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A/B Test

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Quickbooks Self-employed: Mobile Mileage

A/B test: Android location permissions 

Overview: 
Android updated its permissions framework and decoupled location permissions from the ability to track user locations in the background. 
 

Problem:
This caused friction with users that tracked their mileage using their phone's GPS, as the new permission allowed users to select the option for the app only being active for finite periods of time, rather than "always", which is what is needed to ensure users capture all of their trips. As a result, we saw a significant drop in the number of users that allowed us (likely unbeknownst to them) to track their location in the background. This increased the number of customers that reported missing trips to QuickBooks service centers. 
 

Goal: 
Get Android users to choose "Allow all the time" to decrease user friction by way of missing trips.
 

Process:
I worked with the team's designers to create system dialogs to make it easier for users to select the correct permissions to meet their needs. To this end, I created two strategies:
 

  • Concept A: Gives the user easily scannable steps they need to take to give permission to track their trips– just enough to get the job done.
     

  • Concept B: In addition to easily scannable steps, this concept gives users more descriptive details about the permissions that they are agreeing to give.


But . . . which works best? To help figure this out, the team decided to run an A/B test to see which concept was more successful in getting users to set up the permissions that they need to track their trips.
 

Hypothesis:
 If we give users more information, then they will be more likely to "Allow all the time" to do because they will understand what agreeing to this means.

Concept A

  • Created header starting with the main benefit of the feature that would compel users to pay attention.
     

  • Wrote short and impactful sentences to increase scannability.
     

  • Suggested to the design team that we use green to highlight the steps that users must take to enable tracking quickly.
     

  • Flexed voice and tone, "delight when it's right."

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Concept b

  • Utilized the same header and scannability principles in concept A.
     

  • Defined the permissions that users are agreeing to.

CONCLUSION:
This test was never deployed to customers since the team disbanded soon after we decided to do this test. I wanted to understand whether users are more likely to "Allow all the time" if they are given more information, despite the added cognitive burden. 

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