Ironhack’s Prework: Citymapper_Challenge 1
Design Thinking Challenge
The assignment was to create a feature on the Citymapper app to solve the pain of purchasing different public transport tickets by additional channels.
We all have an idea of how annoying it can be to search for the proper transportation to go from point A to point B and, on top of that, finding out where to buy the correct tickets can be a tedious thing.
So, here comes Citymapper to help make life easier.
Citymapper is a public transit and mapping app that displays transport options in real-time, including walking, cycling, and driving.
It shows routes and stops, subway maps, and departure times of transport while providing navigation step by step and notifications to get off at the correct station.
Before sketching out a solution, I began by approaching the task using the Design Thinking process.
The main objective of this 5 step methodology is to solve complex problems focusing on the user, understanding and attending to its needs, generating ideas, rapid prototyping a possible solution, and then testing it. This is an iterative process.
For the interview stage, included in the empathize phase, I started thinking about people who could understand the struggles of using public transportation. So, I reached out to them to see who was willing to share their insights on this topic, but I came across my first obstacle. Many of them started using their own private means of travel, and the other half didn’t reply.
After a few days, I finally got my interviewees!
I tried my best to make them comfortable, keep the conversation fluid, casual, and open-ended. Not leading the conversation by asking guided questions was a concern of mine, too. However, I had to remind myself frequently of it as it was the first time I interviewed someone.
Unless I add the one time in primary school, I went to the Fire Department and asked the firefighters lots of questions for a group assignment. I remember I was so excited about that!
Avoid leading, closed, or vague questions.
Ideally, your questions should elicit rich, unbiased answers from the interviewee. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/user-interviews/
Overall, it went well, and I got the insights needed to proceed with the design process. I learned from their info that, for the most part, they had to research all the routes and public transport needed to get around previously. It was time-consuming and tedious for them.
Standing in line to buy the tickets was also a pain point, not to mention all those cards being a waste and bad for the environment.
This was a big concern.
Forgetting the ticket or pass was also a point they brought up. So, with all this knowledge, I began brainstorming ideas that could solve, at least, some of the problems they face.
I thought about creating a solution that would allow the user to choose if they wanted to load the transport ticket with money and with what amount, but I realized that the operation should be faster. I didn’t want to overload the user with too many options, aka cognitive load.
So, to keep it even more straightforward, I reduced the number of payment options available.
I’ve put myself in their shoes and felt that this should be a fast, safe, easy-to-use feature for a user that is, for example, in a hurry.
After the confirmation purchase screen appears, a QR Code shows up to validate the ride, and the ticket/pass would be stored on the app, with a shortcut on the main screen.
The possibility of downloading the ticket/pass and saving it on the phone would also be available in a pdf format if it were not possible to scan the QR Code.
In summary, this challenge was the door I had to cross to start to understand what the UX Design career has in store for me. It has given me a sense of how an interview should be conducted, how the different stages of Design Thinking work together, and to push myself to achieve the final goal.
Thanks for reading!
