Maptions!
-
ClientIndependent
-
Year2022
-
RoleCCO - Product Designer/App Development
-
StatusBeta in Development
-
Website
Project Overview
We found a common problem.
Delivery drivers, patrons and friends still somehow manage to NOT find our
homes, apartments and businesses - even with gps.
So we did something about it.
Maptions help friends, potential customers, and (food) delivery drivers find
you faster by providing a platform for unique interactive sharable maps that can assist with getting people from the GPS point, to the front door.
Opportunity / Lofty Goals / Solutions
OCovid 19 Created a surge in drivers not typically accustomed to being a delivery person. At the time, Doordash, Instacart etc.. had poor in app directions and maps. GPS could get you to an address, but not to the front door.
LGCreate a friendly brand, native ios/android app, web interface for sharing/viewing, AR/MR POV video directions with way markers and directional arrows for large complexes and buildings, integration API for major platforms: UBER, Instacart, DoorDash etc...
SCreated a friendly, simple ios native app that allows for visual and text instructions created by the patron and sharable with a delivery person, easily, quickly and securely.
Research/Analysis
Do people need a visual map and would they use it? Based on Doordash alone, there were over 1M dashers and 20M Customers in 2020. According to Zippia, though the market is predominantly white men around 40, statistics show spoken languages at: Spanish, 70.8% French, 6.7% German, 3.8% Russian, 2.3% Arabic, 2.2% Other, 14.2%. Our primary persona is a non native English speakers around the age of 35. Though, alternate personas include a wide range of drivers from the ages of 18-65.
Can we tie into current mapping platforms? Yes and no. Currently, most companies that provide a delivery service provide google maps within their app. We would need to create a robust API and get buy in from companies like google and amazon.
Competitive and Comparative Analysis
Who is already working on this type of solution?
When searching for mapping apps we found a cornucopia of solutions related to route planning and
general GPS nav, but none that provide the visual service like Maptions that connects drivers and customers.
GPS can get a driver to a destination address, but what about the details?
Big companies (Google Maps,
Apple Maps, Wayz, Garmin, TomTom) offer route optimization, traffic
updates etc. That is not the target of Maptions.
Initial communication between customer, company and driver is app driven.
Maptions aims to create a connection between the driver and customer after the driver gets to the GPS location.
Implementation
We interviewed Doordash drivers and the general public to gain empathy.
Designed task flows, application screen wire frames and prototypes handed off to developers.
Integrated mapbox into android/ios native application beta on test flight.
Designed and launched public facing informational site to help educate and invite people to participate in the beta.
Helped to develop MVP in React Native
Conclusion/Reflection
Field studies with the beta app showed that 80% of the drivers found our service helpful, but not accurate enough. Maptions service requires the customer to take some time to generate an accurate map for the driver.
At the time we began exploring this concept, Covid 19 was in full swing and the world was in lock down. We were on fire about building this but lacked the pro developer so we did our best to get the MVP ready for testing.
Maptions started as a fun, interactive concept that would pair with a smart bulb to notify a driver which house, unit etc... was their target and evolved into a custom map app.
We were over our heads and shelved the project to work on our (Currently Stealth) NFT Auction house.
Conceptualizing an idea is easy, getting it to market is tough. Could we even compete or integrate with the big companies? We lost some steam but hope to pick this back up again soon.
