Why mental models of your users matters to you

Hello Everyone!

I'am Ashutosh jalan and I am back with another blog about user experience, the concept of mental model runs in my head all the time, whenever I am doing anything, in my routine tasks, I perform activities as per what I have seen, hear or said untill now. Any change in that distracts me from the task that I was performing. When you are planning your app and adding new featues, we should not disturb the pervious workflow, because it might confuse the regular user.

To userstand mental model of a user, we create user persona, informationof a type of a user with real carved description.

Create a user persona for a 40+ age people using online cab booking services, [ generating a user persona with help of AI]

To create an effective user persona for the 40+ demographic, we have to look beyond just "booking a ride." For this age group, the primary drivers are often reliability, safety, and physical comfort, rather than just finding the cheapest fare.

Here is a detailed persona representing a typical high-value user in this segment.

User Persona: "The Efficient Professional"

Profile Overview

• Name: David Miller

• Age: 46

• Occupation: Mid-to-Senior Level Project Manager

• Location: Suburban area, commuting to an Urban Center

• Family Status: Married with two teenagers

Bio

David is tech-literate but values his time above all else. He spent the first half of his career hailing traditional taxis or driving himself everywhere. Now, he prefers the predictability of apps. He uses ride-hailing services for business trips, airport transfers, and the occasional "night out" with his spouse where they'd rather not worry about parking or a glass of wine.

Psychographics & Motivations

Category	Description
Primary Motivators	Reliability (it must show up), safety (vetted drivers), and vehicle quality.
Pain Points	High surge pricing without explanation, long wait times, and dirty or poorly maintained vehicles.
Tech Comfort	High, but impatient with "clunky" UI or too many notifications.
Loyalty Factor	High. He sticks to one app if it remains consistent and offers a premium loyalty program.

Key Goals & Needs

• Predictability: He wants to know exactly when the car will arrive so he isn't late for a meeting.

• Safety Features: He values the "Share Trip" feature to let his spouse know he's on his way home from the airport late at night.

• Comfort: He is willing to pay 20%–30% more for a "Premium" or "XL" vehicle to ensure a quiet, clean environment where he can take a phone call.

• Expense Management: Needs easy access to PDF receipts for corporate reimbursement.

Typical User Journey (The "Airport Run")

1. Scheduling: David often uses the "Schedule a Ride" feature 24 hours in advance for peace of mind.

2. The Wait: He monitors the app's GPS tracking closely. He appreciates a driver who sends a quick "I'm on my way" text.

3. The Ride: He prefers a professional, quiet atmosphere. He dislikes drivers who are overly chatty or play loud music.

4. The Wrap-up: He tips well for a smooth, safe ride and expects an automated receipt in his inbox immediately.

What This Means for the Service

To capture "The Davids" of the world, an online cab service should focus on:

• Advanced Scheduling: Ensuring a 99% fulfillment rate for pre-booked rides.

• Professionalism: A "Quiet Mode" or "Help with Luggage" preference toggle in the app.

• Business Integration: Seamless syncing with expense apps like Concur or Expensify.

• Premium Support: A clear path to human customer service if something goes wrong, rather than just a chatbot.

Here you can see we create a user persona! By estimating how much user understands of technology and way of life, helps you predict how your app can be shaped around them.

One important thing that corporates ignore is how mental model of user changes with updates in OS and App. App updates have bigger impact than OS impact, OS impact are generally noticed, as everyone is on general platforms. But the app updates are not tracked and understool with how user is reacting. With app updates even a small change can unbalance the sentiment of user.

An Full Mental Model and Sentimental analysis of app can give a map of these ranges, this activity should be done from start of launch, if the product is launched, there should be one deep study carry out to point out data, combined with previous research done to create one and then there should be regular track of the models.

In my upcoming blogs I will provide a sample of how a FMSA (Full Mental Model and Sentimental analysis) will can help shape your design and provide a better user experience.

Thanks for reading!

Ashutosh Jalan