Application Redesign of Starship Technologies
Redesigned the current Starship Technologies Application to meet the increasing demand in mobile food delivery for urban markets.
Overview
Starship Technologies was founded on June 11, 2014 in Tallinn, Estonia and has launched pilot services in 2016 and food delivery programs at US college campuses in 2019. In January 2021 achieved the milestone of completing 1 million deliveries.
Their tag line is "We are a company building a network of robots ready to serve you anytime, anywhere."
Our team of 3 UX Designers redesigned the current Starship Technologies Application to meet the increasing demand in mobile food delivery for urban markets.
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Note: This is a concept team project.
Product Type
Mobile Application
Role
User Research, Interviews, Brand identity, Building wireframes, Remote usability testing
Duration
4 weeks
Tools
Figma, Optimal Workshop Card sorting, Zoom, Sound Survey, Notion
Discover
Research methods used:
User Research and Interviews, Affinity Mapping, Comparative and Competitive Analysis
User Reseach
We interviewed ​7 users who use delivery services on a regular basis and 2 out of 7 had experience with robotic delivery services. We then synthesized the data into Affinity Map and then deduced the key takeaways from it.
Key Takeaways from the Affinity Map:
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“I like that robots make things easier”
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“I feel comfortable when safety and privacy conditions are met”
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“I mostly have a seamless delivery experience”
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“I like to be updated in real time”
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“I prefer by the door delivery”
Competitive and Comparative Analysis
We made a C&C Analysis to understand more about the delivery of goods.
We selected Waymo, Lyft, Amazon, Uber as they use Autonomous robotics in their business model. We hoped these businesses would provide an in-depth knowledge of the client base and also provide information on the features for a robotized delivery and also help us understand how they were managing the problems which might arise.
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Ikea and Macy’s were selected to take into account how delivery is done in general.
We wanted to see how features like user privacy, GPS tracking, customer updates, product search and filter could provide an insight into building an intuitive food delivery app.
Define
Research methods used:
Project Plan, Problem & How Might We Statement, User Persona, Card Sorting, Site Map
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The Problem:
The research helped us identify the problem which was that food delivery is challenging for the user because they do not like waiting in lines or interacting with the delivery people.
Project Plan:
For planning our project we used Notion as we liked having the ability to update the status of each task as we progressed in the project
How Might We:
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• Create a feeling of safety and security during delivery hand off
• Create a delivery experience that is easy and efficient
Who are we designing for?
Primary User Persona
The research helped us develop the primary user persona who is a busy professional living in the Downtown Los Angeles area. She orders take outs often but does not like waiting in lines. She also prefers contactless delivery.
Card Sorting
To generate the site map, we opted for the closed format virtual card sort through Optimal Workshop with 6 participants since our persona is experienced with mobile food apps, we were more interested in testing how well an existing bucket structure supports the content we were looking to include in our redesign.
Site Map
Design
Research methods used:
Sketches, User Flow, Narrative Arc, Mid-Fidelity Prototype, Usability Testing
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Sketches:
We conducted 2 sets of Design Studio to finalize the Checkout and Ordering process.
The design studios helped us with the navigation design. We would ideate around primary navigation through a static navigation bar. Contextual navigation would be used through the UI to provide the users easy navigation through the different vendors' pages, menus and sub menus.
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We also thought about incorporating a QR code to unlock the robot’s lid upon arrival which would utilize the robot’s existing cameras to scan a unique code, generated for each order.
Navigation Design
User Flow
The user flow shows Donna’s happy path as a busy professional who is able to order food and get it delivered so that her workflow is not disrupted.
Narrative Arc
We made the narrative arc to help us look through the user's journey of why and how she would use a food delivery app.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
Mid-Fidelity Testing Insights
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Ability to add a tip and edit the Card details and Delivery address would be helpful
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The user got confused by the total amount displayed as they were expecting to 
 see the total after adding tip and fees like service and delivery
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Aim at robot isn’t necessary, scan the QR code would have been enough
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The user thought that the experience was easy and straightforward
Deliver
Research methods used:
Design System, Mood Board, Incorporate(Atomic Design, Content Strategy, Psychology and UX, Designing for Mobile, Accessibility and Compliance, Designing for Emotion), Advanced Testing and Research(A/B Testing), High-Fidelity Prototype, Usability Testing
Design System
Mood Board
We generated the mood board to help us with our final high fidelity prototype. We wanted to focus on the features and visual design aspect of our prototype.
Incorporate - We incorporated few Design Principles and Methodologies in our final prototype.
Atomic Design
Content Strategy
Psychology and UX
Designing for Mobile
Accessibility and Compliance
Designing for Emotion
Color
Sound - Affirmation
A survey was conducted to better understand how digital user experiences can leverage audio information to the same extent as visual information. How different soundS can invoke a feeling of affirmation and provide a positive experience was really interesting
Key takeaways:
Users desire audio, but require the option to silence any sounds. Contributing factors: social setting and delivery method(i.e. headphones, computer speakers, etc)
Sound design can enhance a user experience for the purposes of communicating(i.e. a new message, errors, mis-clicks)
Effective sound design should be baked into the product’s development rather than after.
This is the audio cue that would play when the QR Code is scanned.
Advanced Testing and Research(A/B Testing)
We generated a survey for:
1. Size and Position of the Call to Action Button
2. Color and Contrast of the Call to Action Button
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There were 2 options each for both questions and we received 9 responses and it helped us to design our high-fidelity prototype.
Testing Insights:
* The user felt that it was hard to understand whether the task was accomplished or not, especially during instructions
* Even though the user could understand what the QR code would do she would have liked if there was a note saying what should one do once the barcode screen appears
* Audio cue for the QR code was helpful, she also liked the option of being able to mute the notification
* The user completed the task of placing the order as expected and felt that the navigation was easy to understand
* The user liked the color palette as she felt the colors evoked the sense of food
Final Thoughts
Next Steps:
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Incorporate and test an order confirmation page in order to ensure that user has achieved their goal
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Clarify the instructions and task surrounding the QR screen
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Increase the scope of functions and testing
Conclusion:
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I attended the live Instagram chat session of Starship Technologies to announce the expansion to another college campus in Europe. During the Q&A session, I asked the Starship Technologies representative about delivery outside of college campuses and also about incorporating multiple delivery to which he let me know that they are always open to new ideas but they follow a 5 year plan.
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I was also curious to know how important they think accessibility is to which he replied that they always design keeping that in mind.
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I learnt a lot from this team project as it helped me get a different perspective and become a better UX Designer.
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