UX/UI Case Study
Project Description
Gas Money is a mobile app that connects homeowners with local student workers, offering students flexible opportunities to earn money while building skills in leadership, communication, and accountability. Evolving from a high school lawn care business, Gas Money now provides a platform for various home and yard services, empowering students to become their own boss and homeowners to find reliable help. This study details the testing process that informed our final usability report and design.
Personas
Method Application
Method Findings
Participants also expressed frustration over the lack of a way to schedule recurring services. Contractors found it inconvenient to repeatedly request services for ongoing needs, which created unnecessary hassle. This indicated the importance of implementing a feature for scheduling recurring tasks.
One of the most memorable findings was that participants frequently emphasized the importance of hiring dependable students. This highlighted the need for contractors to view each student’s experience and ratings for previously completed jobs.
Communication between the two parties emerged as a significant pain point. Participants noted delays in communication, which led to frustration and, in some cases, a desire to cancel services and switch to alternative platforms. This insight underscored the need for clear and timely communication standards to improve the user experience for both contractors and students.
Empathy Mapping
Method Application
Method Findings
Skepticism about student reliability emerged as a significant barrier to user confidence when booking services. Participants expressed hesitation, often questioning whether students could deliver dependable results, which in turn discouraged them from fully utilizing the app
Users highlighted the value of the in-app messaging feature, noting that it provided a convenient and safe way to communicate without relying on third-party platforms
Card Sorting
Method Application
The card sorting method was applied to understand how hiring-side users naturally categorized services and navigation elements within the Gas Money app. Using the Lyssna platform, participants completed the sorting exercise remotely, with their screen interactions and audio feedback recorded in real time. This approach provided insights into how users perceived and organized the app’s content, helping us refine its structure to better align with their expectations.
Method Findings
Participants consistently grouped related services, such as removal tasks (e.g., debris, snow, and leaf removal) into “Removal Services” and technology-related tasks (e.g., filming, photography, and tech support) into “Technology Services.” These insights highlighted opportunities to refine service categories for better alignment with user expectations.
Users grouped items like “Upcoming Services,” “Request a Service,” and “Service History” under a unified “Services” category. However, items like “Search” and “Messages” caused confusion due to unclear labeling, revealing areas for improvement in navigation structure.
Scenarios + Think-aloud Protocols
Method Application
The think-aloud protocol was conducted with 4 participants, who were asked to complete tasks such as posting a job, browsing student profiles, and messaging candidates in the Gas Money app. Each task was framed within a scenario (e.g., hiring a student for yard work), and participants verbalized their thoughts throughout. Sessions were recorded to capture both screen activity and audio, while observers noted moments of hesitation or confusion to identify usability challenges.
"I wish I could see the students experience level or availability in the contractor profile"
"There are a lot of services on here"
"Some of the icons did not do what I expected them them too"
"I like being able to see contractors previous work in images on their profile"
Findings From Study
When browsing student profiles, some participants expressed difficulty locating relevant filters, such as “experience level” or “availability,” which they expected to find as an option but did like that they could type in keywords to search.
Participants mentioned that there was an overwhelming amount of services and they felt like they needed to read all of them to ensure they selected the correct one.
Participants commented that the “Messages” icon seemed like a help chat at first. They also were confused that they had to go to the contractors page to be able to message them directly they were not able to do it in the main messages screen.
Many participants found that the amount of job postings available to be a lot and irritating to move through, especially if a job they were looking for was at the back of the scroll list.
Solutions
Categorizing Services
Simplify and clearly label service categories.
Adding a Bottom Nav Bar
Add a bottom navigation bar to allow for easier navigation within the app.
Enhance Contractor Search
Streamline the contractor search page with improved filters and a better search process.
Organizing Services into Categories
To improve usability, we propose reorganizing services into clear categories that align with users’ mental models, such as “Removal Services,” “Lawn Care,” or “Indoor vs. Outdoor” tasks. This approach, informed by our usability study, reduces cognitive load and simplifies navigation. Using the grouping data collected, we will refine these categories based on how users naturally associate services, ensuring an intuitive and efficient app experience.
Before
After
Implementing a Bottom Navigation Bar
To address navigation issues, we recommend implementing a fixed bottom navigation bar with icons for key features such as “Dashboard,” “Services,” “Messages,” and “Account.” This solution simplifies access to critical features, reduces confusion, and improves task efficiency by ensuring consistent placement and functionality across all app screens. Clear, labeled icons will further enhance usability and align with user expectations for modern app interfaces.
Before
After
Enhancing the Contractor Search Page
To address the overwhelming contractor search page, we propose simplifying the layout by displaying only key details, such as availability, skills, and ratings, on each profile. Adding filters for attributes like experience level, location, and job type will help users refine their search efficiently. This streamlined approach reduces cognitive load, enhances decision-making, and ensures a clean, organized interface aligned with user expectations.
Before
After
Business Outcomes
Streamlined navigation and organized services make tasks like job postings and bookings faster, encouraging repeat use.
Simplified interfaces and filtering options reduce friction, leading to higher booking completion rates and greater customer loyalty.
Highlighting key details such as ratings and top services enables quicker, more intuitive decisions.
Clearer communication tools and the introduction of a “Book” button reduce task completion time by up to 25%.
Final Thoughts
The Gas Money app's hiring side usability study revealed important information about user interactions, pointing out both its advantages and disadvantages. Participants consistently expressed a desire for simplicity, efficiency, and clarity in navigating and using the app’s features, which were often hindered by cluttered layouts, unclear navigation, and a lack of filtering options. The app offers a more seamless user experience by tackling these issues with focused adjustments like streamlined navigation, user-friendly filters, and a more organized interface. In addition to increasing usability and lowering frustration, these improvements also increase user satisfaction, engagement, and customer retention, making the Gas Money app a more solid and competitive platform in its field of business.
