuation tool access through both the navigation bar and a strategically placed button for users.

2. User Onboarding with V3 Tool

V3 Tool Overview

Brief explanation of how the V3 tool works.

Convenient Input Options

Options for users to input car details through VIN, license plate number, or make and model.

Testimonials

Incorporated user testimonials to showcase the effectiveness and positive experiences with the V3 tool.

4. Valuation Tailored to Your Preferences

Personalized Date and Valuation Period

Option to customize the date and valuation period based on user preferences.

Enhanced Transparency

Build trust in the result by highlighting the significance and impact of each feature on the car's value, fostering transparency.

Feature-Specific Valuation

Tailor the valuation by adjusting the value of individual features, observing the direct influence of each change on the overall value..

6. Comprehensive Garage

Unified Car View

View all interested and owned cars in one centralized location for easy management.

Interactive Comparison

Compare the values of different cars stored in the garage to make informed decisions.

Personalized Ranking

Rank cars based on personal preferences and explore the preferences of other users.

Textual Insights

Receive a detailed textual summary of the chart, market trends, and valuable suggestions.

Smart Suggestions

Get recommendations for cars within similar categories and price ranges, tailored to your preference.

Collaborative Garage Access

Share access to the garage with other members for a collaborative car management experience.

3. Enhanced Vehicle Information & Condition Data

Detailed Input Options

Allow users to input specific car details and condition for a more accurate valuation.

Integrated Visual Data

Enhanced precision by integrating visual data, such as images, into the AI tool.

User Guidance with Tooltips

Minimized confusion and streamlined user experience by adding tooltips to provide guidance throughout the valuation process.

5. Enhanced Tool Features

Save to Garage

Save cars to the garage for later access or comparison with other vehicles.

Download Options

Download valuations in versatile formats like CSV, PDF, or others for easy reference and sharing.

Watch List with Alerts

Add cars to the watch list and receive alerts about predicted price fluctuations, keeping you informed about market changes.

7. 360-Degree Car Inspection

360-Degree View

Explore comprehensive exterior and interior views of the car in 360 degrees for a thorough assessment of its condition.

Touchpoint Analysis

Identify specific touchpoints that have influenced changes in the car's value, providing insights into valuation fluctuations.

Key Insights

Challenges in Locating V3 Valuation Tool:

Difficulty in finding the "V3 Valuation Tool" on the website, resulting in usability issues for users.

Unclear Website Focus:

Lack of prioritization leading to ambiguity about the website's core offerings.

“Black Box” Scrutiny leads to Loss of Trust

Users of AI systems rely heavily on trust in the system’s output and functionality, but sometimes trust is lost because users cannot understand the system’s inner workings.

“Black Box” Scrutiny leads to Loss of Trust

Users of AI systems rely heavily on trust in the system’s output and functionality, but sometimes trust is lost because users cannot understand the system’s inner workings.

Design Decisions can Improve Trust

Explain the importance of individual attributes to the outcome
Show the smallest change needed to flip the machine prediction
Show the outcome of similar data points

What is the definition of “a good car”?

We conducted a website walkthrough to understand user experiences and identify any challenges in navigation, confusing elements, and user preferences. This walkthrough helps us enhance the website's user-friendliness and improve overall user satisfaction.

Next, our team wanted to delve into the role data visualization plays in developing trust in predictive and AI models. We conducted a thorough literature review of 9 academic papers found through the ACM and Google Scholar digital libraries. Below are our primary takeaways from the review:

The importance of trust in predictive models.

We deployed a Qualtrics survey targeting potential Carputty customers, with 22 respondents, most unfamiliar with the company. The survey explored participants' familiarity with Valuation tools, important vehicle factors, and the information they could provide as input. Surveys were distributed via Slack, Discord, and Reddit forums.

Understanding what customers value in their vehicles.

Difficulty in Locating the Tool:

Users suggesting visibility or navigation issues.

Confusing Tool's Purpose:

Users found the tool confusing, signaling a need for clearer descriptions and explanations of its objectives and functionality.

Pre-purchase Access Preference:

Participants preferred using the valuation tool before car purchases, highlighting it's a crucial role.

