From range anxiety to charging confidence
Driving 25% MAU with predictive availability insights for EV drivers
Role
Team
Overview (TL;DR)
Problem
solution
impact
Image generated using Google Nanobanana
Background & project goals
Despite having a robust charging network, the app was experiencing significant drop-offs by EV drivers due to inactivity.
ChargeNow is an EV charging app that helps drivers find chargers, start sessions, and pay seamlessly. Internal data showed users open the app but often didn’t initiate charging sessions.
Goal: To create a differentiating feature that would meaningfully increase user engagement.
Our hypothesis:
By giving drivers visibility into charger availability patterns, we could increase user activity by 25% and establish ChargeNow as the most user-centric charging platform in the market.
Business hypothesis:
This feature wouldn't directly generate revenue, but would drive the engagement metrics that fuel our B2C growth strategy and strengthen our position in negotiations with charging network operators.
The problem:
"Will a charger be available when I get there?" - That single unanswered question caused most of the friction.
Drivers didn’t trust the app to help them find an available charger. As a result, users opened the app but often didn’t start charging sessions leading to inactivity and churn.
ChargeNow previously without UI forecasting
User research
I reviewed customer feedback and interviewed 5 EV drivers (new and experienced users). Four recurring pain points emerged:
#1 Wait times created the most anxiety
Drivers arriving at stations only to join queues, with no way to know when a charger would become available.
#2 Distance amplified every risk
Every mile driven to a potentially occupied charger meant battery drain.
#3 Information gaps forced guessing games
Without visibility into availability patterns, drivers couldn't plan effectively and made anxious decisions.
#4 Plug compatibility added another unknown
Even finding an available charger wasn't enough if it lacked the right plug type for their specific vehicle.
Insight: This wasn’t just a usability issue; it was an emotional one. Drivers needed reassurance before committing to a location.
Journey map of an EV driver
Why this problem was critical for business
Expected churn
Approximately 35% of users were abandoning the app due to charging uncertainty
Impact on brand
Negative app store reviews cited "never knowing if chargers are available"
Competitive pressure
Users were exploring alternatives that might not have better networks, but felt more reliable
What success would look like
Before designing, we aligned on clear success metrics:
Track active users of the forecast feature vs. total app users
Measure charging sessions initiated after viewing forecasts
Analyze usage patterns by day/time to grasp user behaviour
Solution:
Popular Times - From uncertainty to confidence
I designed Popular Times, an interactive forecast that combines:
Real-time charger status
Hour-by-hour availability predictions
Weekly patterns
Plug-specific accuracy
Key features
24-hour interactive forecast graph
Solves: Information gaps and plug incompatibility
Each of the 24 clickable bars represents hourly availability predictions based on the plug selected above. Users can tap any hour to see predicted occupancy, enabling them to plan charging around their schedule.
Design decision: Made bars interactive rather than static to encourage exploration and give users control over their planning.
Real-time animated status bar
Solves: Trust and confidence in predictions
A live, animated indicator shows current charger status. This builds trust by demonstrating the data is real and current.
Design decision: Used animation to draw attention and signal "live" status without requiring explanation.
Weekly day selection tabs
Solves: Long-trip planning and peak hour avoidance
Users can explore availability across the entire week, perfect for planning ahead or identifying consistently quieter times.
Design decision: 7 tabs for easy access, with the current day pre-selected by default.
Collapsible section
Solves: Information overload and cognitive load
The section collapses to reduce scrolling while keeping critical details like pricing visible in the viewport.
Design decision: Allowed users to control their information density based on their decision-making needs.
Contextual help tool-tip
Solves: Data interpretation and transparency concerns
Info modal provides transparency about data collection and optional explanations for forecast data. Guidance appears only when needed, not cluttering the primary interface
Design decision: Made help optional and contextual rather than mandatory, respecting different user expertise levels.
How the forecast works (High-level)
Historical data: Last 2 weeks per charger
Live updates: Real-time API refreshes
Plug-specific: Accuracy tied to selected plug
Confidence cues: Visual indicators when data is limited
Design Process
None of our competitors showed real-time availability forecasting at the individual charger level
I benchmarked 6 direct competitors to identify opportunities for differentiation:
Key findings:
Most displayed aggregate station-level data (e.g., "3 of 8 chargers available")
This approach doesn't help drivers who need specific plug types at specific chargers
The opportunity: We can offer by providing charger-level predictive insights that matched real driver decisions.
