Design Thinking Process for Ironhack's Bootcamp

For this design thinking initiation process I am reviewing the urban transportation app “CityMapper,” it is active in numerous major cities worldwide. Its primary function is to guide users through the city and find the best user-friendly itinerary depending on the cost and time it takes to go from one point to another. CityMapper was made in 2011 by Amat Yusuf and consecutively won Apple’s App of the Year 5 times In a row as well as Google’s Editors’ Choice App of the Year.

| Empathize

During this case study I conducted interviews on students and regular commuters who rely on urban transportation. Through open-ended questions I aimed to comprehend in depth what the users needs and pain points were during their public transport experience whether it’d be in their hometown or when traveling abroad. This case study focuses on solving recurring issues with ticket management and connections. Initially, I encountered challenges in conducting user research, as this was my very first time doing this. I had troubles at first because I felt too guilty taking people’s time however after taking a step forward I found that participants were eager to contribute and share their insights. As expected no one used CityMapper, it was most of the time Google Maps or Apple Maps, meaning that these apps are the main client’s competitors. Despite the hurdles, I found the process rewarding, as I from interview to interview discovered insights I would have never thought of and also brilliant ideas that could possibly solve issues we are facing today when going through urban transportation. Through this journey, I not only gained valuable insights but also encountered innovative solutions that had not crossed my mind previously.

| Define

To define the problem I first conducted my researches by interviewing 5 people that go through public transportation on a daily basis, I found out many pain points but will focus on only 3 of them for this challenge.

The main pain points:

• Paying cash only in some ticket vending machines
• Long waiting queues at the counter
• Not knowing the right ticket to buy
• Language barrier in a foreign country
• In suburb areas not having enough buses roughly one every hour in some places — Increase the frequency of bus passages
• Tickets often come in paper or plastic cards
• Pricing or buying the wrong ticket

| Ideate

Before prototyping it is necessary to brainstorm and put your ideas together, for this challenge I made a mindmap using FigJam.

With this solution many of the pain-points will be solved, leading to less paper ticket wastage, effortless guidance to purchase your ticket with the seamless UI of the app, all of your tickets in one and only place: Your Phone.

| Prototyping

1. Greeted with the main menu, tap on the highlighted section to type your destination out.
2. Type in your destination.
3. The app suggests you different ways to reach your destination, pick the one that suits you better.
4. In-built app feature that allows the user to buy the ticket directly from his phone.
5. Once the ticket is bought, the user has the possibility to Add it to his Apple Wallet.
6. Easy access to your CityMapper Tickets in your Wallet.

| Final Thoughts

This challenge was very fun and amusing, It was a thrilling experience and I can't wait to learn and do more of these process during the upcoming bootcamp! I had the most troubles with conducting interviews as this was my first time doing this however I got the hang of it interviewee after interviewee. Once the pain-points were figured out it was much simpler to work on the challenge, everything got clear and it was even clearer after the brainstorming process, the prototyping part was definitely my top favorite.