Community-Based Car Sharing
Overview
New Opportunity: The Rising Potential of Connected Transportation
The SKT Total Transportation Service (TTS) project is about designing new mobility services that provide users a better connective and multimodal transportation experience. SKT asked us to collaborate on this challenging journey and shape the new ecosystem together. In partnering with SKT, we created an integrated transportation service platform that can dynamically suggest the best routing plan and community-based car-sharing service. This innovative service has enhanced and differentiated itself from existing car-sharing business models. We not only facilitated deep customer engagement with SKT to align the customer’s business objectives, but also conducted extensive user research to understand the core user values of transport systems in Korea. Ultimately, we produced high-quality UX/UI designs for the commercial release of the service in 2017.
I led this project for over 2.5 years at SAP, and we increased values for new mobility services by helping to bring SKT’s vision to life through the new business model and product & service design. Creating a new business was a challenging process, but with our innovative team spirit and continuing effort to create a better user experience, we shaped the emerging market of connected transportation.
Role:
This project was a 2.5 years of the strategic engagement with SKT. I was leading a team of 9 designers, worked with 2 business strategy consultants, and solution engineers. As a team, we worked with over 40 SKT internal stakeholders weekly basis.
Tools:
- Figma
- Sketch
- Invision
- Adobe Creative Suite
Problem
SK had an existing used car distribution business called SK EnCar, which owned over 3 million units. However, we found that a significant number of vehicles were being underutilized during off-peak hours. Recognizing the potential to leverage these assets, we proposed creating a new business opportunity by integrating them into a minute-based car rental service for the shared economy.
Solution
At SAP, we recognized this as an opportunity to enter the shared economy market, given our expertise in in-vehicle network technology. By collaborating with SKT, we believed we could dominate the mobility market with their funding, branding power, and a new business model. Furthermore, our initial discovery research revealed that there were no affordable minute-based car rental services available in the market, highlighting the potential for a unique and innovative offering.
UX Research
To gain a comprehensive understanding of user needs and preferences, we conducted a series of 5 workshops with SKT and industry experts, in addition to more than 50 user research sessions. Through these sessions, we interviewed and thoroughly researched specific end-user groups, transportation stakeholders, and service operators. Our findings revealed that end-users desired a convenient service that could replicate the car ownership experience, while rental companies sought a more secure platform to increase long-term user contracts and better compete with car-sharing startups. Bus operators aimed to increase ridership without vehicle downtime or wasted seats. With these valuable insights, we were able to identify each user segment and gain a deeper understanding of their core values, enabling us to design a service that addressed their specific needs.
Based on our research and workshops, we identified three key UX success metrics for our car-sharing service app:
- The quick discovery of available cars
- Easy minute-based reservations
- and Seamless authentication to hop-in & go.
Design
I facilitated a collaborative design session with the team to envision the future look and feel of digital transportation services. The outcome of the workshop was a detailed storyboard and user journey, including screen designs and prototypes of the transportation applications based on the envisioned scenarios. As the leader of this effort, I ensured that the final deliverables accurately reflected the workshop's outcomes and met the client's requirements and users' needs.
During the design phase, our team iterated on the UX for three applications: TTS Hub Launchpad, TTS Car Sharing, and TTS In-Vehicle Media Display. Over a period of 14 weeks, we conducted a rigorous design process, iterating the designs for these three applications a total of 42 times to meet the client's requirements. Our team produced a comprehensive UX/UI design guideline consisting of approximately 240 written pages and high-fidelity screen designs.
The TTS Hub Launchpad application was a centralized application that displayed multiple transportation services. As we progressed to the TTS Car Sharing application, the launchpad evolved to become even more comprehensive. The TTS Car Sharing application was the flagship service in the TTS Hub Launchpad, providing a personalized experience for quick car reservations and returns in alignment with SKT's user domain-specific "hop in & go" concept.
The TTS In-Vehicle Media Display application simplified the user experience by eliminating the user’s need to access information via phone while driving. We provided intuitive and convenient navigation and returning vehicle experience.
Impact
Our team successfully executed an 8-month pilot testing of our service applications in a high-rise apartment complex in Seoul, coupled with a marketing campaign and promotion for the community. Through this pilot, we were able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the service development process from initiation to release. Our team championed a user-centered and co-creation approach, which allowed us to collect valuable business insights and discover user value. By combining our team's expertise and resources with SKT's telecommunications experience, we delivered a single branded service portfolio for our customers. This project not only showcased the importance of building long-term trust relationships in designing and executing new businesses but also served as a testament to the power of collaborative efforts in achieving success.
Customer Testimonial:
"SAP's expertise in product design and business models has helped us see our services from a broader perspective. SAP is definitely one of the best partners for embarking on a long journey of business transformation. Through SAP's design services, we have placed emphasis on a user-centric approach and enhanced the overall quality of our service planning and development process. Most importantly, there has been a change in the way we work. We now focus on collaboration, peer communication, diversity, and prototyping. Changes in how we work and people’s attitudes toward each other are transforming the organizational culture. We are in the process of constantly changing and evolving through Design Thinking." (SVP, SKT)
