Mapping The Gas Pump Experience 

Pumping gas is a mundane activity that we never really think about at a conscious level. However, beneath this commonplace activity, there are a lot of pain points and issues with the current state of pumping gas. The purpose of this assignment was to uncover the pain points people face throughout the journey of pumping gas. 

Why Do People Need To Pump Gas?

First, we needed to understand the context of why pumping gas is necessary for a lot of people. After interviewing a couple of people, we generally found that the overall goal for most drivers is to travel out of town. To reach that goal, many people search for the nearest gas station and start pumping as soon as possible so that they have an adequate amount of gas to last for their entire journey. 

Snapshots Of The Experience

To gain a deeper understanding of the processes behind pumping gas, we simulated the whole experience step-by-step and took snapshots accordingly. Below are some of the snapshots taken of some of the steps. 
Picture
Checking Gas Gauge
Picture
Pressing Keypad
Picture
Clasping Nozzle

Analyzing The Whole Journey  

We observed the snapshots collected and started analyzing and diagramming the whole journey on low-fidelity. We paid particular attention to what the person was thinking, feeling, and doing throughout the whole journey of pumping gas. 
Picture
Sample 1 Low-Fi Journey Map
Picture
Sample 2 Of Low-Fi Journey Map
Once we finalized the whole journey on paper, we digitized it using Adobe Illustrator. Within the digitized version, we highlighted the sequences, steps, thoughts, and emotions for each action within the journey map. 

Main Insights Uncovered

Picture
Final Digital Journey Map
We found that a lot of the pain with pumping gas was rooted during the middle portion of the journey. 
  • Kiosk Keypad - Users had to press really hard on the keypad for the action to be received
  • Kiosk Screen - Users had to squint really hard at the screen to view the information displayed
  • Hose - Users had to cautiously drag the hose to the car's tank for fear of spill
  • Nozzle - Users had to press the nozzle really hard in order to get feedback that the gas was flowing 

Reflections 

The assignment really highlighted the value journey mapping has as a tool for problem solving. A lot of the actions we perform frequently happen so subconsciously, that a lot of problems tend to go unnoticed. Journey mapping helps to uncover the seemingly minuscule yet crucial steps in performing a set of actions within the big picture. 
​Acknowledgments: This assignment was conducted at The University of Texas at Dallas under faculty guidance by Cassini Nazir. This project was in collaboration with Lochana Chooramun.