A Problem Identification Exercise
Identifying a problem is a typical step when working on a project. It is the beginning of the problem-solving process. It is also an underrated part of the overall work, prone to being skipped, forgotten, or not done properly. In reality, problem identification is a very important process: in order to generate relevant solutions, first you’ll need to identify the right problems. Identifying the wrong problems do not automatically lead to wrong solutions — there’s always a statistical chance that we unknowingly stumble upon the right solutions — but it will cause more trial and error, wasting time and energy in the process.
As a part of our UX Design training at Purwadhika, we tried identifying local problems that we often face in our everyday lives. I think this is a fun and stimulating exercise as we often complain about every wrong process that we encounter everyday, but never stopped to think deeper and give actionable steps to solve them. By doing this exercise, I hope to be better at identifying the right problems and the right solutions.
We used six steps to identify problems and possible solutions:
- What is the problem and how did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
- How does it affect us?
- How can we solve the problem?
- Which problems are solved by the solutions?
- Which problems are left unsolved or have potential to cause new problems?
In this case, I picked a nagging problem that I have been facing in my commutes using the new(-ish) Jakarta MRT.
1. What is the problem and how did it happen?
There are two floors in a typical Jakarta MRT station. If the trains run underground entering that particular station, then the upper floor is used for tapping in using contactless payment cards, going to the toilets, or shopping at various F&B tenants — while the lower floor is used for waiting area and stepping inside or outside the trains. If the trains run overground, then the floors’ functions are reversed. To simplify things, I am using the assumption that the trains run underground in this station.
When I arrived at the station, I find myself and other would-be passengers walking or running hurriedly towards the lower floor to avoid missing the train. Oftentimes, after running down the stairs it turns out that the trains haven’t arrived, or worse, have just left the station. Then the people’s faces who shared the same fate as me would change to spell resignation and helplessness, sometimes annoyance.
2. Why did it happen?
This usually happens because after tapping in, people usually do not know the nearest MRT trains’ schedule. The schedule monitors are only available on the lower floor, which is the floor where people board the train. Why is this monitor location important? Because when people have reached the lower floor they have already expended needless energy to rush downstairs, and the upper floor hosts a lot of facilities: fast foods, minimarkets, information desk, and most importantly toilets. In comparison, the lower floor only offers benches in the waiting area.
3. How does it affect us?
People are left physically and mentally tired. Physically we are tired from running up and down the stairs, while mentally we are tired of the failure of anticipating the trains’ schedule and calculating the opportunity cost of hurriedly chasing a lost cause. The lack of facility in the lower floor also restricts our activity options — and there’s no turning back once we got past the tap-in gate and down to the lower floor.
4. How can we solve the problem?
Adding a physical monitor located near the tap-in gate. This monitor should showcase the current time and the next trains’ schedule and destination, similar to the ones at the lower floor. (Note: This solution might sound too simplistic, but I haven’t found a satisfactory answer to explain the absence of the upper floor monitor).
Some people use apps on their smartphones to find out real time schedules by the time they reached the upper floor, but there are some caveats:
- The schedule are sometimes inaccurate.
- The cellular signal is often spotty, especially underground.
- Some people don’t check their phones as they walk, even more so for old people.
- Smartphones’ batteries are not infinite.
The above factors mean smartphone apps do not quite answer the problem we are facing. In my opinion, physical monitors have the benefits of being always on (unless something happens to the station’s electricity system) and being simple — it immediately conveys the information we want, and only that. There is no danger of selecting the wrong app or clicking the wrong button.
As reference, I have screenshotted a picture from a Youtube video (which content in itself is quite fascinating). It shows the monitor location at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, the third-busiest railway station in North America as of 2018. With at least 5 subway and other public transport routes, physical monitors are installed at the upper level (the level that is directly connected to the roads, as per the GCT directory) showcasing the nearest trains’ schedule. This example shows how installing monitors showcasing multiple routes is a viable solution to solve the problem at hand.
5. Which problems are solved by the solutions?
As there is only one problem, this action can potentially solve the passengers’ pain point in boarding the trains. By giving information before going down the stairs, people can plan their time and energy usage for other activities before finally going down to take the MRT.
6. Which problems are left unsolved or have potential to cause new problems?
Today there are only two routes for Jakarta MRT, namely Lebak Bulus-Bundaran HI and Bundaran HI-Lebak Bulus. If and when the routes expand, then there will be a need for more monitors and for more routes and schedules to be displayed on the monitors, à la the above GCT example.
Additionally, as mentioned before, there exists apps which can be used to inquire about the trains’ schedule. The addition of physical monitors could potentially cause redundant information for the passengers.
This is an arbitrary choice of problem, but I tried to showcase the problem identification process as clear as possible. I hope this exercise helps show us how to identify a problem and generate an actionable solution.
– Serpong, where we are still waiting for our very own MRT plans.
