我的第一個安卓應用程序

by Daniel Novykov

丹尼爾·諾維科夫(Daniel Novykov)

我如何設計我的第一個應用程序 (How I Designed My First App)

This is a story about building a product, what went wrong, and how it changed my career into Design.

這是一個有關構建產品，出了什么問題以及如何將我的職業轉變為設計的故事。

For the past ten years, I’ve built many personal side projects. Some were small daily gigs, but there was one that took awhile to accomplish.

在過去的十年中，我建立了許多個人輔助項目。有些是小型的日常演出，但有一段時間需要完成。

This story is about an iPhone app I was working on back in 2015–2016. The automotive startup should save drivers money on gas, reduce greenhouse gases, and make autonomous vehicles a little smarter.

這個故事是關于我在2015–2016年期間使用的iPhone應用程序。這家汽車初創公司應為駕駛員節省汽油費用，減少溫室氣體排放，并使自動駕駛汽車更加智能。

After many brainstorm and research sessions, I assembled a team of developers to help me build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). We chose to design the iOS app first due to a better audience fit.

經過許多頭腦風暴和研究會議之后，我召集了一個開發人員團隊來幫助我建立MVP(最小可行產品)。由于更好的受眾群體適合度，我們選擇首先設計iOS應用。

During the mid-stage development, a landing page and social channels were launched. This accumulated the first 1,000 people for the wait list and future beta test.

在開發的中期階段，啟動了登陸頁面和社交渠道。這為等待名單和將來的beta測試積累了前1000名人員。

Although we had some challenges down the road, the project was developing well. Frequent user tests confirmed we were working in the right direction.

盡管我們面臨著一些挑戰，但該項目進展順利。頻繁的用戶測試證實我們在朝著正確的方向努力。

Nonetheless, only days before releasing the MVP for a beta test, I decided to put the development on hold.

盡管如此，在發布MVP進行Beta測試的前幾天，我還是決定暫停開發。

There were a few reasons why I made that decision, including personal things and funding. I still want to share the design process I went through, what lessons I learned, and how it reflected on my career.

我做出該決定的原因有很多，包括個人物品和資金。我仍然想分享我經歷的設計過程，我學到的教訓以及它如何影響我的職業。

一切始于個人需求 (It all started with a Personal Need)

A few years ago I bought my first car and became obsessed with driving. The comfort, joy, and freedom overcame the cheapness of public transportation and traffic mess. But there were costs that came with owning a car — parking tickets, insurance, maintenance, and gas.

幾年前，我買了我的第一輛汽車，開始沉迷于駕駛。舒適，歡樂和自由克服了公共交通和交通混亂帶來的廉價。但是，擁有汽車會帶來一些成本-罰單，保險，維修和汽油。

One thing that bothered me the most was the fuel price fluctuation on a daily basis. It could rise in the morning and drop at night. It could be a 10% difference around the corner, and you would know that right after leaving the pump.

最讓我困擾的一件事是每天的燃油價格波動。它可能在早晨上升而在晚上下降。拐角處可能有10％的差異，并且您會在離開泵后立即知道這一點。

So I started digging the web and found a brilliant ( I thought at that time) solution for my needs — GasBuddy. It’s an app that shows up-to-date fuel prices at the local gas stations. I was on heaven that day imagining saving hundreds per month on gas.

因此，我開始瀏覽網絡，并找到了一個滿足自己需求的出色解決方案( GasBuddy) 。這個應用程式會顯示當地加油站的最新燃油價格。那天我在天堂，幻想每月可以節省數百美元的汽油。

The next several years I spent using GasBuddy, I was thankful for the treasure they’ve built but frustrated with the app’s interface that drove me crazy. A confused interface and limited features are among those things I couldn’t handle any longer.

在使用GasBuddy的接下來的幾年中，我為他們所建立的寶藏而感激，但對應用程序的界面感到沮喪，這使我發了瘋。混亂的界面和有限的功能是我無法處理的。

That’s why, in June 2015, I started my side project. I called it Fuelhunt.

因此，在2015年6月，我開始了我的副項目。我稱它為Fuelhunt。

The initial idea was to get GasBuddy’s data and to build a better user experience around it. But they are a large corporation and didn’t want to share any of their data even for a reasonable, startup price.

最初的想法是獲取GasBuddy的數據并圍繞它建立更好的用戶體驗。但是他們是一家大公司，即使以合理的啟動價格也不想共享任何數據。

I tried hard to find another data provider, which turned out to be Waze. But they couldn’t help me either. Besides, the accuracy of their data even today is quite terrible.

我盡力找到另一個數據提供者，原來是Waze 。但是他們也幫不了我。此外，即使在今天，其數據的準確性也非常糟糕。

So I thought, well, I can do everything myself. Why not. And the journey of sleepless nights begun.

所以我想，好吧，我自己可以做所有事情。為什么不。不眠之夜的旅程開始了。

But first, let’s find out why it all matters.

但是首先，讓我們找出為什么這一切都很重要。

這是怎么回事？ (What’s the deal?)

1.人們想少付汽油費 (1. People want to pay less for gas)

I bet you’ve noticed that gas prices differ from station to station, from one brand to another, or from one area to the other. The reason can be a real estate or brand issue, or any other condition that influences the oil market, like politics or hurricanes.