Aligning on strategy and constraints
Image generated using Google Nanobanana
Before designing, I collaborated with the PM and developers to establish clear boundaries:
User stories that guided design-
I need to know when is the best time to charge my vehicle during peak hours so that I can avoid waiting.
As a driver planning a long trip, I want to know if I'll find an available charger so I can travel without range anxiety.
Technical possibilities that shaped solutions
The solution was designed based on these possibilities
Real-time API available for live charger status
Two weeks of historical data to generate forecasts
Forecast accuracy tied to specific plug types selected by user
Data may occasionally be unavailable at some stations
Three design principles guided every decision
Based on qual & quant research, I wanted to create a feature with better accessibility standards
Accessibility
Visualise data that is understandable for interpreting
Visual hierarchy
Focus on most important info which users want to see
Relatability
Reduce ambiguity and guide user to interpret correctly
Qualitative and quantitative research. based on collaboration with PMs and Devs
user testing
Instead of assuming users would understand the forecast, testing revealed where clarity, trust, and confidence needed to be intentionally designed
To validate whether the forecast feature was intuitive and actionable, I conducted usability testing with 6 EV drivers.
Key tasks:
Interpret the availability bar graph
Check availability at a different time of day
Check availability on a different day
Moderated user testing with real users
Key insights:
Scanning took too long → Excessive scrolling slowed decision-making
Forecast required explanation to interpret correctly → Users needed help interpreting “busyness”
Current hour lacked visual emphasis → Users struggled to orient to “right now”
Plug dependency was missed → Forecast felt unreliable when plug changes weren’t visible
Trust depended on data transparency → Users wanted transparency around accuracy and edge cases
Decision #1:
Where should forecast information live? I tested two placement approaches with users. Quick prototypes; fail fast
Users in the interview mentioned that pricing is also important while choosing a charger.
Version A (Rejected) : Below fold, hidden from view
Required extra scrolling to discover
Users couldn't connect forecast to their plug selection
Felt disconnected from decision-making flow
Version B (Selected) : Directly below plug selection
Section is closer to plug selection; hence it is relatable.
Pricing display is not hidden from view port.
Users preferred this logical information architecture
Decision #2:
Making the section collapsible to reduce scrolling and cognitive load
Forecast information changes based on the plug type selected, hence the feature should look relatable.
Provides more visibility for pricing display in the viewport.
Decision #3:
The constraint that changed everything: Designing for localization
Initial design exploration used color-coded status labels ("Usually Available," "Usually Busy") for quick scanning in collapsed view. Iterations are under NDA and hence only mock-ups that did not make it to the project are shown here.
An idea that I thought of to show how the colour coded labels reflect the live status of the charger in collapsed view.
Expanded view with status label. This idea did not make it through as you can see why, below.
Early designs used text labels like “Usually Available.” When tested with translations (e.g. German), labels broke layouts. The character count increased and the design did not prove to be scalable because of spacing and readability issues.
This is a coded PoC that shows the character count increasing when translated.
Solution: This is the final design "Version 1" without preview labels but with an info icon went live. During the implementation phase, there were tech and priority constraints that stopped us from implementing advanced features (it will be implemented in the future.)
Decision #4:
Building a modular component system ensured consistency and made iterations based on user feedback efficient and maintainable.
Rather than designing one-off screens, I built components using atomic design methodology:
Atoms: Individual hour bars, status indicators, tabs, timestamps
Molecules: 24-hour graphs variants for different states, day selectors
Organisms: Full "Popular Times" section with all interactions
Design components of the feature built from scratch
Decision #5:
Designing for reality, not just ideals
Working with developers during sprints was super helpful to identify edge cases.
Loading state
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Key learnings
The outcome
Popular Times launched successfully as ChargeNow's first predictive intelligence feature, directly addressing the uncertainty that was driving user drop-offs
The feature is currently live only for android users in Germany and is being monitored against our 25% user activity increase target. Early indicators show strong adoption and positive user feedback about finally having visibility into charging availability.
Business context shapes design strategy
The company's break-even phase meant limited developer capacity. This taught me to prioritise ruthlessly—shipping core functionality quickly to validate assumptions, then iterating based on real user behaviour rather than over-engineering upfront.
Takeaway: Impact isn't about launching everything at once. It's about shipping something valuable that solves the core problem while gathering data to inform Version 2.
Want to know more?
Due to NDA, I can’t share everything publicly, but I’m happy to walk through:
Research methodology & insights
Wireframes and usability testing
Version 2 iterations and future improvements
Impact metrics post-launch