Key Insights

After the survey, we conducted 45-minute contextual inquiries with three participants familiar with Carputty’s buying and selling process. This helped us observe real user interactions with the Valuation tool and uncover points of confusion that a standard website audit couldn’t reveal.

We held 45-minute contextual inquiries with three participants to observe real interactions with the Valuation tool and identify usability issues beyond a typical website audit.

Observing customers using the tool in action.

A deep-dive into the customer’s vehicle exploration process.

Observing customers using the tool in action.

We analyzed interview data in pairs using Excel to ensure consistency, applying codes such as “need more data,” “what is a VIN?”, and “family buying together.”

Based on insights from our contextual inquiry, we conducted four online semi-structured interviews to explore how users value vehicle valuation tools, make buying decisions, and perceive the tool’s reliability.

CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY

Car condition, mileage, and price are indicators of a vehicle’s value

• 100% of respondents indicated car condition is either very or extremely important

• 72% of respondents indicated mileage is either very or extremely important

The VIN isn’t the most readily available vehicle identifier.

Customers may not have prior experience with these tools

Q: Select all the information you would have readily available to provide a Valuation tool:

Q: Which of the following vehicle-related tools have you used before?

Affinity Map

The importance of trust in predictive models.

How might we improve features and visualizations in the Vehicle Valuation tool to help customers make more informed vehicle financing decisions?

Improve reliability and clarity of data visualizations

Providing user education about the Valuation tool and its capabilities

Reflecting what our users value in our vehicles in the tool's datapoints

User Journey

Problem Reframing

Design Requirement

Concept Sketch Feedback

Key Points in the Journey

Finding the Valuation Tool:

The validation session was held as one focus-group style session. We chose to do this because we recognized that our initial concepts were still relatively “fuzzy” and extremely lo-fi; holding the session as a focus group would allow for participants to build off each others ideas and give helpful feedback.

✏️Validation Sessions

🔍Results

Interpreting Valuation Results:

Using the Evaluation Tool

Using the Valuation Tool:

Putting our concepts in front of users.

Design System

Problems Identified

Three UX experts assessed our prototype against 10 Nielsen Heuristics, completing tasks and identifying usability issues.

Conducting expert testing on our designs.

Final Design

Iteration 1

Wireframe

Heuristic Evaluation

Based on feedback from the concept validation session, our team began creating wireframes out of our initial concepts and incorporated

Concept Feedback Analysis

Design Changes Made

1. Users preferred our navigation concept as opposed to the existing navigation.

2. Users found it overwhelming when presented with several input options from the get-go.

3. Users were perplexed by the bi-directional bar chart and found it unecessary.

4. Users had questions about the Customize Timeframe feature and how it would look when used.

Carputty Vehicle Valuation Tool

Empowering users to make informed vehicle investment decisions with ease.

Carputty Vehicle Valuation Tool

INDUSTRY CLIENT • ITERATIVE DESIGN • CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY • HEURISTIC EVALUATION

An overhaul of Carputty’s Vehicle Valuation tool, enhancing how their customers input vehicle data, make vehicle-related decisions, and view a vehicle’s value over time.

Project Context

• Industry Client (Master's course)
• Fall 2023, 15 weeks
• Team: Ellie Park, Jisu Kim, Aby Kottoor, Ziyi Shao

Roles and Responsibilities

• UX Research: Literature Review, Contextual Inquiry, Interviews, Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation

• UX Design: Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Iterative Design

Background

Upon partnering with Carputty, they provided us with the following problem statement. Throughout our design process, our team refined and restructured the problem statement based on insights we generated.

⭐️Helping customers make informed financing decisions.

We synthesized insights from the UX audit, contextual inquiries, and interviews using an affinity map, allowing key themes and patterns to emerge naturally.

Jordan, an individual Carputty customer who is in the market for a second car

Will, a Turo host who wishes to effectively manage his fleet of cars and use the Valuation tool to set rental prices

Persona

Low Level Themes

Mid Level Themes

High Level Themes

Customers may not have prior experience with these tools

Q: Which of the following vehicle-related tools have you used before?

We synthesized insights from the UX audit, contextual inquiries, and interviews using an affinity map, allowing key themes and patterns to emerge naturally.

Using the Valuation Tool:

Semi-structured Interview