我敢打賭，您已經注意到，不同站點之間的汽油價格各不相同，一個品牌到另一個品牌，或者一個地區到另一個地區，汽油價格都不同。原因可能是房地產或品牌問題，也可能是任何其他影響石油市場的情況，例如政治或颶風。

Many of us don’t consider the price difference as savings. But it can run up to $100–200 of savings per year or more, depending on what, how and where you drive. You may argue — that’s not big money. But you can invest the savings on dining, shopping or even more gas.

我們中許多人不認為價差是節省。但根據您開車的方式，方式和地點，每年最多可以節省100-200美元。您可能會爭辯-那不是大筆錢。但是您可以將節省下來的錢用于餐飲，購物甚至更多的汽油。

The are three main components of any gas station:

這是任何加油站的三個主要組成部分：

Convenience
方便

Close to work or home, has a corner store, or other convenience.
靠近工作場所或家，有商店或其他便利設施。
Pricing
價錢

Gas cost, store deals, or other saving.
天然氣成本，商店交易或其他節省。
Quality
質量

Fuel or overall service.
燃料或整體服務。

If you know places that satisfy you with fuel, price, and location — that’s great. If you do not care and will purchase gas whenever you need it — well, that’s also fine.

如果您知道可以讓您在燃料，價格和位置方面令您滿意的地方，那就太好了。如果您不在乎，并在需要時購買天然氣，那也很好。

Meanwhile, there are lots of people who are not aware of the gem locations, but want to use a convenient spot with lower prices.

同時，有許多人不知道寶石的位置，但想以較低的價格使用方便的地點。

However, saving a few bucks might not be the smartest idea. The bad gas is not a myth. The fuel itself can come from the same refinery in a region, but still be different at various retail points.

但是，節省幾美元可能不是最明智的選擇。壞氣不是神話。燃料本身可以來自某個地區的同一家煉油廠，但在各個零售點仍然不同。

Some factors may include fuel filters that are not maintained properly, unusual additives, “old gas” on some stations, unfair employees who can mix it with oil or other stuff to make more profit, and so forth. All this may lead to expensive car repairs.

一些因素可能包括燃油濾清器維護不當，不正常的添加劑，某些加油站上的“舊汽油”，不公平的員工，他們可以將其與石油或其他原料混合以獲取更多利潤，等等。所有這些都可能導致昂貴的汽車維修。

We use Yelp, Google Maps, local magazines and ask our friends for recommendations when looking for the right places to eat. So why don’t we care as much for our cars? A well-treated vehicle can run longer without unexpected maintenance.

我們使用Yelp，Google地圖，當地雜志，并在尋找合適的用餐地點時向我們的朋友提出建議。那么，為什么我們不那么在乎我們的車呢？經過良好處理的車輛可以運行更長的時間，而無需意外維護。

2.氣候變化是真實的，我們需要更加關注它。 (2. Climate change is real and we need to be more concerned about it.)

This is another area in which I wanted to make an impact.

這是我想產生影響的另一個領域。

In 2014 there were over 1.2 billion vehicles in the world, and this number is growing rapidly. They all produce an enormous amount of greenhouse pollution that causes:

2014年，全球有超過12億輛汽車，并且這一數字正在Swift增長。它們都會產生大量的溫室污染，導致：

Rising temperatures as greenhouse gases trap more heat.
隨著溫室氣體捕獲更多的熱量，溫度升高。

Hello global warming!
您好全球變暖！
Melting of the polar ice caps that can lead to a rise in sea levels.
極地冰蓋融化會導致海平面上升。

Hello destructive flooding!
你好，破壞性的洪水！
Depletion of our ozone layer which causes harmful UV rays to enter the Earth. Hello skin cancer!
我們臭氧層的枯竭導致有害的紫外線進入地球。你好皮膚癌！

The question is — can we do something about it?

問題是–我們可以做些什么嗎？

Well, we can’t cut the production of new vehicles as there is a growing demand for them. And we can’t recycle the existing cars as they usually get reused in third world countries. Can we switch to electric? Kind of.

好吧，我們對新車的需求不斷增長，因此我們無法削減其產量。而且，我們無法回收現有的汽車，因為它們通常會在第三世界國家/地區重新使用。我們可以切換到電動嗎？有點兒。

Electric cars are the future. They are quiet, quick, and cheap to operate. They are more reliable with fewer parts to break. And most important, they don’t emit carbon dioxide.

電動汽車是未來。它們安靜，快速且操作便宜。它們更可靠，零件更少。最重要的是，它們不排放二氧化碳。

But this is the future that many of us cannot afford today. Some cars are too high priced, where others can’t provide a proper value yet.

但這是我們許多人今天無法承受的未來。有些汽車的價格太高，而另一些則無法提供適當的價值。

Everything might change with Tesla’s Model 3 (along with other manufacturers’ entry-level propositions), more extensive government support for EV’s, and other benefits. But we are not quite there yet.

特斯拉的Model 3(以及其他制造商的入門級主張)，政府對電動汽車的更廣泛支持以及其他好處，可能會改變一切。但是我們還沒有到那兒。

So how can we make an impact on the environment with everything we have today — with all these vehicles with the internal combustion engines heating up the world we live in?

那么，我們如何利用我們今天擁有的一切對環境產生影響-所有這些裝有內燃機的車輛都在為我們所生活的世界供暖？

我是唯一在乎的人嗎？ (Am I the only one who cares?)

