A Voice-Enabled Plug-In for Stress-Free Parking in Montreal

Summary

A UX case study on the pain points of Montreal’s parking signs, and how a Google Maps plug-in with voice control can help drivers find free parking zones and overcome these challenges.

My Role

Product Designer

Duration

Feb 2024 - April 2024

Tools & Methods

  • Figma, FigJam

  • Observation

  • Affinity Diagram

  • Persona

  • Competitor Analysis

I collaborated with two other designers for this project. This project was part of the INF627 course offered by McGill University

Secondary Research

Montréal parking signs: harder than a PhD

In Montreal, drivers often struggle to interpret free parking zone signs because they are cluttered with overlapping symbols, and complex time restrictions. Confusing signs lead drivers to hesitate, block traffic, and circle around, wasting time and increasing congestion. This also results in many drivers getting expensive parking fines.

Observing our users

Drivers end up stepping out of their cars just to decode the sign they stopped for

To better understand drivers’ frustrations, we went into the streets and observed how people actually interacted with parking signs and dealt with the issue. While observing drivers interact with urban parking signs, we noticed that the challenge wasn’t just about finding parking, but about making sense of the rules quickly and safely

Looking into existing solutions

Parking apps miss the driver’s reality

Persona

Meet Alex: Lost in Translation (and Parking Signs)

Brainstorming different solutions

Real issue isn’t just unclear signs but the unsafe context of reading them

We explored many ideas, like QR code stickers on signs, but they still distracted drivers. Instead, we focused on navigation-based guidance that reduces interpretation and helps find legal parking in real time.

Seeing what’s really going on

How users experience the problem and how our plug-in helps them overcome it

The storyboard shows parking confusion and reveals where the plug-in is most needed.

First design steps

Designing for Hands-Free Parking Help

In wireframing, we focused on how drivers could use the plug-in without touching the screen. We solved it by adding voice commands.

To be continued…