Company
Company
Wemolo
Wemolo
Role
Role
UX/UI Designer
UX/UI Designer
Duration
Duration
April - Mai 2024
April - Mai 2024
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Smart Parking - How UX Innovation Reduced Payment Errors
Smart Parking - How UX Innovation Reduced Payment Errors
When paying for a parking event with Wemolo, users need to enter their license plate (LP) at a payment terminal to initiate payment. This process was the primary cause of unpaid and incorrectly paid parking events, leading to a high volume of support cases (e.g., “I paid, but got fined”). 50% of user sessions led into the manual flow (LP not found), where users have to input the parking duration themselves. My goal was to find a way to simplify the license plate entry process and reduce errors, ultimately decreasing customer support cases and improving the user experience.
When paying for a parking event with Wemolo, users need to enter their license plate (LP) at a payment terminal to initiate payment. This process was the primary cause of unpaid and incorrectly paid parking events, leading to a high volume of support cases (e.g., “I paid, but got fined”). 50% of user sessions led into the manual flow (LP not found), where users have to input the parking duration themselves. My goal was to find a way to simplify the license plate entry process and reduce errors, ultimately decreasing customer support cases and improving the user experience.
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Deliverables
UX/UI Design | UX Research | Feature Development | User Testing | Prototyping
UX/UI Design | UX Research | Feature Development | User Testing | Prototyping
Background
By using camera-based license plate recognition, Wemolo offers digital parking solutions. To track the parking duration, license plates are scanned at the entry and exit of the parking location. To pay for their parking event, users enter their license plate at the payment terminal on-site or via webapp. If no license plate is found, users have to manually insert their parking duration.
By using camera-based license plate recognition, Wemolo offers digital parking solutions. To track the parking duration, license plates are scanned at the entry and exit of the parking location. To pay for their parking event, users enter their license plate at the payment terminal on-site or via webapp. If no license plate is found, users have to manually insert their parking duration.
Process & Solution
User Research
To gain a deeper understanding of the issue, I conducted qualitative interviews with users. Through these interviews, I discovered that users often felt insecure when entering their LP, primarily because they did not fully remember it. This resulted in twisting numbers and letters. Additionally, I observed that when guided through the process, users were more likely to enter their LP correctly.
User Research
To gain a deeper understanding of the issue, I conducted qualitative interviews with users. Through these interviews, I discovered that users often felt insecure when entering their LP, primarily because they did not fully remember it. This resulted in twisting numbers and letters. Additionally, I observed that when guided through the process, users were more likely to enter their LP correctly.
Solution Ideation & Prototyping
I like to get inspired by looking at all kinds of products and interfaces. I came across Google’s autocomplete search, which helps users quickly find what they’re looking for by suggesting relevant queries as they type. This UX pattern seemed like a great fit for my scenario, especially since Google Search is widely familiar to people. Based on this insight, I prototyped a predictive LP suggestion feature, which worked as follows:
After entering a few characters, the system suggests similar LPs detected on the parking lot
Users can simply tap on the correct LP to proceed with payment, reducing the risk of errors
To ensure the effectiveness and clarity of my designs, I conducted usability testing both internally with colleagues and onsite with users.
Solution Ideation & Prototyping
I like to get inspired by looking at all kinds of products and interfaces. I came across Google’s autocomplete search, which helps users quickly find what they’re looking for by suggesting relevant queries as they type. This UX pattern seemed like a great fit for my scenario, especially since Google Search is widely familiar to people. Based on this insight, I prototyped a predictive LP suggestion feature, which worked as follows:
After entering a few characters, the system suggests similar LPs detected on the parking lot
Users can simply tap on the correct LP to proceed with payment, reducing the risk of errors
To ensure the effectiveness and clarity of my designs, I conducted usability testing both internally with colleagues and onsite with users.
Refinement & Solution Development
I collaborated closely with developers to refine the feature. A key focus was on the algorithm logic, where we determined criteria for matching license plates accurately. Additionally, we defined specific thresholds, deciding after how many characters the system should begin offering suggestions to users. Lastly, we considered the number of suggestions shown, striking a balance between providing helpful options and avoiding overwhelming users with too many choices. Following Hick’s Law, which states that more choices slow decision-making, we limited suggestions to three. This helps to reduce cognitive load and makes decision making easier.
After testing and revisions I ended up with the following design, where users go straight into the payment flow after clicking on the LP suggestion. The modal will start showing LP suggestions after entering at least 3 characters. In case of twisted characters and no direct matches, the system will give suggestions on the closest results.
Refinement & Solution Development
I collaborated closely with developers to refine the feature. A key focus was on the algorithm logic, where we determined criteria for matching license plates accurately. Additionally, we defined specific thresholds, deciding after how many characters the system should begin offering suggestions to users. Lastly, we considered the number of suggestions shown, striking a balance between providing helpful options and avoiding overwhelming users with too many choices. Following Hick’s Law, which states that more choices slow decision-making, we limited suggestions to three. This helps to reduce cognitive load and makes decision making easier.
After testing and revisions I ended up with the following design, where users go straight into the payment flow after clicking on the LP suggestion. The modal will start showing LP suggestions after entering at least 3 characters. In case of twisted characters and no direct matches, the system will give suggestions on the closest results.
Results
The feature was adapted very quickly, resulting in a 60% reduction in incorrectly entered license plates within the first quarter after release
Customer care tickets related to terminal payments decreased by 30% quarter over quarter
The feature was adapted very quickly, resulting in a 60% reduction in incorrectly entered license plates within the first quarter after release
Customer care tickets related to terminal payments decreased by 30% quarter over quarter