Challenge 1: Design Thinking

This challenge is part of the prework of the UX/UI Design Bootcamp at Ironhack. This is my process to create a feature for this app called Citymapper applying design thinking to a given problem.

The Client:

Citymapper is a public transit app and mapping service. It integrates data for all urban modes of transport, from walking and cycling to driving, with an emphasis on public transport. It operates by free mobile app and a desktop website.

The Problem:

Although the current product of Citymapper already solves some of the main problems of the urban mobility, there is one pain point for many users:

The different amount of public transport tickets the users have to purchase. Public transport tickets come in paper or plastic cards. Very often buying different public transport tickets is necessary to go from point A to B. And the process of buying these tickets can be very annoying (queues, vending machines that don’t work, etc.).

Finally, things like pricing or purchasing the correct ticket can become a real pain when you are abroad.

1. Empathize:

Before engaging in any further activity, I asked myself these questions:

What problem am I solving?

To purchase, in one process, different public transport tickets and being able to compare prices and routes faster

Who is your audience?

People looking for a better traveling experience in different public transports by using an app.

Who is your client’s competition?

Google Maps and Apple Maps are the default map application on smartphones.

What’s the tone/feeling?

To make the user’s experience better while using public transport either on their city or abroad.

Interviews:

I interviewed 5 people to help me find out the main pain points of public transport. My group consisted of people aged between 25–40 who use public transportation for the daily commute or when traveling abroad.

Questions:

“How often do you use public transportation?”

“ How do you buy your tickets?”

“When traveling abroad, do you use public transportation? If yes, which apps do you use to commute?”

“ What do you like/dislike the most about using public transportation?”

“What feature would you like to see in an app to improve your experience in public transportation?

2. Define:

After talking to the interviewees about their experience, users agreed that purchasing a physical ticket or card pass through a cashier or ticket machine is too complicated for many reasons:

• Long lines can be very stressful, especially during rush hour, and sometimes users might miss their transportation and arrive late.
• Losing a ticket or card pass and purchasing a new one, it is a waste of time and money.
• While abroad, it is difficult to understand the ticket or travel information due to different languages.
• Purchasing too many tickets to travel from point A to point B
  Some apps don’t include a payment option.

3. Ideate:

After reviewing the pain points of public transport, I did some brainstorming and gathered some ideas for a new feature to improve Citymapper and improve the user experience:

• Add option to have a digital ticket with a QR code.
• Buy all tickets of the travel itinerary in one single pass.
• Add more payment options like Apple Pay or PayPal.

4. Prototype

Using the previous ideas, I want to implement a feature that allows the users to have access to all purchased tickets needed to travel from Point A to Point B by using one single ticket. Also, I am adding the digital ticket option with a QR code for easy access from the user’s smartphone.

In Conclusion

I learned through this exercise to ask questions, empathize with the user, try to understand from their perspective. Also, Design Thinking methods allowed me to focus on the real pain points, and find better solutions.

Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed doing this project.