Myki-mobile: An experience design case study by Christian Dunne

The project

The already existing Myki card system roll-out period lasted from 2008 with the last implementation taking place in 2013. Although this system might be considered relatively new, there is always room for improvement. The aim of this brief is to better the experience of using the myki system. This will be done through designing a solution based on thorough research, synthesis, ideation, prototyping, user testing, reiteration & refinement.

Research and workshops

There were a number of processes conducted in ensuring the uttermost thorough research data could be gained. This included territory mapping, public surveys, data analysing and affinity mapping. Through these processes, it became easy to identify the most common experience issues when using the myki system.

The main issues found included; touching on, topping up and 
checking balance

90% of myki users said that they had found them self in a situation where topping up was an inconvenience due to no nearby facilities.
Some even spoke of fair evasion due to this issue.

100% of users could not give an exact answer of how much money was on their myki at the time of being surveyed.

75% of users had experienced issues with touching on. Whether it was issues due to faulty infrastructure or crowded transport.

Synthesis & Ideation

This included journey mapping and brainstorming workshops (1up/6up) which narrowed down every area for improvement into ten solution ideas. Then through applying a MOSCOW method (must have, should have, could have, won’t have), three final improvement areas were identified. And all three solutions could be applied to a mobile application. 
These solutions included;

Instant top up through attaching bank details (paypal) to an application that would require a login and personal details.

Virtual touch on via a GPS mapping system that will let the user view trams and buses.

Balance information on one or more myki cards that will be attached to the users account.

Prototyping and reiteration

Now that necessary features were identified, a prototyping process could begin. This involves wire-framing, hi fidelity mockups followed by creating an interactive prototype that can be user tested. Once user testing would be conducted, final reiteration and refinement could be applied.

Three users who fit within the general target audience would be user tested and recorded. This meant any user experience issues could be identified so that reiteration and further testing could take place. Fortunately all three users completed the task scenarios in a matter of seconds. There were however comments made by the users in a small concluding survey which brought to attention some minor visual aesthetic issues involving page consistency. These issues were resolved and did not effect the user experience. A final prototype was created with all necessary features now user friendly and accessible.