Design Thinking to improve UX in public transportation — a UX case study
Introduction
For this challenge the EMT (Madrid’s public transport service) will be presented as our client. Our main goal is to improve the experience of bus users; we will offer a technological solution to increase the users’ satisfaction towards accessibility during the bus trip as well as when waiting for the bus to arrive.
Although the accessibility conditions for people with reduced mobility have been improved by the public transport service by upgrading the buses’ platforms and by offering assigned seats, the number of users has decreased every year.
Method
Firstly, we will focus on the use of the double diamond process, which consists in divergent and convergent thinking, through observation, definition, ideation and prototype. Starting with a general problem, then its specification, and approaching to a final solution at the end.
Research
Our research process begins with an exploration focused on the user, the client and its competitors. Every question we could think of, related to these three topics, we wrote on post-its and sticked them to the wall. This is how we started to lead our investigation. Some of the questions:
- How is the user experience with the app?
- Which problems does a disabled person face when travelling?
- Does the company offer good technological services?
- Does the competition have specific services for disable people?
Desktop research
By doing a desktop research based on the competition, we collected data of alternatives transportation to the bus, such as VTC, taxis and other kinds of public transport. We also gathered information of mobility apps and disabled people oriented apps.
We concluded that almost every public transport service in the country offers the same solutions for people with reduced mobility, such as assigned seats, reserved platforms and ramps for wheelchairs.
On the other hand, we found many apps committed to disabled people, and none of their functions are contemplated in the EMT Madrid’s app.
VTC, taxis and every car sharing service present direct competition to the EMT due to their capacity of covering the users’ routes extensively.
Qualitative research
Following our investigation, we collected opinions and comments from users in numerous blogs and EMT’s social networks. We found several claims for malfunction of the ramps, and other comments such as ‘buses rarely have their sound system on’.
In order to extend our qualitative investigation, we made a safari to the EMT buses. In a rainy day we studied the user’s experience using the public transport. We witnessed some problematic situations, for example, a senior citizen couldn’t get to the central platform because the bus was highly crowded. Other elderly people weren’t able to reach the reduced mobility assigned seats, and had to travel standing since there was no other option. Furthermore, the information screen set in the front of the bus couldn’t be seen from the back, and in other cases it’s not even turned on.
Questionnaire
To better understand the general experience of EMT users, we created a questionnaire through Google Forms. The following graphics represent the experience and interaction of the users with the public buses. First, we can see that a big percentage use this transport occasionally. Secondly, that most of the people get their information through the EMT app. And finally, that people use this form of transportation to get to their working places, schools/universities and for leisure.
Interview
Once we defined a script for the interviews, we split our team in two and we headed to centers and foundations directly related to people with reduced mobility. When we arrived we faced our first finding, the employees told us about the need of programming the interviews with some anticipation. Due to the insufficient accessibility to move around the city, people with reduced mobility have very strict routines.
Finally, we managed to get an interview with a blind woman in the Fundación Once, previously scheduled to avoid causing any inconveniences. Lucía, Fundación Once’s volunteers coordinator, told us about her daily routine, how she moves around the city, her experience with public transport and the importance of technology in her life.
User Persona
Based on all the information collected in the questionnaires and interviews, we generated two User Personas. We represented senior people through Juana, and disabled people thorugh Laura.
This process helps to achieve a unification of the team when defining the specific problem, as every member can follow the same line to find a solution.
Empathy map
We developed an empathy map for each User Persona, defining their experiences when taking the bus, focusing on what they think, feel, see, hear and say. These maps helped us to empathize and synthesize our observations.
We realized about the need of disabled people to get external help when interacting with the whole service, such as waiting for the bus as a blind person and not knowing which bus it is unless asking someone. Or, when inside the bus, not being aware of reaching their stop if the sound system is not available.
Customer Journey
Based on the previous maps we created the user’s journeys, where we graphically represented their interaction points with the EMT service, and at the same time their pain points. These are the key points where we are going to focus our challenge next.
Insights
Before defining the specific problem for which we attempt to find a solution, we marked some key points of our research. From different selected findings, we defined the insights that will take us to a viable fix:
- Need of an app that unifies different others.
