1st Challenge Pre-Work at Ironhack
UrbanGo is an application. This is a tool that helps you to get around in a city with an interactive map and features to guide the user to reach a final destination from the starting point.
Public transportations, taxis, bicycles or by foot, Urban Go operates this locomotion ways to get around in a demarcated area and give the most ergonomic and appropriate use.
I want to talk about a project Urban Go app, and the process of creating
a feature according the design thinking method which implies 5 steps and iterate to improve each part of an application.
Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype & Test
Let’s focus on the Empathise part:
1 — Putting myself at the others mind a.k.a Empathise
What does it means ? As a (future) UX designer, the aim is to facilitate, make accessible the use of the application, so we must speaking the same language as people we want to address.
What problem are you solving?
Who is your audience?
Who is your client’s competition?
What’s the tone/feeling?
This questions that can guide me improving my vision as a user.
Then I proceed to interview part, 6 person kindly gave their time to engage a discussion about their experience in public transportations. The age range goes from 21 to 55 years old, working persons using public transportations And enthusiastic travellers
- Can you tell me your experience when you are discovering a city abroad ?
- What are the applications you use to plan to visit a city ?
- Which means of transport do you use abroad and your city ?
- What travel ticket do you prefer ?
- Anything to add ?
2 — Define, dismantle the knot
This journalistic work was an opportunity to collect informations about how we get around in the city and “synthesise findings and define a problem statement”.
Some terms appeared:
- Need to be located when they’re lost when they abroad there is a need to in security, to feel safe all along the experience.
- No trusting application, poor reliability information and
prefer ask to physical person. - When it comes to the step discovery, some of the interviewee would like to see others advices, getting linked information from the city — like videos, images, stories.
- Pass is privileged as a daily traveler, and using digital passes avoid to queuing and waste any piece of plastic.
We decide to focus on the bus, underground hubs, trams
3 — The plan, suggest a solution by sketching
Here’s a rapid prototyping, first of all, you type the destination from where you are (1). It’s possible to choose if you’re alone or not, if it’s one trip or a round trip (2), with the itineraries displayed according the kind of trip you choose, Cheap, Direct, Accessible, Fast. A card is display in the bottom — which could “give the users a preview of where they are headed” (3).
The next screen is presenting the itinerary detailed information, a card displayed the settings of the user (4). Then our traveller decided between analog or digital(5), Finally the smartphone becomes the travel pass (6).
4 — Sharing things for next project
By asking open-ended question & focus on starting conversations about the subject, during interview, it’s was more efficient to create a real conversation with the interviewee by digressing and listening anecdotes. People are a treasure full of stories!
In this article, Innovation and Design Thinking: Picking the Best Ideas
Ranya Badawi says :
“If the idea introduces a significant change in the way we do something, it’s probably a winner. Also, the simplicity of an idea and its impactfulness will help make it a winner.”
Also this quote made a twist, Paul Reader mentioned
”Who decides that an idea has quality?”
It helps to me understand, No need to reflect on a complicated concept it will gives you a headache and won’t be easy to start.
That you only need an idea as a simple response and working on it by starting a draft .
Next time it would be interesting to develop the Analog ticket choice feature as next step to increase the service quality of UrbanGo.
Thanks for reading!