The first questions I had were “How many people share the same problem and vision as I do?” and “Are there enough potential users that it’s worth building a product?”

我的第一個問題是“有多少人和我一樣擁有相同的問題和愿景？” 和“是否有足夠的潛在用戶值得開發產品？”

I ran some surveys and talked to friends who also happen to be drivers. I wanted to figure out the needs and wants of a target audience.

我進行了一些調查，并與恰好也是司機的朋友進行了交談。我想弄清楚目標受眾的需求和需求。

Here are some insights:

以下是一些見解：

The target audience includes most vehicle owners — casual drivers, regular commuters, taxi drivers, truckers.
目標受眾包括大多數車主-臨時駕駛員，普通通勤者，出租車駕駛員，卡車司機。

When choosing a gas station,

選擇加油站時

Most critical factors are convenience and lower fuel prices for drivers in the North American market. The fuel quality adds up in some Eastern European countries.
最關鍵的因素是在北美市場，駕駛員的便利性和較低的燃油價格。一些東歐國家的燃油質量加起來。
The brand loyalty program doesn’t seem like a factor at all among respondents in the North American market. It’s a significant factor in the Eastern European market.
在北美市場的受訪者中，品牌忠誠度計劃似乎根本不是一個因素。這是東歐市場的重要因素。
Other things like a convenience store, car wash, and 24 hours operation don’t matter much among all respondents.
在所有受訪者中，便利店，洗車和24小時營業等其他事項都無關緊要。
People are willing to share either good or bad experiences at the pump.
人們愿意分享泵的好壞經歷。

They want to encourage or redirect other drivers to fill up at the particular place if there is one.
他們想鼓勵或重定向其他駕駛員到特定的地方填補空缺。
Most drivers don’t track their gas expenses, because it’s time-consuming or they’re not aware of easy tools to do so. The majority are willing to track the costs and mileage in some “automatic” way.
大多數駕駛員不跟蹤他們的汽油費用，因為這很耗時，或者他們不知道這樣做的簡便工具。大多數人愿意以某種“自動”方式跟蹤成本和里程。
Almost a half of respondents said they do care about the environment in some way, like garbage sorting and recycling. They’re interested in progressing with the reduction of the carbon footprint.
幾乎一半的受訪者表示，他們確實以某種方式關心環境，例如垃圾分類和回收。他們對減少碳足跡的進步很感興趣。

I also wanted to know what people do while they fill up their cars. I wanted to know if I can fit a product into this 5-minute activity and make this time more entertaining.

我還想知道人們在加油時會做什么。我想知道我是否可以在5分鐘的活動中加入一種產品，并使這段時間變得更加有趣。

Among some activities were:

其中一些活動是：

Watching the gas counter
看加油站
Staring at the nozzle
盯著噴嘴
Observing the neighbors
觀察鄰居
Looking for new scratches and dents on the car
在車上尋找新的劃痕和凹痕

駕駛員今天有什么選擇？ (What options do drivers have today?)

Apart from personal awareness of gas stations and word of mouth, there are many players on this field to find a gas pump. In reality, none of the solutions matched the product my target users and myself would enjoy using.

除了個人對加油站的了解和口口相傳之外，該領域還有很多參與者在尋找加油泵。實際上，這些解決方案都無法與目標用戶和我自己喜歡使用的產品相匹配。

I’ll start with the minor competition first, then move along to the more major.

我將從小比賽開始，然后再進入大比賽。

1.內置信息娛樂系統 (1. Built-in infotainment systems)

Today, even the low-end vehicles come with pre-installed infotainment systems. Drivers can get most of the information they need while driving. They can consume media content, see vehicle’s stats, navigate through the city and more. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about real-time gas prices. There are only a few systems that provide it.

今天，即使是低端車輛也預裝了信息娛樂系統。駕駛員在駕駛時可以獲得他們需要的大多數信息。他們可以使用媒體內容，查看車輛統計數據，在城市中導航等等。不幸的是，這不能說是關于實時天然氣價格。只有少數系統提供它。

In theory, infotainment systems should be safer than peering at a mobile device while driving. But due to a poor design, most of them are actually very distracting and dangerous. You cannot replace the car’s head unit and you cannot switch the OS. Besides, modern smartphones provide a better navigation experience.

從理論上講，信息娛樂系統應該比開車時凝視移動設備更安全。但是由于設計不佳，它們中的大多數實際上是非常分散注意力和危險的。您無法更換汽車的主機，也無法切換操作系統。此外，現代智能手機可提供更好的導航體驗。

2.蘋果地圖 (2. Apple Maps)

Apple Maps is a first navigation option for millions of users on iPhone. Yet it’s limited in many features and provides only basic information such as contacts and directions.

Apple Maps是iPhone上數百萬用戶的第一個導航選項。然而，它在許多功能上受限制，并且僅提供基本信息，例如聯系方式和路線。

Also, it doesn’t show gas prices and has a weak map coverage for many areas of the world. These two components are critical for the driver.

此外，它沒有顯示天然氣價格，并且在世界許多地區的地圖覆蓋范圍都很弱。這兩個組件對于驅動程序至關重要。

3. Google地圖 (3. Google Maps)

Google has more experience in building maps than Apple. This is by far the best global cartography mobile app on any platform.

