ProDasher: DoorDash Feature
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OVERVIEW
BACKGROUND
Food delivery has evolved from a royal novelty to an essential service. As early as 1889, Italian royalty had pizza delivered to their palace. Later, restaurant delivery emerged in the US through services like World Wide Waiter. The 2020 pandemic transformed food delivery from convenience to necessity as restaurants closed. Apps like DoorDash enabled takeout orders, providing a lifeline. While food delivery evolved from luxury to essential service, the pandemic also shifted customer segments and needs, sparking my interest in how platforms adapted to expand market share.
PROJECT SCOPE
- Add a Feature to an Existing Project
MY ROLE
- Research, Visual Design, Usability Testing
TIMELINE
- Ideation to Prototyping: 6 Weeks
PROBLEM
Users become frustrated when placing an order and the delivery driver is too far or unfamiliar with the area. This negatively impacts the overall user experience and end-user satisfaction. How might we help aid users in getting their order to them in a timely manner and minimize driver error?
OBJECTIVE
Understand when people use food delivery services, and why they use them. Figure out the pain points and motivations when using food delivery platforms. Find out if there is a user need not being met by the current apps on the market.
DISCOVER
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I conducted a thorough SWOT analysis on the top delivery platforms available on the market for consumers. This analysis led to uncovering the different competitive advantages these platforms have:
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INTERVIEWS
Preliminary interviews revealed that users believe food delivery apps should offer an intuitive user experience along with user-centered design, provide easy search functions, user-friendly features, accessibility, effective error handling, and make it convenient for users to reorder products. I was primarily focused on interviewing from the consumer segment of food delivery apps but I gained some valuable insight on how to address consistent user pain points from a participant who was on the other end as a delivery driver for these platforms.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
- Tell me about the last time you used a food delivery app. Did the experience meet your expectations? Why or why not?
- How often do you use other food delivery apps? What would be a reason you would use a different food delivery app over this one?
- What makes you order through a food delivery platform vs ordering yourself?
QUOTES FROM INTERVIEWS
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AFFINITY MAPPING
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BUSINESS GOALS
I felt it was important to research the business goals of DoorDash, their user segment goals, and the technical considerations of the business before narrowing down on a potential user problem to fix. That way, I could think critically to solve the user problem in a way that aligns best with DoorDash’s internal objectives.
DEFINE
Going into this project, I was primarily focused on Uber Eats and designing for a potential user problem surrounding the prospect of the app not being navigable for users when driving. I was set on making a driver-friendly mode for Uber Eats, similar to carplay mode in Spotify for a quicker, more simplistic option when placing an order on a food delivery app. After my preliminary research, I realized my initial scope was too narrow.
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Instead, insights from interviews revealed that consumers are more comfortable with DoorDash as their platform of choice, and a real problem users face was their frustrations surrounding delivery drivers. So, I pivoted during the define stage to aim to originate a feature for DoorDash instead of Uber Eats, and to solve the actual problem that affects user satisfaction within the app.
Based on preliminary research and feedback from interviews, I developed on three potential user problems that I could focus on solving for.
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In the end, I decided to build out a feature to cut down on user-frustration surrounding delivery drivers, since this was a common thread voiced in all interviews. Solving this problem would also yield the highest result of end-user satisfaction while aligning with the business goals of DoorDash.
USER PERSONAS
I developed two personas to reflect the current user base for DoorDash to humanize their pain points and needs.
Lacey is a college student living at home who doesn’t have reliable transportation. She likes to order on food delivery platforms when she’s studying and doesn’t have time to cook, or when there’s no food in the house. Lacey doesn’t like having to call her driver to give them exact directions and prefers less communication. Erik is a server at a high-volume restaurant where he works long hours. He enjoys his quiet time off at home, and prefers to order most of his groceries and toiletries for delivery. Erik lives in an apartment complex and sometimes gets frustrated when his drivers have issues navigating to his home.
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IDEATE
Insights uncovered in preliminary analysis and interviews lead to user pain points surrounding driver error and delivery time. While reviewing my personas and research deliverables, I developed a premium driver option as a feature for DoorDash. Users will have the opportunity to upgrade to a premium delivery driver that is more familiar with the area and is set to an only designated area. The feature caters to DoorDash’s key user segment, customers who value convenience and are less price-sensitive. The feature will cut down on driver error and delivery time while also permitting drivers to apply to become a premium dasher themself, allowing them to only drive in a designated area they choose and charge more.
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USER FLOW
I moved on to developing a specific User Flow for a consumer placing an order through DoorDash, and where the premium driver upgrade option would factor in to that flow. While reviewing the base consumer flow in the DoorDash app before adding the feature, I came to the conclusion that users would benefit from having the option to upgrade before placing their order, or during a short window after placing their order.
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LOW FIDELITY
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To prepare for integrating the feature into DoorDash, I went through the base user flow of placing an order for delivery. I then used the screenshots of each step through the flow to construct the addition of the Pro Dasher feature. Here, I developed different versions of adding the feature to the check out process, before I decided on the version that best fit the information architecture of DoorDash’s check out screens.
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Here is the full user flow from selecting a restaurant to order completion including the ProDasher Feature and where it would exist within the flow.
HIGH FIDELITY
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With the addition of the Pro Dasher feature, users will have the opportunity to upgrade to a premium delivery driver in their designated area. The premium driver status would be similar to a badge for a designated area based on number of accomplished orders in said area and completion of an application. Along with the added benefits of being a premium driver, there would be more standards that the driver would have to adhere to, thus ensuring end-user satisfaction.
KEY SCREEN DEVELOPMENT
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TEST
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USABILITY TESTING
The goal of usability testing is to identify any user pain points not addressed and improve upon the functionality and design of the prototype. I focused on assessing the user's ability to complete essential tasks related to comprehension of the Pro Dasher upgrade and feature benefits, and addition of the upgrade before vs. after order check out. Users accessed the prototype via Maze and completed two tasks, with questions regarding comprehension and feedback on the DoorDash Feature. They were shown a promotion for a free Pro Dasher as well.
QUOTES FROM PARTICIPANTS
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TARGETING SPOT ENLARGEMENT
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Based on feedback, test results, and information from the heatmaps, I enlarged the interaction spot for the chevron buttons leading to a screen with more information about the feature for easier user interaction while keeping the actual chevron button the same size to conform to the platform’s established design system.
CONCLUSION
The Pro Dasher option could become a valuable revenue stream and competitive differentiator for DoorDash. Customers would benefit from more customized, higher-quality deliveries. Meanwhile, veteran drivers are incentivized to continue working with DoorDash. As a premium feature, ProDasher aligns well with DoorDash's branding and has the potential to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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This case study provided valuable insights into developing new features within an established design system. I focused early on to align the user goals with the objectives of the business before ideating on a solution to the user problem, which allowed me to conceive an offering that benefits both customers and DoorDash. This user-centered, business-focused approach will serve me well in future UX projects that require balancing user value and business strategy.
MOVING FORWARD
I would conduct further testing to validate the benefits of the feature and determine optimal pricing. Focus groups and surveys should gather feedback on customer interest levels and willingness to pay. Pro Dasher driver recruitment and retention practices should also be evaluated. Limiting the feature to certain high-demand areas at launch could help gauge initial success.
