Ironhack’s Prework: UrbanGo Challenge 1
Ironhack Paris UX/UI Challenge : Design Thinking.
My first challenge, as an Ironhacker, is to use the Design Thinking process to propose a new feature to UrbanGo, a transport application based in Silicon Valley. As Citymapper in France, UrbanGo proposes itineraries to facilitate mobility in large cities, informing users of the time and cost of their trip. The aim of this application is to improve local mobility by simplifying connectivity between train, tram, bus, taxi and car rental. In other words, it is a multimodal connectivity platform that aims to reduce the time, traffic and energy wasted by the current transport system and to preserve our environment.
I spent five days on this challenge, and interviewed five users.
Interview findings
Users don’t appreciate multimodal journeys and don’t know much about them
Users so rarely make multimodal journeys that none of them thinks about the fact that they cost two tickets. They find it abnormal at the time but quickly forget about this problem, or bypass it without thinking about it and avoid making this kind of connection again. They don’t appreciate taking the bus before or after a subway ride because bus stops are not easily found. Moreover, they don’t know the network very well, and it’s one more reason for them not to venture into a multimodal journey. Finally, they do not like having to adapt to too big a change of transport mode because the complexity of the connections is tiring.
The doubled price goes oddly unnoticed
As said previously, no one thinks it normal to pay twice the price of a ticket for one trip. All users feel they are being cheated when they realize they are paying double for a single trip, but don’t realize it when it happens to them. They have so much confidence in the public transport system that they don’t pay attention and don’t question it much, at least in their own city.
There is a real desire for innovation, and big reluctance can be overcome by simple explanations
Users find that things haven’t changed for a long time, especially concerning paper tickets. Once they are aware of this service (buying their tickets online by paying with their phone, or loading their traveling card behind their phone), despite their fears, they would prefer to have good explanations for using it rather than printing their tickets on the spot. In fact, all the interest they see in this new solution is that once they have made their purchase online, there is no additional step. The problem of the fear of taking their phone out in the subway, for example, can be solved by the mention, in the NFC tutorial, that this payment system works even when the phone is locked so that you can leave it in your bag without taking it out.
Behaviors and expectations are different when travelling abroad or in one’s hometown
Perceptions change depending on whether one is in one’s city or travelling, and there are very different expectations of urban transport compared to mainline trains. For french users, using the SNCF (the national train company) method (flashcode) for the RATP (the Parisian public transport company) would represent a big change in habits, would provoke mistrust and would require a big communication campaign or recommendations by relatives. Uber, for example, represented a big change in habits but worked thanks to word of mouth. People are more open to innovation in a city they don’t know because they think it may have been implemented without their knowledge.
The problem I am trying to solve
Users don’t make multimodal journeys easily, and when they do, they don’t realize that they will have to pay two tickets for one trip, nor do they guess in advance that they will have to wait in line twice and might encounter many problems, like broken vending machines or mistakes, especially when they are abroad. I am therefore wondering how to offer quicker and cheaper transport routes, and more precisely how to avoid users the pain of purchasing several transport tickets.
How I planned to solve this problem
I have chosen to offer two ways to buy tickets online, directly through the UrbanGo application. First, users choose the technology they prefer : pay through portals with NFC technology, therefore directly with a smartphone, or transfer the purchased tickets to their travel card by loading the card behind their phone. Then, they choose the right tickets for them. They are reassured by the mention, at the bottom of the screen, of an existing partnership between Urbango and the public transport system. They can buy their tickets in one click and then find them in the “My Tickets” section. If they are worried about their phone battery or a malfunction, they can print the receipt with their name on it, which will display a flashcode so that control officers can check it.
To solve the problems associated with multi-modal travel, a colored button leading to an explanation screen shows users more clearly that this type of travel can be more expensive if they use paper tickets, and they are warned that they will need two tickets for one trip. If they want to avoid this problem, they can buy their tickets online and know that since their phone or travel card will be recognized by the machine, they can now travel for an hour and a half, regardless of the mode of transport.
The travel card is not as effective as NFC technology because users have to buy it at the station before they can charge it themselves with their phone, but it makes them very independent once they have bought it, and allows them to travel at no extra cost even if they don’t own a smartphone with NFC technology.
The complexity of the connection is solved by modal windows indicating the best metro exit, and the address of the bus stop.
Users’ fears concerning the use of these new technologies are countered by the appearance of a tutorial at the time of purchase, just above the various tickets on offer.
As the goal is to save time, I chose a “buy in one click” button, and to avoid mistakes, a colored “cancel” button appears for 30 seconds on the confirmation screen.
To prevent this process from appearing too dehumanized, a button leading to a telephone help line is placed in the upper right-hand corner of the home screen.
My paper prototype design
I learned that :
Starting alone is hard
I read all my lessons, practiced sketching, tried to always ask open ended questions, and thought ideating would be easy with all the inspiring answers I received in the interviews. I didn’t realize gathering the findings and insights would be hard and long without a good organisation system, and that putting my ideas on paper would be very intimidating. Two things helped me : labeling each paragraph with a small title, to move it as a puzzle piece in the right theme area, and deciding to draw ugly prototypes.
Memory is tricky
You think that you read the exercise, and that you understood it. After all, you are kind of smart (at least your grandma thinks so), after reading it twice you surely remember it well… WRONG ! In the process of thinking again and again about the problem you’re trying to solve, not only did you rephrase it but by doing so, you also modified it, because that’s the way memory works, it changes things ! So if you don’t re-read your problem statement often, chances are you might, as I did, have to reframe your challenge and correct your interview questions because you didn’t realize, for example, that this wasn’t happening in Paris, but in the Silicon Valley, and that this one big and precise obstacle that you kept in mind, was actually… imaginary ! It was nowhere to be found in the statement of the challenge and you made it up on the path of your reflexion.
Paper is unforgiving
When you are not used to using paper anymore, you make really stupid mistakes. Like not drying your hands properly after washing the dishes and wetting your sheet. Or bringing your pasta plate to your desk after a beautiful morning of hard work. According to Murphy’s law, there are high chances that that one small but juicy Farfalle, full of oily pesto, will fall right onto your most beautiful drawing. Paper doesn’t forgive.
Real life results are awesome
Because learning can also be such a joyful experience, and to end on a very positive note, I found out that although I lost a lot of hair in the brainstorming phase, I was so happy when I finished because I was incredibly proud and happy. Noone around me was very admirative of those little drawings I had made, and I had no idea if I should be, but I was. I discovered the Design Thinking process, at least my homemade debutant version of it, and I now know that it is highly rejoicing. Like a big, long run that leaves your body full of endorphines, and your mind full of new landscapes.
