Design leadership at Bird
Overview
For nearly four years, I collaborated with cross-functional teams at Bird to build features for multiple products, such as the Bird rider app, the Bird fleet manager app, internal servicing tools, and new products for Bird partners. In addition to managing a lean team of designers, refining our processes, and representing our team to other departments, I also maintained my role as a hands-on designer, fully committed to enhancing the core Bird rider experience.
Selected projects
On the Bird Rider Team, I played a key role in conceptualizing and launching multiple features that extended over various domains, including payments, growth, and compliance. Listed below are some of the projects that contributed to enhancing the overall rider experience, boosting the number of Bird riders, rides, and net revenue.
Ride Pass
Rolled-out globally in 169 experiments.
Impact: Contributed to +23.6% rides globally.
Bird VPS
Providing a swifter parking experience for Bird riders.
Impact: More than 90% of rides ending in a designated parking nest (vs 50% with GPS).
Bird+ Membership
Branded offering targeted at casual riders.
Impact: +2% net rev lift in US.
New Preload Flow
Providing extensive payment methods to riders.
Impact: +6% net revenue globally.
App Clip
Riders can rent a Bird scooter without downloading or even opening the Bird app.
Impact: +3% net rev/subject (globally)
How we work
Our approach to new feature development is data-driven, as we strive to launch new solutions rapidly and assess their effectiveness. We employ a POD-based operating model, coupled with a sprint workflow, and while we do incorporate elements of Kanban methodologies, we don't strictly adhere to them. Instead, we adapt our process by following the below steps in a manner that suits the problem at hand, either concurrently or sequentially.
Defining a problem and setting a clear, measurable objective
I collaborate with the product manager to distill user research and data analytics into actionable insights. This approach enables us to gain a deeper understanding of the problem at hand and avoid jumping into solutions without a solid foundation.
Ideating
To gather diverse perspectives on a problem, we hold ideation session with any relevant stakeholders. Once the ideation phase is complete, I take the lead in developing a few solutions and work closely with the engineers to ensure their feasibility. Involving engineers early on helps us identify and address any potential issues that the prioritized solution may have, saving time and resources.
Designing, prototyping and testing
Depending on the solution's complexity, I use either Figma or InVision to create a prototype. The prototype's usability is then tested with either recruited Bird riders or internal focus groups.
Refining the UI and handoff to engineering
When we are ready to ship a solution to a certain percentage of our riders, we refine the UI and add any new components to our internal design library. Figma is used to facilitate the handover process.
Running experiments and iterating
We keep a close eye on the performance of our new feature after it has been released. By doing so, we can determine if it has successfully addressed the intended problem and identify areas that require further improvement or modification for the next iteration.