與蘋果公司相比，谷歌在建筑地圖方面擁有更多經驗。這是迄今為止任何平臺上最好的全球制圖移動應用程序。

Along with the basic info, it has consumer reviews, user images, street view and they started to pull fuel data from Waze in December 2015!

除了基本信息外，它還具有消費者評論，用戶圖像，街道視圖，并且他們于2015年12月開始從位智提取燃料數據！

When you’re building a startup, such an update from a market leader feels like a knockout! But, it only proved to me that this feature is in demand, or at least Google’s engineers think so. Which is, apparently, true.

當您建立一家初創公司時，來自市場領導者的這種更新感覺就像是淘汰賽！但是，這只是向我證明了此功能的需求，或者至少是Google的工程師這么認為。顯然，這是對的。

They kept this feature simple. There was no filtering, user contributions, or other social engagements.

他們使此功能保持簡單。沒有過濾，用戶貢獻或其他社交參與。

4. 場地發現應用 (4. Venue discovery apps)

The venue discovery apps include Foursquare, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. They provide a variety of details like reviews and deals. Yet the surveyed drivers responded that this is not their go-to solution to find a gas pump.

場地發現應用程序包括Foursquare，Yelp和Yellow Pages。他們提供了各種詳細信息，例如評論和交易。然而，接受調查的司機回答說，這不是找到加油泵的首選方法。

5.加油站定位器 (5. Gas station locators)

Here is an exciting thing — almost every country has a source to get fuel prices. Certain countries have a single price for the gas because it is government controlled. But in general — it’s all different by brand, place, and time.

這是一件令人興奮的事情-幾乎每個國家都有獲取燃油價格的來源。某些國家/地區的汽油價格統一，因為它是政府控制的。但總的來說，品牌，地點和時間都不同。

I won’t go deep into the analysis here, but in short:

我不會在這里深入分析，但總之：

Some websites are only for desktop use and are not responsive to the mobile world. They also tend to have a terrible UX.
一些網站僅用于桌面使用，對移動世界沒有響應。他們也往往會遇到糟糕的用戶體驗。
The vast majority of apps are not global. They may cover one or sometimes two countries for the bigger “local market,” like the United States and Canada.
絕大多數應用不是全球性的。它們可能會覆蓋一個或有時兩個更大的“本地市場”的國??家，例如美國和加拿大。
Some apps are not informative enough. Additional apps need to be installed to complement the “driver’s experience.”
某些應用信息不足。需要安裝其他應用程序以補充“駕駛員的經驗”。

There are cases when apps are not localized to other languages and territories. Why do you need another account to download an app?
在某些情況下，應用程序未本地化為其他語言和地區。為什么需要另一個帳戶來下載應用程序？

In the end, having a bunch of apps for various locations is not a solution.
最后，在不同位置擁有大量應用程序并不是解決方案。

They all will have a different UI, multiple accounts, and take storage on the device.
它們都將具有不同的UI，多個帳戶，并需要存儲在設備上。

6.大石油品牌的應用程序 (6. Big Oil branded apps)

At first, I thought that Top Tier brands can invest a ton of money to develop their own apps and make them great. Nope.

起初，我認為Top Tier品牌可以投入大量資金來開發自己的應用程序并使它們變得更好。不。

Some took an approach of squeezing a mobile website into the app. Others thought that tiny buttons with unreadable text are good options for drivers.

有些人采取了將移動網站擠入應用程序的方法。其他人則認為帶有不可讀文本的小按鈕是驅動程序的不錯選擇。

But, most of them contain gas pricing info and it’s very accurate where it’s applied.

但是，其中大多數包含天然氣定價信息，并且在哪里使用它非常準確。

7.位智 (7. Waze)

Waze, which is owned by Google today, is my favorite navigation tool. It’s a crowdsourcing network of 90 million of drivers worldwide. It shows traffic, road conditions, accidents, and police traps.

Waze，今天由Google擁有，是我最喜歡的導航工具。這是一個由全球9000萬駕駛員組成的眾包網絡。它顯示交通，道路狀況，事故和警察陷阱。

Waze also provides fuel prices for many locations. Unlike its excellent navigation experience, the fuel data is quite inaccurate.

位智還提供許多地方的燃油價格。與出色的導航體驗不同，燃油數據非常不準確。

I did a quick investigation to find out why drivers don’t use this feature. The assumptions are:

我進行了快速調查，以了解為什么駕駛員不使用此功能。假設是：

The element to find a gas station is hidden deep in the menu and is not intuitive to use.
查找加油站的元素隱藏在菜單的深處，使用起來不直觀。
Waze displays the label when the fuel price was last updated. It’s good to know. Yet, when you see “updated a few days ago” on any location — it’s almost certainly a signal of weak community contribution. If people don’t contribute enough to make it usable, why one would trust and use it?
燃料價格上次更新時，位智顯示標簽。很高興知道。但是，當您在任何位置看到“幾天前更新”時-幾乎可以肯定，這是社區貢獻薄弱的信號。如果人們沒有做出足夠的貢獻以使其可用，為什么人們會信任并使用它呢？

8. GasBuddy (8. GasBuddy)

Here is a big one — GasBuddy. It was founded in 2000 and currently has 65 million users. It operates in the United States and Canada. It was recently launched in Australia.

這是一個很大的– GasBuddy。它成立于2000年，目前有6500萬用戶。它在美國和加拿大運營。它最近在澳大利亞推出。

When talking about the United States and Canadian markets, their data is quite phenomenal — especially since it’s gathered from a crowdsourcing community and other sources. Yet their app failed on usability and performance.

