Pay2wash offers automatic laundromat solutions for apartment landlords. This system was introduced to the Camelot apartment in 2021.
According to user experience research (click to scroll down for details) , the system, especially the mobile application, needs improvement.
Based on user research, the following objectives have been identified for the new solution:
Display clear laundry status to prevent users from forgetting their laundry
Offer a reporting method for refunds due to machine malfunctions
Provide operation guidance and program descriptions to minimize the learning curve
Deliver a streamlined and user-friendly interface for an enhanced user experience
Machine: Users can view the status of all machines and check the remaining time for their own laundry.
Account: Users can configure their location, view and top-up their account balance, and access other settings.
Guidance: Users can understand how to operate the entire laundry system and explore programs to select the most suitable one for their laundry needs.
Start Laundry: Users choose an available machine (indicated in white) and proceed to the confirmation page to activate the machine.
Top up balance: From the account page, users click the 'top up' button, which takes them to the add balance page. Here, they can select their preferred account and payment method to finalize the payment.
Report Issues: Users can understand how to operate the entire laundry system and explore programs to select the most suitable one for their laundry needs.
Explore Programs: If users are uncertain about which program to choose, they can view detailed descriptions of each program on the guidance page to make a decision.
Four research methods were applied and each had their own objectives
To obtain a broad view of the user experience and identify the primary issues
To collect data that tested and verified hypotheses, leading to the identification of key points
To gain a deeper understanding of users' attitudes and preferences
To determine the priority of each feature and function
Be actively engaging with the system with focal point diagram
Three participants guided through the laundry process
Observations without interrupting users
The survey questionnaire, divided into three sections, included sixteen questions on overall experience, washing and drying procedure. 21 effective answers were collected.
Based on the analysis, the areas that need to be explored further and their priorities are as follows.
No machine available, Forget to pick up clothes (push notifications), Sanitary problem (clean the fluff filter)
The two main goals of interview were to explore topics from the survey results and to inform the content for the card sort activity.
Based on the analysis, two significant issues emerged: Time management and Sanitation. There are some approaches to improve user experience:
Card sorting aimed to rearchitect the information elements of the Pay2Wash application based on users' mental models.
The result shows that all participants preferred a tab bar over a hamburger menu for easier navigation. The new architecture has three sections: personal information, home page, and guidance, shown as follows:
