MVP, designed to enable customers of a car rental agency to conduct self-inspections of rental cars.
Self-inspecting rental cars
Role
User Experience Designer
Team
1 Designer (Me), 1 Engineer, 1 Project Manager
Timeline
2 weeks
QUICK GLANCE
This project focuses on designing an MVP for a car rental agency that enables staff-less vehicle inspections, giving customers the autonomy to conduct inspections independently.
Design Goal
Help customers quickly and confidently document the car’s condition before and after their rental, reducing surprise damage charges and building trust in the rental experience.
Why contactless car renting and why do the customers here need to take the responsibility of inspecting the cars?
Customers were increasingly reporting that they were being unfairly charged for damage that wasn’t their fault.
These disputes often came from missed or inconsistent inspections performed by staff under time pressure, especially during busy rental periods.
Paper Logs,
No Proof
Inconsistent Logging, Missed Damages
False Charges, Broken Trust
Shaping the MVP: My Role
The business had a promising idea: customer self-inspections but wasn’t sure how to roll it out without frustrating renters or slowing down the process.
That’s where I came in. My role was to help shape the MVP experience by:
Clarifying Customer Risks
Defining a Minimal, Viable Experience
Designing for Clarity and Ease
I partnered with the team to frame the experience trade-offs, explore customer and business needs, and design a low-friction MVP flow the business could confidently pilot.
APPROACH
I began by exploring:
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How rental inspections currently worked
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Customer frustrations with being wrongly charged
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Operational challenges with inconsistent staff inspections
I focused on the experience of Sima, a frequent renter who:
Sima, a 28-year-old female from Pune, India who frequently rents cars.
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Frustrations
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Being wrongly charged for damages she didn’t cause
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Time-consuming inspection processes that slow her down
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Unclear or overwhelming steps when renting a car
Goals
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Quickly document the car’s condition before and after trips
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Avoid damage disputes and feel protected as a renter
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Get on the road fast without extra hassle
Problem Statement
Sima, a time-pressed renter, needs a way to quickly document a car’s condition at pickup so she can avoid damage disputes, without feeling overwhelmed or responsible for something that should be easy.
CRAFTING THE MVP
Working within business constraints of speed, low cost, and customer ease, I designed a 3-step self-inspection flow:
Scan the QR
Saves time
Easy car identification
Record a video of the car
Guide with graphics for recording
Image capturing while recording
Report damages
Reporting damage
Submitting images of damage
Scanner to scan QR codes available on windshields of the car.
This will help identify the car.
360° video recording.
Detecting car dents or any damage.
A guide to move and capture the car's different view at the time of recording.
Damage reporting.
In case of any damage, a separate image and brief about the harm will be asked.
EVALUATION
Given the short 2-week timeline, I ran a heuristic evaluation to identify and fix usability gaps.
I decided to add a summary screen before submission, allowing customers to review their inspection report one last time.
This small step can help build trust by giving users a chance to confirm their inputs
Before
After
Progress summary to reassure users they were on track.
Inform the user about the successful submission of the report.
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY NOW?
Explore alternatives with lo-fi designs
Quickly test multiple ideas before committing to one path.
Compare designed MVP vs AI-assisted solutions
Show the trade-offs between effort, cost, and long-term impact.
Back recommendations with data
Provide evidence to help the business align faster and make informed decisions.
Learnings & Takeaways
Navigate operational and customer trade-offs.
Design lightweight MVP experiences that respect user effort
Balance business goals with real customer experience risks
My work doesn't end here, check out more
