[Case 06]
Location sharing through tower triangulation
Telco / Location Sharing
Prioritising user safety over launch: a measure of true success
A 'successfully unlaunched feature' story
[Project Overview]
As part of their wellbeing pillar, Optus wanted to give users a way to share their location with other services under the same account, helping keep them and their loved ones safe without battery drain or setup hassle.
[Problem Statement]
Optus customers would like a way to know their loved ones are safe but current location sharing apps demand high battery drainage and complicated set up process
[Category]
Telco / Location Sharing
[My Role]
Product Designer
[Platforms]
Desktop and Android
[Date]
2024
[Process]
[01] User Research
Conducted user interviews to understand their frustrations and preferences.
Analyzed user behavior data around earlier MVP version of the product
Benchmarked against competitors to identify best practices for location sharing experiences
[02] Insights
Users were frustrated by location sharing set up process and battery drainage
Some users had concerns about privacy
Users were not satisfied with accuracy of the approximate location and with not being able to invite other users
[03 Design Solution]
Easy onboarding and low battery drainage
Design for easy onboarding, invitations setup, map views and all different user statuses
Extensive work on map interactions and behaviour for both iOS and android
[04] Testing & Iteration
Considered previous data insights from earlier MVP product
Conducted concept testing, interviews, several rounds of user testing and guerrilla testing and refined the design based on user input
Strongly communicated, advised and pushed back on launching Live Location based on our risk assessment designs numerous times to work around technical constrains and mitigate potential risks
[Outcome]
Extensive design iterations to mitigate technical challenges and user risks
Thorough documentation on potential risks to users and consequences for both users and company
Safeguarded users against potential privacy risks and protected Optus from trust and reputational exposure
[Key Learnings]
‘Success is a user’s story’
Sometimes the true measure of success isn't a product's launch, it's the decision to hold it back when user safety is on the line
Take a step back
Pause to interrogate and scrutinise, examine an experience from every possible angle, and actively surface risks to safeguard user wellbeing and trust
Keep it user centred
Never let stakeholder pressure and tight deadlines compromise the ethical responsibility for the users we design for as your main priority
