EV Charging Session Failure Recovery
Design a charging recovery flow that diagnoses start, power, connector, account, and payment failures without stranding the driver.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
A charging session depends on the vehicle, cable, station, network, account, and payment method. Generic error messages make drivers repeat unsafe or ineffective steps while battery range continues to fall.
User context
Mei arrives at a motorway charger with 8 percent battery. The app authorizes payment, but the station reports an active session while the car receives no energy.
Product problem
Mei needs to understand what is known, avoid duplicate billing, and choose a practical recovery path based on available range and nearby station status.
Objective
Create diagnosis, guided recovery, billing protection, and support handoff for a failed public charging session.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Confirm the vehicle, connector, station, and session state
- Follow safe troubleshooting for the identified failure
- Stop or dispute a billed session with no delivered energy
- Move to a credible alternative or reach station support
Screens and states
- Session diagnosis
- Guided recovery
- Billing and stop confirmation
- Alternative charger and support
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Mei scans the charger and sees that authorization succeeded but power delivery remains at zero
- 02
The app asks her to verify the connector lock and then attempts a remote session reset
- 03
She stops the stale session and receives a zero-energy billing receipt
- 04
A nearby compatible charger is reserved for ten minutes within her estimated range
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Separate authorization, connection, power delivery, and billing states
- Show delivered energy, elapsed time, price basis, and session identifier
- Sequence only safe troubleshooting steps for the current station
- Confirm that a failed session stopped before starting another
- Provide staffed support with the station and session context
Constraints
- Battery range is an estimate and cannot guarantee arrival
- A connector must not be released through unsafe instructions
- Station connectivity may prevent remote diagnostics or reservation
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four mobile screens plus one charger-kiosk error state
- A session state diagram covering authorization through receipt
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Stint Ultra Expanded & Roboto
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Stint Ultra Expanded & Roboto
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Theory to review
UX principles for this brief
Use these as decision lenses, then validate the design with the people and context in the brief.
