How I improved Citymapper’s app thanks to design thinking
Ironhack’s Prework — Challenge 1 : Design Thinking
For this first challenge, my task is to create a feature for Citymapper’s app that solves the pain of having to purchase different public transport tickets by different channels.
To do this, I follow 4 of the 5 steps associated with the design thinking process : empathize, define, ideate and prototype.
Background
Citymapper is an app presented as the ultimate transport app. Its aim is to reinvent public transport journey of the users. Based on public transport data, the app can be used in a lot of cities over the world : Paris, London, Tokyo, Berlin or New-York. Citymapper suggests several routes mentioning duration and cost. It covers all kinds of transports : subway, suburban train, bus, tram, etc… Almost magic ! But, there is a but : the user can’t purchase public transport tickets through the app. With this functionality, the user could save a considerable time.
Indeed, in big cities such as Paris, you need several kinds of tickets to go from a point A to B. When you are a foreign traveller it isn’t so easy to find the best option to purchase appropriate tickets.
Citymapper is used by anyone that takes public transport. Users can be commuters who want to know how much time they need to go to be on time somewhere or to choose between alternative ways. Users can also be foreign travelers who don’t know public transport very well and need some help to move easily in the city.
Citymapper has several competitors on its market such as Moovit and Google Maps. They cover a lot of cities but they don’t allow to purchase tickets either.
For now, tickets can be purchased only through the city’s official public transport app. For example, in Paris, RATP and Vianavigo are two official apps that provide this service but it’s very recent.
Citymapper’s tone and feeling are friendly, casual and feel good.
Step 1 : Empathize
To improve Citymapper’s app according to user needs I interviewed five persons from my environment that has used public transport, especially abroad.
My goal was to better understand their habits and feelings when they need to purchase a transport ticket when they need to move abroad.
I asked them all these same questions :
Do you use an app to plan your public transport trips?
What are the big cities that you have already visited in France or abroad where you have used public transport?
How do you organize your public transport trips?
How do you buy your tickets?
What kind of transport tickets do you prefer to buy?
Can you give me an example of a good experience?
Can you give me an example of a bad experience?
Have you ever bought a train ticket via your phone?
How did you live this experience?
How do you prefer to have access to your ticket?
Step 2 : Define
Thanks to the users interviews, I realized that two aspects are important to them : save time and money. Public transport users want to go quick from a point A to B. Purchasing tickets have to be simple. They prefer to go to vendor machines, avoiding queues, rather than the counter. When they have to go to the counter, it’s because they can’t understand the machine despite the translation.
Kind of tickets they prefer to buy is a card allowing unlimited journeys for the length of their stay. This way, they don’t have to care about purchasing tickets for each travel.
They like to anticipate their journeys when they are in a foreign city. If they know by advance the route they have to take at they arrival, the major issue they meet is when they have to purchase tickets. Going to vendor machines, queuing and trying to understand public transport tickets system is an inevitable path, sometimes painful.
Apps like Citymapper are mainly used to organize a stay abroad but also to be on time at an appointment. So, apps (and wider their phone) play an important role when they have to go somewhere using public transport. Besides, this is in their phone they like gathering their travel informations and main line tickets. QR code is mostly used as a purchase proof but with its limits. Users have one fear : running out of battery. So, a lot of them keep printing their tickets while we are in the 21st century and trying to print less…
Step 3 : Ideate
A lot of elements came up from my users interviews. Following a brainstorming technique called “mind mapping”, I used them as key words to go further into my ideation process. These key words are : “fast”, “cheap”, “unlimited access”, “freedom and no constraint”, “avoid language barrier”. From them, I tried to find some ways to satisfy users requirements.
As several users mentioned a card during interview, I first thought about a mobile phone functionality that allows to top up that card without going to vendor machines or counter. Users could check they amount on their phone and top up if they need to. But, it means the need to go to purchase this card first : the key word « avoid language barrier » isn’t satisfied.
To gather all the key words, every steps, from the purchase to the ticket control has to be possible only from the app that users use to take public transport.
This way the system is completely dematerialized : tickets can be purchased by single unit or flat rate anywhere, at anytime and in advance. These possibilities are very important for users I have interviewed.
Two ideas might be good : QR code or NFC technology. Cherry on the cake : these two technologies are without touching ! In a middle of Covid-19 crisis, this is a very important data.
Users know perfectly how to use a QR code so it would be easy for them to receive the code on the app after their purchase. But this can be a lack of time to turn on the phone at the station, launch the app, find the QR Code and present it at the control machine.
Fortunately, a new technology made its appearance recently : the NFC technology. It’s already used in several cities for transport tickets as Paris, New York or London. One user mentioned London’s example during his interview and he loved his experience.
This is this option that simplifies user task at its maximum. To validate his trip, user needs to put his phone above ticket control machine, nothing more. He doesn’t have to turn on his phone or open the app. Battery can be running out, it isn’t a problem, NFC technology works anyway.
Step 4 : Prototype
Through my prototype I suggest improving Citymapper’s app with a new functionality : purchase tickets and validate them at ticket control as simply as possible. Users can have access to tickets they purchased (screen 1), buy new ones (screen 2) and have some help to find the appropriate ticket to their journey (screens 5, 6 and 7). This way experts or beginners with public transport can enjoy Citymapper’s experience.
What I learned through this process
Thanks to this challenge I know it’s very important to follow each step of the process. The first step is essential to know perfectly the app we are working for. It’s a great help to prepare for interviews with users. Asking the good questions to the users isn’t so easy. Sometime, they don’t answer what I excepted and I needed to rephrase it. I realized that I learnt a lot from users. The solution to the problem comes from them and they are really precious. When I did all the interviews I had the feeling to be in front of puzzle pieces I needed to assemble. Then, after my brainstorming session, everything began to make sense step by step in my head. Finally, I enjoyed making the prototype even if I was always doubting my ideas and my creative skills. I think it was the most challenging part of this work.