在談論美國和加拿大市場時，它們的數據非常出色-特別是因為它是從眾包社區和其他來源收集的。但是他們的應用程序在可用性和性能上都失敗了。

While conducting research and observing people performing usability tasks, I found out that:

在進行研究并觀察執行可用性任務的人員時，我發現：

Many users, who were unfamiliar with the app, couldn’t complete a simple thing such as setting directions to a location. It required seven taps to accomplish that task.
許多不熟悉該應用程序的用戶無法完成簡單的事情，例如設置位置指南。它需要七次輕按才能完成該任務。

The majority of drivers didn’t use the default list view and immediately switched over to a map view. The problem is that information on the list view is not that clear. It’s hard to understand in which direction the gas station is located. It can be close in distance, but may take longer to drive due to traffic, difficult intersections, U-turns, or a dozen stop signs.
大多數驅動程序沒有使用默認的列表視圖，而是立即切換到地圖視圖。問題在于列表視圖上的信息不清楚。很難理解加油站位于哪個方向。它的距離可能很近，但由于交通，困難的十字路口，掉頭或十幾個停車標志而可能需要更長的時間開車。
Overall, the UI is quite confusing and distracting. The information architecture lacks logic in some places. Annoying ads consume cellular data and screen real estate. Elements unreadable from a distance and tiny buttons make it hard to perform a task without giving too much attention to the smartphone.
總體而言，用戶界面非常令人困惑和分散注意力。信息架構在某些地方缺乏邏輯。煩人的廣告會消耗手機數據和屏幕空間。遠距離無法讀取的元素和微小的按鈕使您難以在不對智能手機給予過多關注的情況下執行任務。

GasBuddy, as well as many other competitors, state that drivers can save money with their app — and it’s true. But it’s not clear how much the person saves at the pump, as there is no savings indicator.
GasBuddy以及許多其他競爭對手指出，駕駛員可以使用他們的應用程序節省金錢—的確如此。但尚不清楚該人在泵上節省了多少，因為沒有節省指標。

The app displays locations with lower prices but doesn’t show the value of using the app over a period of time.
該應用程序會顯示價格較低的位置，但不會顯示一段時間內使用該應用程序的價值。
Users can win $100 of gas daily by exchanging in-app points earned for price submissions into the entries to win. Yet the chances to win are roughly 65 millions to 1.
通過將為提交價格提交的應用內積分兌換成參賽作品，用戶每天可以贏得100美元的汽油費。但是獲勝的機會大約是6500萬比1。

Nonetheless, it looks like it works for user engagement and retention.
盡管如此，它看起來可以有效地吸引用戶并吸引他們。

9.儲蓄追蹤器 (9. Savings Trackers)

There are many apps to gather vehicle’s stats and track various expenses. The majority of them require a significant effort to enter the data, whether it’s a manual operation with dozens of fields or scanning receipts with unreliable text and field recognition. The visual part of these apps is unpleasant and “scary” — as most drivers responded.

有許多應用程序可以收集車輛的統計數據并跟蹤各種費用。無論是對數十個字段進行手動操作還是對文本和字段識別不可靠的收據進行掃描，其中大多數都需要花費大量精力來輸入數據。這些應用程序的視覺部分令人不快且“恐怖”，因為大多數駕駛員都對此做出了回應。

On the other hand, there are solutions for car monitoring, like Automatic. They carry their pros and cons, but the biggest issue with them is that a special adapter is required for their operation, which is an additional investment.

另一方面，還有汽車監控解決方案，例如Automatic 。它們各有利弊，但最大的問題是操作需要特殊的適配器，這是一項額外的投資。

At that point, after the research and user testing sessions I’ve done, the picture was clear — there was a niche on the market and I could fill it with a new product.

到那時，在我完成研究和用戶測試之后，情況就很清楚了-市場上有一個利基市場，我可以用新產品填充它。

設計Fuelhunt (Designing Fuelhunt)

I wanted to create a product which embraces best practices in usability. At the same time it eliminates the pain points that users have with other apps in this segment.

我想創建一種包含最佳可用性實踐的產品。同時，它消除了用戶對該細分市場中其他應用的痛苦。

I didn’t want to create “yet another app to find a gas station.” I wanted a product that will have a more significant impact on our lives in the future.

我不想創建“還需要另一個應用程序來找到加油站”。我想要一種對未來的生活產生更大影響的產品。

I’ll skip over the dozens of iterations, sketches, and wireframes right to the final MVP build that was successfully tested with potential users.

我將跳過數十個迭代，草圖和線框，直到最終的MVP構建已通過潛在用戶成功測試。

Here are some key improvements upon the competition:

以下是比賽中的一些關鍵改進：

1.涵蓋全球燃油價格的單個應用程序 (1. A single app to cover global fuel prices)

I’m talking a post-MVP phase. But the database architecture had to be developed beforehand for an easy expansion.

我說的是MVP后階段。但是必須預先開發數據庫架構才能輕松擴展。

At first, it didn’t seem like a challenge.

最初，這似乎不是一個挑戰。

I needed to solve the problem of any social network: no content=no users, no users=no content.

我需要解決任何社交網絡的問題：沒有內容=沒有用戶，沒有用戶=沒有內容。

In this case, the content was pump locations with fuel types, current gas prices, and user reviews. To get that content fast, we collected everything we could find on the market and built — as we called it — a dirty database.

