A quick attempt between meetings.

First, I will understand what the interviewer means by app. Is it something that works on a regular phone as an add on feature or is it an app for a specialized device for the blind.

Assume that the interviewer says that it is just an add on feature for the existing Lyft app.

Next, I will ask whether the user has any other special needs that I should know about.

Interviewer – No. Only that the user is blind.

Where is the app going to be released.

Interviewer – US.

Assumption. Customer speaks English.

Goals of the app.

Allow blind people to access cabs via Lyft.

Pain points addressed
For the blind customer –
1. Non-touch based way to convey current location and call cab.
2. Know that a cab has been scheduled
3. Know that the cab has arrived and has reached the destination.
4. ID the cab that has been assigned.
5. Safety while traveling in the cab.
6. Payment options
7. Rating/Tipping options
8. Type of cab needed ( any luggage etc, car pool, luxury)

For the cab driver
1. ID the customer uniquely
2. Incentives to pick up blind people

Solutions:

Customer
1. Voice based input to convey where the user wishes to go. Feedback from the phone to confirm the location.
2. Feedback from the device – via voice, vibration that a cab has been scheduled.
3. Voice based feedback
4. There is a unique id that is communicated to the customer. This ID has to be verified by the cab driver. The id can be the name of the driver or any other uniquely identifiable information.
5. Panic signal (either a button on the phone) or an attachment given to the blind to help signal trouble. There is feedback from the system saying that there could be something going wrong. For example, the driver’s vehicle is not going in the correct direction.
6. Ability to preset cc information.
7. Voice based interface to know the rating of the driver and to rate the driver and add tips.
8. Voice based input with feedback from the app as to what the estimated fare and time of arrival

Driver:
1. Flashing customer phone synchronized and with a specific color so that the driver can uniquely id the customer
2. Special rates for drivers to incentivize picking up blind people.

Prioritization.
For the customer – all the features listed would be essential for v1.

Me: Is this app an add on to the existing Lyft application?
Interviewer: Yes!
Me: ok, so our user base is blind people who want to book cabs to get from point A to point B. There use case is somewhat similar to the existing Lyft users but need added functionalities to account for the disability. Lets walk through the customer journey when using the app:
1) Customer decides they need to book a cab, so now the first thing they will do is open the Lyft app on their smartphone.
2) Customer needs to decide on the pickup and destination.
a. Now, pickup can be a customers current location, which can be tracked using the existing location services but sometimes this is not accurate.
b. Destination can be something like a house address which the customer already knows. Or it can be a bestbuy or Walmart, in which case the app needs to communicate to the user different options along with distance from their pickup point. This would enable the user to choose the closest one.
3) Now, customer wants to choose between different types of rides available from mini to luxury cabs.
4) Once customer picks the type of ride, app needs to communicate two things:
a. Wait time
b. Estimate of the trip
5) If customer decides to go ahead with the booking, confirm booking. Then the customer is linked to a driver nearby. App needs to notify the customer that the cab has been booked.
6) At this point the customer may want to check the feedback or rating of the driver, here it might be more relevant for the customer if we can communicate the drivers rating of managing blind customers separately.
7) Customer wants to track the cabs location in real time to be aware of the wait time.
8) Once cab arrives at the pickup location, customer needs to be notified and be able to identify the can they need to get into.
9) Once customer is in the cab, they need to confirm that the driver has accurately started the trip only then.
10) On the way to their destination, customer wants to be able to track that they are on the right route.
11) Customer wants to be able to raise an alarm in case they feel insecure.
12) Once cab reaches the destination, customer needs to be able to confirm that it is the same location that they entered in the app.
13) After the ride is complete, they want to be able to tip the driver and leave a feedback/rating.

Is there any aspect of the journey I am missing?

Interviewer: No, I think that is pretty much it.

Me: ok, now all the above use cases are important for a great customer experience but in the nick of time, I would like to prioritize my top use cases based on ‘must have’ features vs other features that would be ‘good to have’.
One of the biggest reasons that ride sharing apps such as Lyft are so successful is because they are reliable, safe and convenient. Based on these criteria my top use cases from the list above are – 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11.
Is there any other use case you would like me to add?
Interviewer: No, this is good.
Me: ok, now we have a prioritized list of use cases, let’s work on the scope of solutions.
1) There can be multiple ways for the customer to be able to open the Lyft app on their smartphone:
a. Voice assistant such as SIRI or Android voice assistant. This is already an inbuilt feature in most of the smartphones these days.
b. The location of the Lyft app for blind is fixed on the screen of the phone. For example, it is always placed on the bottom right corner of the screen. This way customer would know where to touch to access the app.
2) Deciding and communicating the pickup and destination location to the driver via app is very critical.
a. The most convenient way for the user to do this is through voice command. For reliability purpose, the voice assistant on the app should communicate back to the user the entered pickup and destination details for confirmation.
b. There are existing features on smartphone under accessibility called ‘voice over’. This command reads out loud the functionality of the button user touches on the screen. This would be very time taking and not a convenient process for the user.
4) For communicating the wait time and trip estimate, we can again use voice assistant. This is a convenient and reliable way.
5) Once cab is booked, customer can be notified in multiple ways:
a. Series of vibrations signaling that a cab has been booked.
b. Voice assistant notifies the customer of the booking confirmation.
8) A very critical part of the process is for the customer to be able to identify the right cab to get into at the pickup location. This can be done in multiple ways:
a. When confirming the booking, the app asks the customer to click a picture of themselves or their surroundings to send to the cab driver. This would make it easy for the cab driver to identify the customer. Some people might not be comfortable sending their pictures to a stranger.
b. As soon as the cab arrives at the pickup location, the app automatically connects a call between the driver and the customer so that the driver can guide the customer to the cab.
11) Safety is a very critical part of the entire customer journey, so the customers wants to be able to raise an alarm if they feel threatened. They can do this in below manner:
a. Motion detection – if the customer taps their phone 3 times continuously, this sends an SOS to the nearest authority of the Lyft call center. They can then track the cab and provide help.
b. Voice assistant – the customer communicates to the voice assistant and requests a call to the Lyft call center. This could not be the most convenient way of raising an alarm as it is not discreet and also alarms the driver.

Now, with potential solutions in mind, lets evaluate any tradeoffs in terms of customer impact and cost of implementation to estimate for a MVP.

1) Customer impact – high, cost of implementation – low (leverages existing voice assistants such as SIRI)
2) Customer impact – high, cost of implementation – med (in case we have to develop a personal voice assistant for the Lyft app)
4) Customer impact – med, cost of implementation – low (once a voice assistant is developed, same can be utilized here)
5) Customer impact – high, cost of implementation – low
8) Two potential solutions
a. Customer impact – med (many might not be comfortable in sending pictures), Cost of implementation – Med
b. Customer impact – High, Cost of implementation – low
11) Two potential solution
a. Customer impact – high, cost of implementation – med
b. Customer impact – med, cost of implementation – low

Based on above evaluation, I propose that we build a voice assistant for Lyft app for blind to assist with booking. The app automatically connects a call between the driver and customer as soon as the cab arrives at the pickup location and provides users with the option of raising an alarm using voice assistant.