‍The Challenge

ParkBee's garage management application had grown organically, accumulating features based on ad-hoc sales requests with minimal user insight. The result was a "forest of features" that caused the majority of users to call the operations team of ParkBee instead of logging in to My ParkBee and complete their tasks independently.  

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Examples of some of the issues were:

• Confusing way of managing access for employees to the car park of the building
• In-ability to self manage access for guests to the parking garage
• No support for users on mobile or smaller devices
• Access problems with the mobile app to open the garage gate

Our challenge was to untangle this complexity and create a focused, user-friendly application that truly served the needs of ParkBee's diverse user base and enable a solid base for new propositions and the introduction of a priced plan.

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The Approach

To address these challenges, we took the following steps to re-focus the service around it's users and enable them to independently and reliably manage the garage in their (office) building.

Customer Request Analysis

We meticulously collected and analyzed customer requests to understand pain points and desired functionalities.

User Segmentation

Through in-depth analysis, we identified two primary user segments:

• Users: Focused on operational tasks for day-to-day parking management, such as inviting guests for business meetings taking place in the the building or managing parking access of employees.
• Customers: Concerned with financial management, monthly reporting, and P&L oversight. Their main value driver is reduction of operational costs and accurate financial reporting to include in their overall P&L of the building's rent's and other income.

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Concept Development

Based on validated needs, we defined a new concept for the application and validated these with key stakeholders and customers.

Prototype Testing

We created and tested prototypes with both user segments to ensure our solutions met their specific needs.

UI Design Exploration

• Extending the ParkBee brand to maintain consistency
• Developing a responsive UI to accommodate high mobile usage
• Creating dedicated information architecture for the two user segments

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Design Execution and Validation

Our process focused on reimagining the management portal from the ground up. We:

• Stripped the application back to its core functionality
• Identified and prioritized main jobs-to-be-done for each user segment
• Extended the management portal with validated user needs
• Planned a careful migration path for legacy users to new features
• Took in account that new propositions and pricing plans needed to be accommodated in the near future

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My Role

As the design lead, I guided our cross-functional team through this process and took on the concept development and testing myself. Key responsibilities included:

• Directing the team's user research and interview efforts
• Creating and validating an early concept prototype with lighthouse customers
• Aligning design direction with business goals and user needs
• Ensuring user insights were effectively incorporated into the design
• Facilitating communication between design, product management, and the development team
• Driving the product team to prioritize, implement and learn effectively

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The Outcome

The redesign of My ParkBee resulted in a more focused, user-friendly application that enabled key customers to independently use ParkBee's services and build trust.

The results include:

• A streamlined interface that significantly reduced user confusion and improved task completion rates, particularly on mobile devices due to the responsive design
• Increased user satisfaction across both operational users and management customers and completely eliminated customer complaints and calls
• A successful migration of legacy users to new features with minimal disruption
• A scalable platform that can easily accommodate new business propositions and priced plans

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By now ParkBee has converted more than 25 high profile locations into paying customers that value the improved service for the everyday efficiency and smooth experience it delivers.

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