在這種情況下，內容是帶有燃料類型，當前汽油價格和用戶評論的泵位置。為了快速獲取該內容，我們收集了我們在市場上可以找到的所有內容，并建立了一個骯臟的數據庫(我們稱之為)。

Even though there were lots of open data out there, it was all a complete mess. Some sources provided clear API’s, others only had Excel spreadsheets. Then we needed to find a way to pull the data and make it usable.

即使那里有很多開放數據，也完全是一團糟。一些資料來源提供了清晰的API，其他資料僅包含Excel電子表格。然后，我們需要找到一種方法來提取數據并使其可用。

Another issue was a difference in brand lists and octane levels in various regions. North America and Europe calculate the octane rating in different ways. North America’s 87 is like Europe’s 95, where NA’s 91 is more like E’s 98, and so forth.

另一個問題是各個地區的品牌清單和辛烷值不同。北美和歐洲以不同方式計算辛烷值。北美的87很像歐洲的95，北美的91更像是E的98，依此類推。

To be honest, it took a while to bring everything under one roof.

老實說，花了一段時間才把所有東西都放在一個屋頂下。

Finally we had the data, but it was inaccurate. Fortunately, fuel prices are changing so fast, that it actually didn’t matter if the price is a day old or a week old — it was still wrong. So, we were pretty close to Waze and Google Maps accuracy.

最終我們有了數據，但是它不準確。幸運的是，燃油價格變化如此之快，以至于價格是一天還是一周都不重要，但這仍然是錯誤的。因此，我們非常接近Waze和Google Maps的準確性。

It doesn’t matter how unsafe it is to use a smartphone in the car or how high the tickets are for the handheld devices. People still use their phones while driving. They are either holding them or the phone is mounted on the dashboard.

在汽車中使用智能手機有多不安全，或者手持設備的門票有多高都無所謂。人們在開車時仍會使用手機。他們要么握住它們，要么將手機安裝在儀表板上。

Our job as designers is to build well organized and easy-to-use features and to think through all possible ways of using our product. We have to make sure that ergonomics minimize distraction and don’t harm the end user.

我們作為設計師的工作是建立組織良好且易于使用的功能，并考慮使用我們產品的所有可能方式。我們必須確保人體工程學將干擾降到最低，并且不會傷害最終用戶。

Large text, bigger touch points, clear screen flow, smart notifications, no ads. These are only a few of the criteria I kept in mind.

較大的文字，較大的接觸點，清晰的屏幕流，智能通知，無廣告。這些只是我記住的幾個標準。

Speaking of navigation, the Fuelhunt app consists of 4 screens:

說到導航，Fuelhunt應用程序包含4個屏幕：

Main screen
主屏幕

to find gas stations
尋找加油站
Add screen
新增畫面

to add content
添加內容
Activity
活動

to see user’s and friend’s public activities
查看用戶和朋友的公開活動
Profile
個人資料

to see all user’s activities and stats
查看所有用戶的活動和統計信息

3.超快速泵搜索 (3. Super fast pump search)

The primary app’s role is to find an optimal gas station and set directions for that station. The flow was optimized to complete this task under 10 seconds.

主要應用程序的作用是找到最佳加油站并設置該加油站的方向。流程經過了優化，可以在10秒內完成此任務。

Upon launching the app, it displays the map view with pump locations and — using a combination of distance, user’s moving direction, price, and review score, it preselects the best option to fill up. No intermediate screens or additional taps needed.

啟動該應用程序后，它將顯示帶有泵位置的地圖視圖，并且-通過結合距離，用戶的移動方向，價格和評論得分，它會預先選擇最佳選項進行填充。無需中間屏幕或其他水龍頭。

The bottom banners contain all info the driver needs at the moment: brand, gas price, an indication how “current” that price is, and the rating emoji.

底部的標語包含駕駛員當前需要的所有信息：品牌，汽油價格，指示價格“當前”程度以及等級表情符號。

Instead of showing the distance to the location, the time of driving is provided. Traffic and road conditions may play a bigger role.

提供行駛時間而不是顯示到該位置的距離。交通和道路狀況可能會發揮更大的作用。

The button to get directions is always visible, making it faster to set the route. This decreased GasBuddy’s seven taps to one.

獲取方向的按鈕始終可見，從而可以更快地設置路線。這使GasBuddy的七個抽頭減少到一個。

All location pins are color-coded by the time relevancy:

所有位置引腳均按時間相關性進行顏色編碼：

Green if they were updated today — It’s the most accurate.
如果今天已更新，則為綠色-這是最準確的。
Orange if they were updated yesterday — It’s somewhat relevant.
如果昨天更新了，則為橙色-有點相關。
Grey if they were estimated — Everything that’s older and everything collected from 3rd party sources.
如果是估計的，則為灰色-較舊的東西以及從第三方來源收集的一切。

In case of inaccurate pricing data, this approach is more effective. It focuses the user on data accuracy.

如果定價數據不正確，此方法會更有效。它使用戶專注于數據準確性。

Waze marks locations by a pricing scale, with green for low and red for high. This green-cheap gas station may have the old price and may be more expensive than a red, but has a currently updated price.

