Role
Product designer
Timeline
September, 2022 - December, 2022
Group
Caoyang Shen
Minshan Tang
Tools
Figma
Miro
The Problem
What if riders can co-work with drivers on Google Maps?
When I was exposed to Google suite for the first time, I marveled at the convenience of the co-work system. However, I am confused why coworking has not been introduced to Google Maps.
As a new driver, changing the location or finding a gas station is challenging, especially on the highway. In this situation, if there is a rider, I have to give my phone and ask them to do a favor for me. When I drive independently, I have to stop to make some changes.
Therefore, Minshan and I are considering transferring more responsibility to riders, allowing drivers to focus more on driving.
Heuristic Evaluation
New list is not accessible to users
The system did not place the recently edited bundle on the top of the list, which may cause user confusion.
(Recognition rather than recall)
There is no real-time location sharing with the people in your shared list
While Google offers real-time location sharing and creating their lists of destinations, there's no option for users to combine both services.
(Flexibility and efficiency of use)
Real-time location sharing is hidden deeply
It will take users a while to find where the real-time location sharing is. Some people even do not realize Google Maps has this feature.
(Visibility of system status)
Users cannot start trip with one key after finishing the trip plan
Participants can only add and view the places in the list. However, it is not their final goal.
(User control and freedom)
User journey map
Competitor analysis
Direct competitor
Apple Map has a more advanced location-sharing feature. Riders can receive notifications when drivers start and arrive.
Analogous comparator
Passengers can change the destination before and during the ride and send it to the driver promptly.
Zenly allows people to know others’ moving speeds when they travel to certain places.
Persona
People not only need Map to navigate accurately, but also expect Map to create more convience.
Age: 35
Occupation: Carpooler Mom
Location: Mountain View, CA
Car Brand: Lexus
Mona Simpson
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Car Brand: Audi
Steve Scoot

Solutions
01. Allow users to cowork on the route plan
02. Provide more choices for drivers to start a trip.
For riders, they can request the premission of editing from drivers. The drivers can agree through the list page or carplay page. After they finish, the route will be changed directly. The riders can keep editing until drivers lock down.
Drivers can drive according to the list order or the most convenient and economical way to start the trip. We also support them changing the selection during the driving with one tape.
User flow
Driver’s flow
Rider’s flow
Wireframe
The saved is an appropriate place to update. It allows people to make trip plans together and save the destination. However, we think it is not sufficient, and we made several changes based on the original design of the saved.

High-fidelity Prototypes
Organization
We divided lists into two categories because features for drivers and riders are different in our following design.
Convenience
Drivers can allow the riders to see their location and edit the route with one tap.
Effciency
Drivers can choose a way according to the order of places in the list, or they can choose a more efficient way with the help of our algorithm to save more time.
Transparency
The riders can learn where the drivers are in real time, so they can estimate when they should start preparing. It also helps riders to find the pickup point easily.
Safety
Riders cannot revise the route freely. Instead, they need to get the permission of drivers. Meanwhile, we learn from Uber's design. The updates will be done after submission rather than in real time.
Reflection
Why does Google not implement the features of sharing and collaboration in Maps?
Safety
Our design gives the drivers the control to allow riders to edit. However, for now, the button opens the permissions to all in the list because we do not want drivers to complete too complicated tasks when driving. The consequence is that riders may edit the map together, and the route plan may frequently change, which still enhances the risk of driving. In the future, we expect to find a safer design for drivers to control permissions.
Convenience
The saved is a good place to be improved, but Goole may focus on other places due to budget. Without budget consideration, Our design enables users to cowork on the trip together and begins with one tape. Meanwhile, we are considering whether people in one car can join a group with one tape. As long as the riders are in the same car as the drivers, they can help drivers do something without being in a group in advance. However, when it comes to the difficulty of development and budget, we still need more user statistics to support the design value.