Challenge 1: Design Thinking
For the first project of Ironhack Prework, we need to use Design thinking process to solve a problem with the Citymapper App. Our task is to create a feature for this app that solves the pain of having to purchase different public transport tickets by different channels.
1. Citymapper, the public transportation app
Citymapper, “The ultimate transport App” is a public transport application offering all the possibilities to move in a city, the fastest, the easiest, the cheapest way. Then, you choose the one you which suits you.
Implemented in more than 50 cities worldwide, it started in 2011 in London. It integrates data for all urban modes of transport (cycling, driving, walking, VTC, scooter, public transport…).
Their tone is quite funny, and they try to be very actual about the environment of each city (during strike, transport breakdown…).
2. Empathize
Our users are people who travel through public transportation or new way of moving in the cities (cycling, ride, cab…). They are is digitally connected and own a smartphone with applications.
To better understand the users, I interviewed 5 different people who use transport app especially in France.
I asked them open questions to collect their insights and habits:
- Do you prepare in advance your travel when you go abroad: the road between the train station and your hotel, the sites you want to visit?
- How do you prepare your outings or trips?
- How do you manage to geolocate yourself?
- What kind of applications do you use when traveling to locate?
- Do you know Citymapper? If yes, what do you think?
- What is the main pain point of this application?
3. Define
Findings of the interviews:
This app is quite well done, the users like the functionalities of the app and haven’t big issues with it.
Users use a lot their smartphone phone to locate themselves and to head toward somewhere when they don’t know how to do (tourist or not) or if they want to find the fastest and easiest way.
For people who knows the city and lived there, there is no problem with the app, users are very satisfied with it on the contrary because they give them some tips like where to catch the subway (the train in front or behind) but answers and point of views were different when the app is used as a tourist or as a city-living user.
However, there is some improvement to do to make it better for tourists:
- The first problem is that you can’t go from point A to point B that are not on the same city even close
- The second problem is that the price is not explain, you know how much you need to pay but there is no detail about if it is one or several tickets, where to buy it, how many times we can use them etc…
We are trying here to solve the second problem. The price is always indicated with more or less precision. But this raises some questions:
How the price is divided?
Where to buy tickets? Is that on the same places or different locations?
How long does my ticket last?
…
Problem statement: Users feels uncomfortable when using this app because they have the half of the service: they know how to go from point A to B but they can’t if they don’t have tickets. For tourists, they don’t know where or how buy transportation tickets
Ideate
The easiest way to solve this problem is to think about an “all-in-one” feature.
2 ideas came to me:
1. Having a partnership with the transport organization of the city and having a physical Citymapper card that you can use on all ways of transportations (bikes, subways, buses…) with a package price. This card would more suited to locals.
2. Create a digital card which will be connected to your bank account: if you want to take a bike, you would have a QR Code with your phone to flash and be directly debited
Prototype:
What I learned throughout this process:
This process is really open-minded because you don’t “rush headlong” and think about the solution directly. Here you have to begin with the more important thing, the user. It is a very user centric process to adopt which is the best way to try again and again to find an idea which will fit with your user before starting sketching.