位智按價格標尺標記位置，綠色代表低價，紅色代表高價。這個綠色廉價的加油站的價格可能較舊，價格可能比紅色的貴，但目前的價格已經更新。

Choosing Google Maps as a map provider instead of native Apple Maps adds a better world coverage and one finger zoom. This is quite handy in the car.

選擇Google Maps作為地圖提供者，而不是本地Apple Maps，可以更好地覆蓋世界，并可以單指縮放。這在車上非常方便。

Filters are a rarely used but useful feature. They are hidden under the search functions. This not only makes the overall UI cleaner, but gives the user the power to create a personalized map, and display the brands and fuel types the user needs.

過濾器是很少使用但有用的功能。它們隱藏在搜索功能下。這不僅使整個UI更加整潔，而且使用戶可以創建個性化地圖并顯示用戶所需的品牌和燃料類型。

4. 避免不良位置 (4. Bad locations avoidance)

The research demonstrated that almost no one reads a review upfront when heading to the pump. This is something we do spontaneously. We drive, feel the need, see a gas station and fill up.

研究表明，幾乎沒有人在上泵之前先讀過一篇評論。這是我們自發進行的。我們開車，感覺到需要，看到加油站并加滿油。

People still keep writing reviews. Many drivers share their negative feedback if something is wrong. In this scenario, the driver won’t know anything beforehand, but he may feel consequences of bad fuel the next day or in a month.

人們仍然繼續寫評論。如果出現問題，許多駕駛員會分享他們的負面反饋。在這種情況下，駕駛員不會事先知道任何信息，但是他可能會在第二天或一個月內感覺到燃油不良的后果。

To solve this problem, a notification system was designed to alert the driver if there is a problem at the location.

為了解決這個問題，設計了一個通知系統，以提醒駕駛員該位置是否有問題。

5.輕松提交內容以供用戶貢獻 (5. Easy content submission for user contribution)

There is a button to make it easy for drivers to make a new submission. They can provide a price update, fill up data or a new review. It’s always visible on the tab bar no matter which screen the user is on.

有一個按鈕可以使駕駛員輕松進行新提交。他們可以提供價格更新，填寫數據或進行新的評論。無論用戶在哪個屏幕上，它始終在選項卡欄上可見。

It the fuel price was updated, the app asks the driver to enter the fill up data. In the same way, it asks for a price update after the fill up data had been added.

如果燃油價格已更新，則該應用會要求駕駛員輸入加油數據。同樣，它會在添加完填充數據后要求價格更新。

Unlike competitors that only say that users save with their app, Fuelhunt demonstrates right away the amount saved at the pump. After each fill-up, Fuelhunt instantly calculates the price difference between local stations and provides clear value to the user.

與競爭對手只說用戶使用他們的應用程序進行儲蓄不同，Fuelhunt會立即演示在泵上節省的金額。每次加油后，Fuelhunt都會立即計算本地站點之間的價格差，并為用戶提供明確的價值。

Sometimes it takes a lot of effort for the user to submit a review. I made it simple with a fuel quality and overall experience evaluation along with an optional description.

有時，用戶需要花很多精力來提交評論。我通過燃油質量和整體體驗評估以及一個可選的說明使操作變得簡單。

6.活動和統計跟蹤器 (6. Activity and stats tracker)

The Activity screen displays user’s and friends’ public activities, like points earned, money saved and reviews written.

“活動”屏幕顯示用戶和朋友的公共活動，例如獲得的積分，節省的資金和撰寫的評論。

After testing, we debated whether to include this feature in the app. Nonetheless, I wanted to see how the audience would react to it. I also wanted to make Fuelhunt a little more social. So it made it to the MVP build.

經過測試后，我們討論了是否在應用程序中包含此功能。但是，我想看看觀眾對此有何React。我還想使Fuelhunt更具社交性。因此，它進入了MVP構建。

The Profile screen contains a user’s content only. The user can see various stats broken down into time periods:

“個人資料”屏幕僅包含用戶的內容。用戶可以看到按時間段細分的各種統計信息：

Money spent on gas and the amount of fuel burnt
花在汽油上的錢和燃燒的燃料量
Money saved with its equivalent of mileage saved
節省的錢，相當于節省的里程
Vehicle’s mileage itself and fuel consumption
車輛的行駛里程本身和油耗

This tracker can serve many purposes from knowing the state of your car and wallet to easing the calculation of business trips and filling tax forms. But the main idea has been kept for future releases.

從了解您的汽車和錢包狀態到簡化商務旅行和填寫稅單的計算，此跟蹤器可以用于多種目的。但是主要思想一直保留在將來的版本中。

7.用于用戶參與和市場化的游戲化機制 (7. Gamification mechanics for user engagement and monetization)

Gamification is used in many products, but sometimes it’s not done right. Often, it benefits the top users where beginners struggle to get on top, no matter how good they are. Top users usually get more attention, likes, and benefits.

游戲化被用于許多產品中，但有時做得不好。通常，無論初學者多么優秀，它都會使初學者難以獲得較高成就的頂級用戶受益。頂級用戶通常會得到更多關注，喜歡和好處。

Fuelhunt’s gamification was designed to eliminate the barrier for new users and make everyone equal to compete.

Fuelhunt的游戲化旨在消除新用戶的障礙，并使每個人都平等參與競爭。

For every price report and written review, the user earns points. Those who are active for a certain number of consequent days earn enough points to redeem premium features for free. Once they become inactive users, they lose that benefit and need to start over.

