Sammy - smart conversation assistant for U-Haul

Three questions for the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Our main UX challenge was to develop a system tailored to the complex, personalized aspect of self-moving. The overarching difficulty lay in developing a user-centric design that simplifies and coordinates the moving process, while also addressing the users' emotional needs. We conducted interviews to pinpoint pain points, mapped the user journey to alleviate stress, and focused on a user-centric design that streamlines the moving process, addresses emotional needs, leading to a seamless experience.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
There are several personal highlights in different stages of our design process. Key insights from user interviews highlighted emotional stresses in self-moving, shaping our chatbot's empathetic design. Developing animations for our assistant Sammy enhanced engagement by visualizing user interactions with a playful touch. We improved UI by repositioning Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons for better accessibility and visibility, boosting the user experience.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
Our project remains conceptual, with a fully featured app yet to be built. The next step is creating a functional prototype, which would unveil further enhancements and take 2-3 years to test. Post-launch, marketing will be crucial. Within five years, our assistant Sammy could significantly ease the DIY moving process, leveraging conversational interfaces, generative AI, and GPT-4. Future integration with self-driving car technology could also enhance our U-Haul vehicle-sharing solution.