Case study: Peugeot Cycle’s anti-theft solution
2 weeks inside Peugeot Design Lab
400.000 bicycle thefts are registered in France per year, that being 1 theft per minute. This is one of the main obstacles to buying high-end bikes.
As a result, these thefts have a direct impact on sales and bicycle manufacturers like Peugeot Cycle.
Peugeot Cycle : PSA Groupe CAC 40
Peugeot Cycle is part of the prestigious Groupe PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme). It is one of the biggest French car manufacturers with 74.7 billion euros in sales in 2019. PSA owns car brands such as Citroën, DS Automobiles, Peugeot, as well as Opel and Vauxhall.
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT : inside the Design Lab
I had the chance to work inside the Design Lab of Peugeot’s during 2 weeks.
I worked alongside Mr Clément.V, the industrial product designer (in charge of bike’s design) as well as Mrs Rozen.R, the project manager. I also got to meet Mr Arnault.G, the director of the Design Lab to whom I reported the final results, at the end of my 2 week immersion.
Our first meeting aimed to :
- Collect customer’s needs.
- Request all the existing elements useful to my process (studies, benchmarks, definition of targets, customer files …).
- Explain the UX steps and set workshop dates.
THE CHALLENGE : The blank paper sheet
The original brief for this project was :
“To present the solution that would give the user complete confidence in their security system”.
To that end, I started the project with a blank sheet:
- No user contact (because managed externally).
- No existing market research done in that niche.
However, I was able to get in touch with the Cycleurope sales manager (an attached entity to the group), who is in charge of Peugeot bicycle sales.
The goal was mainly based on research: to understand bicycle riders behavior towards theft. The UI and graphical search part is of minor importance at that stage.
My Role : A threefold objective
I carried out all stages of the project independently for 2 weeks, involving clients in two stages (sorting the results and the ideation).
My threefold objective within Peugeot consisted of:
- Offering a solution using the UX process
- Presenting the best UX practices to the team during the workshops.
- Briefing Peugeot’s UX agency about my research at the end of the two weeks.
Research
To kick off the project I spent a few days doing intense market research to ensure a complete knowledge of any existing solutions currently available on the market.
Many stakeholders are positioning themselves in the market, whether public or private players proposing services or products. I also observed other cities to find out more about their infrastructure, e.g Amsterdam, where the bicycle is the most common transportation mode.
246 responses in 2 days :
In order to have a better understanding of this phenomena, I’ve carried out quantitative research where I collected 246 responses from different groups on social media. The purpose of the questionnaire was to have an accurate understanding of the user’s behavior in case of bicycle theft.
I wrote out a questionnaire of 10 questions. The questions were different depending on the respondent’s profiles (bicycle owner or not). Indeed, people who do not have bicycles are very important because maybe they have been stolen or are afraid of purchasing one.
To give you an overview :
Interviews & observations sessions : Interview a bike thief
I conducted 8 interviews
Thanks to the questionnaire I was able to collect the contact details of 68 people who volunteered to respond to my interview. To respect the schedule, I chose to interview 4 bike owners (a retiree, a student, a Deliveroo driver and an employee).
After asking them about their different experiences, I asked them to show me their security protocol on their bikes.
I also interviewed 3 people who work in the bicycle industry :
- Christophe, director of the Vélo & Oxygène store
- Jean, CEO of Morio, a startup which makes GPS trackers
- Danny, Peugeot Bicycle Sales Director
And ultimately, I had the chance to question a former bike thief who explained a few theft and resale techniques to me.
The various points of view I collected were essential for this research. I was able to put myself in the shoes of all the stakeholders without judgment by trying to remain as objective and neutral as possible.
Gather data: over 150 insights
I conducted an affinity diagram workshop with the clients to involve them in the research part. Taking part of the project, enables a more objective and accurate understanding of the results.
This workshop allowed us to identify 7 main cases:
1. Post-theft: Shows a feeling of powerlessness after having their bike stolen. In addition to having experienced an assault and suffered financial loss, the person is left without means of transportation.
“I regret that the police do not take this problem to the extent of its importance.”
2. Anti-theft: The anti-theft device’s purpose is to be a deterrent, therefore theft is not prevented but is delayed. It is often expensive, heavy to carry around and/so impractical. Often used as a supplement, one lock is not enough.
“I also had an ABUS U when they stole my old bike, I never knew how they had managed to steal it.”
3. Thieves: It often happens that thieves damage a bicycle whilst trying to steal it. Professional thieves always manage to steal the bike regardless of the lock.
“There were 4 of us the day the thieves stole all the bikes outside the store and all the bikes were hung with a lock.”
4. Fear: Shows how the fear of theft influences the behavior of people in buying or using a bicycle.
“Today if I am not sure I can put the bike in safety, I choose another mode of transport.”
5. Tips: Shows how users cope with theft and their techniques for keeping their bike safe.
“Alter the bike’s aesthetics with an orange bomb to make it less attractive so less likely to get sold.”
6. Perceived value: Regardless of the price, the owner places a certain value on his bike. Each user has different needs / expectations
“I bring my most precious bike back to my apartment and my other two bikes stay in the building’s collective bike room.”