對于每個價格報告和書面評論，用戶都將獲得積分。連續活動了幾天的用戶可獲得足夠的積分，可以免費兌換高級功能。一旦成為非活動用戶，他們就會失去這種利益，需要重新開始。

8. MVP后的增長 (8. Post-MVP growth)

Enough about what’s been done. The app’s roadmap looked pretty interesting at that time with a number of cool features, but I would identify two large milestones:

足夠完成的事情了。當時，該應用程序的路線圖看起來很有趣，具有許多很酷的功能，但我會確定兩個重要的里程碑：

First, Global expansion — it is a key element to build a big data company. Why is that important?

首先， 全球擴張 -這是建立大數據公司的關鍵要素。為什么這么重要？

I had the vision that someday, with such data, self-driving cars would be able to drive from point A to point B and be smart enough to make decisions for themselves.

我的愿景是，有一天，有了這樣的數據，自動駕駛汽車將能夠從A點駕駛到B點，并且足夠聰明，可以自己做出決定。

They could set the most optimal route and take into account traffic, road conditions, fuel level, and where to fill up most efficiently. That is the future.

他們可以設置最佳路線，并考慮交通，道路狀況，燃油水平以及最有效地加油的位置。那就是未來。

And second, I started all this to try to decrease the carbon footprint with technologies we have today. Without the need for drivers of extra investments and extra gadgets to install.

其次，我開始了所有這些工作，以嘗試利用我們今天擁有的技術減少碳足跡 。無需額外投資和安裝額外小工具的驅動程序。

To do that, I wanted to extend Fuelhunt’s database with all vehicle models released to date and their city, highway, and combined fuel consumption. Then compare it with real data from my users to determine the driving inefficiency. And if more gas is burnt than it needs to be, update the user with suggestions to improve their driving habits.

為此，我想擴展Fuelhunt的數據庫，使其包含迄今為止發布的所有車輛模型及其城市，高速公路和綜合燃料消耗量。然后將其與我的用戶的真實數據進行比較，以確定駕駛效率低下。而且，如果燃燒的汽油多于所需量，請向用戶提供建議以改善他們的駕駛習慣。

結果 (The outcome)

What went wrong?

什么地方出了錯？

The team is everything
團隊就是一切

It’s vital to have the right partners and team members involved. But it’s also important to have developers as a core team in the same room to being able to iterate and execute fast.
擁有合適的合作伙伴和團隊成員至關重要。但是，將開發人員作為核心團隊放在同一個房間中也很重要，以便能夠快速迭代和執行。

I ended up building this project with developers overseas, which brought many obstacles to the whole process. Before I realized some team members were not a good fit in the culture, it was too late and the price we had to pay to replace them was too high already.
我最終與海外開發人員一起構建了這個項目，這給整個過程帶來了許多障礙。在我意識到某些團隊成員不適合這種文化之前，為時已晚，而更換團隊所要付出的代價已經太高了。
The issue of adding value
增值問題

Despite all the research and user validation that showed there is a product and market fit, I still had doubts.
盡管所有的研究和用戶驗證都表明產品和市場適合，但我仍然對此表示懷疑。

I spent too much time trying to perfect the experience from day one instead of releasing MVP, getting the feedback, and moving on to iteration.
從第一天開始，我就花了很多時間來完善體驗，而不是發布MVP，獲取反饋并進行迭代。
I ran out of cash
我沒錢了

From the beginning, I didn’t want to use crowdfunding or any other investment opportunity to raise funds. I wanted to stick to my own cash to feel more responsibility for the project. Like, if I fail I’ll lose my own money.
從一開始，我就不想利用眾籌或任何其他投資機會來籌集資金。我想用自己的現金來承擔這個項目的更多責任。就像，如果我失敗了，我將失去自己的錢。

And I did. Would I do something different next time? Definitely yes.
而我做到了。下次我會做些不同的事情嗎？絕對可以。
Personal issues
個人問題

Sometimes that happens, when you need to choose a personal life or a business. I tried to balance both.
有時在您需要選擇個人生活或企業時會發生這種情況。我試圖平衡兩者。

I lost focus on the project and let distractions to get control over me. It was too late when I realized it.
我失去了對項目的關注，讓注意力分散了對我的控制。當我意識到這已經太遲了。

What did I learn?

我學到了什么？

Startups are considered intense experiences that result in rapid learning. I gained a lot of experience designing Fuelhunt, filling more roles than I could possibly fill as a full-time employee.

初創企業被認為是可以快速學習的豐富經驗。我在設計Fuelhunt方面積累了很多經驗，擔任了比全職員工更多的職位。

The exciting part was getting the knowledge that helped me roll into a Product Design career from my previous Marketing background. This is an experience that I can look back on to build something more meaningful.

令人興奮的部分是，從以前的營銷背景中獲得了幫助我進入產品設計職業的知識。我可以回顧這種經驗來構建更有意義的東西。

Closing a startup is often seen as a bad and sad thing. For me, it’s only a chapter before the next adventure.

關閉一家初創公司通常被視為一件不幸的事。對我來說，這只是下一次冒險之前的一章。

I’m currently open for career opportunities in Toronto to contribute as a UX/Product Designer. Feel free to contact me.

我目前正在多倫多尋求職業機會，以擔任UX /產品設計師的角色。請隨時與我聯系。