- Need of self-suffiency of people with reduced mobility.
- Need of inclusion confronting differentiating systems.
- Need of information regarding the streets traffic and type of bus.
To proceed to the next step of specification of the problem and definition of the challenge, we decided to use the How Might We questions process, centered in the insights previously defined. After voting the posed questions, which will help us find the adequate solution to fix the pain points marked in the customers’ journeys, we established our challenge:
Creating a tool that unifies the needs of a disabled person travelling by public transport.
Ideation
This phase was started by doing a MoSCoW, in which we included all our ideas for tools which could offer a solution to the pain points based on the interaction of the user and the service.
Our ideas were divided according to their priority. In the area of Must we incorporated all of those we thought were crucial to our solution. Afterwards, in Should those we thought were very important, in Could those we considered we could dismiss. Lastly in Won’t, those we completely dismissed.
Keeping in mind the objectives defined in the briefing, the qualitative and quantitative research and the insights collected we found the idea to be proposed as the solution: a redesign of EMT’s app.
Inclusive and collaborative solution that synchronises in real time relevant information of the door to door route, taking advantage of the accessibility tools that the smartphone offers, in order to make it universal.
As well, our solution implements a gaming process with the aim of encouraging the user to participate in the community, collaborating and getting bonuses in return.
Benchmarking
Once we had our solution defined we made an analysis of the competition, their apps and the functions included to compare with the ones we pretend to apply to the EMT’s app.
Business model canvas
Always keeping in mind our main purpose, which is to increase the number of bus users in Madrid, we created our business model canvas. Starting by our valued proposal, a cooperative information service in real time and ‘door to door’ route visibility, while we greatly benefit the EMT through the recollection of data from the app.
We also evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of our proposal by doing a SWOT. By doing so, we also gained real perspective of the opportunities and threats which external facts represent.
Sitemap
Before developing the visual process of our app, we created a sitemap including its functions. This helped us to define the component’s hierarchy and its general structure. It also guided us to decide each content location inside the app and how users will navigate through it.
Flowchart
The next step was creating a flowchart of the user’s interaction with two specific processes in the app. We decided to represent the process of searching a route and the login. In the graphic we reproduced with a gray arrow the journey of a regular user and in red the one of a logged user.
Prototype
Most of the functions included in our app are based on an insight defined by our research phase. First of all, the GPS tool with the ‘door to door’ route option answers to the need of an app that unifies others.
We also added an alert function so people get notified when the bus is at the stop, and the option to filter in the map’s visualization the incidents reported by the community, street traffic and the information of the bus approaching.
With these functions we respond to the need of self-sufficiency of the people with reduced mobility. Likewise, the example of the interviewed blind girl; not having access to the information of the kind of bus she has in front of her unless she asks someone.
Moreover, the Community is the function that will stand out the most in our app. Through this feature logged users will be able to collaborate by reporting incidents in the buses, traffic in the streets or some specific problem, like a ramp not working.
Users will get points for collaboration, depending on the type of contribution they do to the Community. The company will offer a bonus in the monthly ticket as a reward for their participation.
Future processes
There are some steps we would like to develop in the future. For starters, doing a deeper research would be a key for our solution to be well accepted. Then, we would need to test our prototype with real users and consider possible iterations of the product.
We would also like to make a landing page to advertise the new features in EMT Madrid app, and to give users the possibility of spending a day with a person with reduced mobility, as well as making people more conscious of the difficulties they face in every day tasks.
Conclusion
Double diamond method has been very efficient in the process of developing this project. It allowed us to center our investigation in finding user’s problems instead of trying to find a solution right away.
By doing questionnaires and interviews, besides the benchmarking analysis and the netnography, we managed to really empathize with EMT’s users and to learn about their frustrations when interacting with the bus service.
We have been able to maintain a good consistency between the objective, the pain points marked in the customer journey, the challenge specification and the final solution.
Even though we faced some difficulties when doing the interviews, the sitemap and the flowchart we got to iterate positively and get a good result.
The whole process could not have been possible if it wasn’t for every member of the group and the good team work.
