Troop Travel With Google Maps
Enhancing Group Travel Experience with Real-time Position Tracking and Group Coordination
The project aims to develop a new feature for Google Maps that allows users to travel in groups and track each other’s location in real time. This feature will enhance the overall user experience by enabling seamless coordination and ensuring the safety of group members during their journeys.
Problem statement
It can be challenging to keep track of everyone’s location when traveling with friends, especially when visiting new places. Group members can become dispersed or lost without an effective means of communication, which would cause delays and frustration. It can also be difficult to coordinate group activities and navigate to the next place in the absence of real-time position tracking.
The Goal
The goal of this case study is to design and develop a comprehensive group travel feature within Google Maps. By addressing the existing problem, we aim to enhance user experience, improve coordination among group members, and provide a seamless and enjoyable journey for users traveling together.
Interviews
After conducting in-depth interviews with a selected group of users to gain qualitative insights and a deeper understanding of their needs, behaviors, and expectations
Interview Question Criteria
Self Regulation
Explored how users manage their own preferences and needs while traveling in a group.
Communication
Assessed the methods users use to convey their preferences or ideas to the group while traveling.
Engagement
Investigated the factors that contribute to a user's active participation in group activities or discussions while traveling.
Insights
desired a more efficient way to coordinate activities and share information
of respondents faced challenges in keeping the group together during trips
expressed concerns about safety and navigation in unfamiliar places.
Design
Brainstroming
After reviewing and gaining insights from our research we moved onto iterating over the features we would like in our application. This would range from deciding the intended user-flow, addressing key pain points from our insights, and finally a system map to base the flow on.
Key Solution Elements and features from Needs:
Users can create a group and select the location of the destination and stops in between.
Invite other users to join the group by sharing a unique code and Scheduling the trip with more notifications.
Users can share their real-time location with the group, and the app displays the live location of all members on a map.
The group travel feature automatically archives trip details, allowing users to review past journeys and reference them in the future.
Information Architecture
User Personas
Sarah, 30 Years Old
Marketing Manager | 7 Years Experience
Sarah is a social butterfly who loves traveling with her friends. She has a busy work schedule but always makes time for her friends to take weekend getaways and explore new destinations. Sarah enjoys being organized and in control, especially when traveling in a group, but sometimes finds it challenging to keep track of everyone’s location and coordinate group activities.
The Goal
Sarah wants an app that allows her to track her friends' location in real time while on a trip. She wants to be able to stay connected with her friends, plan group activities, and avoid getting lost or separated. Sarah also wants an app that is easy to use, reliable, and provides privacy settings to control who can see her location.
Challenges
Behaviors:
John, 32 Years Old
Software Developer | 7 Years Experience
John is a tech-savvy traveler who loves exploring new destinations with his group of friends. He values spontaneity and adventure but also wants to ensure that the group stays safe and organized. John has a busy work schedule and often travels during weekends, making it challenging to coordinate group activities and stay connected with his friends.
The Goal
John wants an app that allows him to track his friends' location in real-time, even in areas with poor network connectivity. He wants to be able to share his location with his friends, navigate to the next destination, and coordinate group activities. John also wants the app to be customizable, allowing him to control the level of location sharing and privacy settings.
Challenges
Behaviors:
Feature Listing and Ideating Flow
After conducting in-depth interviews with a selected group of users to gain qualitative insights and a deeper understanding of their needs, behaviors, and expectations
Group Creation and Selecting Location
Users can create a group and invite others to join, providing a seamless way to establish a travel community.
Invitation and Chat with Troop
Invite other users to join the group by sharing a unique code and Scheduling the trip with more notification.
Trip Scheduling and Sharing
Real-time Location Sharing
Real-time Location Sharing: Users can share their real-time location with the group, and the app displays the live location of all members on a map.
INVITEE POINT OF VIEW
Notifications and Messaging
Users (Invitees) receive notifications when a group is created by the admin. A notification is also activated if a member deviates from the route. Also it enables quick communication and adjustment of plans.
Invitee Can Accept The Invitation | Schedule |
Add Own Starting Point
Accept the invitation to join a group and enjoy features such as scheduling events and adding specific locations for your events. Stay organized and enjoy shared activities together with your group members.
Trip Archives
The group travel feature automatically archives trip details, allowing users to review past journeys and reference them in the future.
Replacing the Least used Nav buttons
The group travel feature automatically archives trip details, allowing users to review past journeys and reference them in the future.
4 or 5 users had the least priority to check the Contributes and Updates tab.
To make the Troop Travel Feature more accessible. I decided to keep the troop travel feature next to “EXPLORE” and shifted Contribute, updates to the profile popup.
Conclusions
The introduction of the group travel feature in Google Maps has significantly improved coordination, communication, and safety for users traveling in groups. The seamless integration, intuitive design, and customization options have made it a valuable addition to the Google Maps ecosystem, enhancing the overall group travel experience for users.