7. Places/Storage: To feel reassured, bike owners want to make their bike invisible to thieves. As a result, they are very fond of parking solutions, premises and any enclosed space that they consider secure.
“I would like to make my bike invisible.”
“If I didn’t have parking at the workplace I would rather not have a bike.”
5 different user profiles vs 5 stealer profils
Following the information available in the market, I was able to identify 5 stealer’s profiles and 5 user’s profiles.
Reframing the problem
I chose to rephrase the original problem: “Identify the solution that will give the user complete confidence in their security system.”
The term “security system” already refers to a solution in my opinion.
Here is a more suitable problem statement:
How Peugeot could comfort bike owners so they will no longer be afraid to leave their bike alone. And purchase bikes that are more suitable to their expectations?
Indeed, 50% of bicycle owners have chosen a cheaper version because they are scared of robbery in public space.
Ideation workshop
I’ve conducted a crazy 8 with the Design Lab. At the end of the session, we agreed on the fact that we needed a comprehensive solution to reassure the bike’s owner:
- A GPS tracker.
- An anti-theft device: directly integrated into the bike — built in.
- A bicycle warranty service: in the event of their bicycle getting stolen, the user can receive a replacement bicycle while waiting for their new one to be collected.
The solution : 4 main features
Feature 1: Unlock / Lock the bike
Unlock or lock the bike using a phone or a remote control (People over 55 years — the majority, representing 68% of recipients of state aid for the purchase of electric bikes.) The unlocking system is similar to a car opening system.
- Reduces the probability of error: no need to know which lock is the best, or how to attach it.
- Reduces user load : 1 click vs. more than 4 steps to lock/unlock the bike, no chance of forgetting your lock.
Feature 2: Find a safe place close-by
Private storage are the most requested by users. There are more and more parking spaces, whether public or private. The fact that the user can find a secure place (paid or free) reassures him to leave his bike in complete peace of mind.
Feature 3: The Stolen Bikes Map
Thanks to the map, in addition to viewing the position of his bike in real time, user have access to the other stolen bikes’ positions, reported by their owners. Thus, the user can help people who have had their bikes stolen to recover it more easily.
For example, if a bicycle is reported stolen near you, you can help the owner by specifying the condition of the bicycle (hung, without a wheel, etc.).
Feature 4: Theft notification
If the bike is tampered with, the user instantly receives a notification asking him to confirm his identity. In the event of theft, the user is guided through all the steps to report his bike.
UI PART
Although the UI part was not the priority on this project, I wanted to make a high fidelity version of the solution in order to have more relevant feedback during user’s testing stage.
Peugeot bikes are widely known for their 1900s models, so vintage style is associated with the brand in people’s minds. Peugeot Cycle wanted to rejuvenate their image to better match with their cars. The application was thought to be:
Reassuring, urban and technological.
The main color is Peugeot’s Blue color brand. I chose another blue to recall the technological aspect.
Hi Fidelity : V1
1. The dashboard
On the application, the user has access to a dashboard that offers certain features identical to those that can be found in a car:
2. The map
Thanks to the location of the bike, the user knows the parking spaces around him :
3. Stolen bikes
The user can view other stolen bikes around him. This helps to create a Peugeot community, and strengthens mutual aid among bike owners.
When the user is near the stolen bike, he has access to a bubble that open a questionnaire that will help the owner recover his bike.
- Is the bike chained ?
- Is the bike in state of use ?
- Do you have any other additional information ?
- Take or add a photo? (Optional)
By helping the owner, he can accumulate points and depending on the number, he can benefit from Peugeot’s gift program. thanks to this Gamification, users are involved in the bike’s theft recovery.
4. Peugeot’s insurance
In the event of theft, the user is fully guided to adopt the correct behavior.
Moreover it insures the user to adopt the proper behavior in order to avoid confrontation with the thief.
Testing stage
In order to meet with the deadline, I tested the functionality of the application on 4 different persons. I selected persons who gave me their contact details during my first questionnaire. The 4 persons did not own a bike by fear of being stolen. My goal was to find out if this app would get them to consider buying a bike.
The application’s V1 had excellent feedback:
- 4/4 users say they are ready to invest in a bike if they have the app and the warranty.
“This app is great, I would buy an electric bike without any hesitation.”
However, there are still aspects to work on :
- 2/4 Testers found it hard to understand the map of stolen bikes without further explanation. Therefore an explanatory popup is essential during the first connection.
- 2/4 users wondered about the cost of insurance.
“It must be very expensive”.
- 1/4 suggests missing information about the stolen bike. It would be difficult to identify among other bikes despite having access to its geographical position.
Conclusion
I was very surprise that some people chose deliberately to damage their bike to make it potentially less attractive for theft, others choose an unattractive model to that effect.
Specialized bicycle groups on social networks have been a gold mine of information and have stated that this community is very active and united.
It is important for a brand like Peugeot to question their role in a phenomenon that goes beyond the quality of their products. By positioning itself on this issue, Peugeot can stand out from its competitors and amplify the relationship of trust between the user and the brand.
