Streamlining Travel: A User Experience Redesign of the Transportr App
I wanted to give an open-source transportation app a fresh look, making it easy for travelers to get around, and promoting sustainable transportation in a simple and intuitive way.
Overview
This UX redesign project is about making the Transportr app more user-friendly and efficient. It is an open source app that helps users get directions and easily navigate public transport. I’m drawn to this app because I want to redesign this app specifically because it can be used by people all around the world, whether they're in Asia, Europe, America, or Australia. For example, you can travel from Spain to Germany and use just one app to navigate your entire trip. I think that's really powerful. Plus, I want to contribute to this app because it encourages people to use sustainable transportation.
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I've identified some key areas for improvement, like streamlining the search process and making the interface more intuitive. My goal is to create a seamless experience that lets users navigate the app with ease. I'm giving the app a refresh to make it more intuitive and easy to use, tackling areas like simpler search, fewer errors, and a more streamlined experience, all with the goal of creating an app that's easy to navigate and actually enjoyable to use.
Project Scope
The scope of this project is to redesign the existing app to improve its usability, user experience, and overall functionality. The focus will be on addressing the identified usability issues, which include:
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Improving the visibility of system status
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Enhancing user control and freedom
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Increasing consistency and standards
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Preventing errors
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Improving recognition rather than recall
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Enhancing flexibility and efficiency of use
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Improving aesthetic and minimalist design
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Helping users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
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Providing help and documentation
Overall Goals
The primary goals of this project are to:
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Simplify the search functionality and reduce cognitive load by allowing users to minimize the keyboard and providing a more intuitive search interface.
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Improve the consistency of the app's behavior, particularly when it comes to automatic saves and scrolling.
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Reduce errors by providing a more prominent 24-hour clock and differentiating between favorite and recent trip symbols.
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Enhance the flexibility and efficiency of use by providing a more streamlined search process and clear differentiation between search functions.
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Improve the overall user experience by providing a more aesthetic and minimalist design, as well as clear and concise help and documentation.
Examples from the Original Design
Home Page
Direct Search
Route Directions
Specific Objectives
My first step was to do a heuristic evaluation of the app before any user interviews or tests. My heuristic evaluation showed me that in order to achieve the project goals, I needed to address the following specific objectives:
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Design a new search interface that allows users to minimize the keyboard and provides a more intuitive search experience.
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Develop a consistent and intuitive system for automatic saves and scrolling.
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Create a new clock interface that prominently displays 24-hour time and reduces errors.
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Design a new symbol system that clearly differentiates between favorite and recent trip saves.
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Streamline the search process and provide clear differentiation between search functions.
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Develop a startup guide and improve help and documentation to assist users in understanding the app's functionality.
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Implement a system that recognizes when a user has selected a route outside of their transportation company's coverage area and provides a helpful error.
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By addressing these objectives, the redesigned app will provide a more user-friendly, efficient, and enjoyable experience for its users.
Research Methods and Findings
To get a better understanding of the app's usability, I did a heuristic evaluation first then conducted some user interviews. With the heuristic evaluation I looked at the app's interface and functionality to see where it could be improved, and used a set of established usability principles as a guide to identify areas that needed some improvement.
Through this evaluation, I found 10 key issues that were affecting the user experience. Things like the search function being a bit clunky, the automatic save feature being confusing, and the clock interface being prone to user errors. I prioritized these issues based on how much they were impacting the user experience and how feasible it was to fix them.
To gain a broader understanding of the issues, I had some chats with users to see how they were experiencing the app. These conversations were helpful in validating my findings and identifying some additional areas for improvement.
Some of the key takeaways from my research included:
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The search function was a bit of a pain to use, and users were getting frustrated with it. They had to work around it or use external tools to get what they needed. Users found the distinction between the direct look-up and full route directions confusing.
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The automatic save feature was causing some confusion, and users were having trouble managing their saved content.
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The clock interface was a major source of stress for users. The current design made it easy to select the wrong time (am vs pm), which led to mistakes and anxiety about missing appointments due to incorrect route information. Even when users didn't make mistakes, they were still worried about making them, which made them feel uneasy about using the app.
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The app's navigation was a bit inconsistent, and users were getting disoriented trying to find what they needed.
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These findings helped me come up with some design solutions and recommendations to improve the app's usability and user experience. By addressing these issues and incorporating user feedback, I'm hoping to create an app that's more intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable to use.
Here's a walk through of my design solutions
Search Function
To address the issues with the search function I created a new home page. There was confusion over which of the two search functions to use, so I made the route planner more prominent by adding it to the home page. This way users can start planning their route immediately without navigating to the directions menu, reducing confusion and streamlining the user flow. Users can still use the direct lookup function through the saved routes and under the options menu.
Original
New Design
Automatic Save Feature
To simplify the automatic save feature, I introduced a new "favorites" system, which allows users to manually save their frequently used destinations. I also added a "recent trips" section, which displays the user's most recent journeys. This way, users can easily access their saved content and recent trips, without having to navigate through a cluttered list of automatic saves.
Clock Interface
To reduce errors and anxiety caused by the clock interface, I redesigned the time selection to use a 24-hour clock format to reduce user errors. With the original design, users would sometimes select 15:00 instead of 3:00 because the numbers are so close together. Additionally, I implemented a "confirm" button that requires users to explicitly confirm their time selection, to prevent accidental mistakes.
Original
New Design
Usability Testing and Feedback
I conducted usability testing with a group of users to validate my design solutions and gather feedback. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with users reporting that the new design was more intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable to use.
Some key quotes from users included:
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"I like the new search feature, it's so much easier to find the bus I'm looking for."
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"The favorites system is great, I can actually keep track of the places I need to get to."
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"I'm relieved that the clock interface makes it so I can trust that I've selected the right time."
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"The navigation is so much simpler now. I can get where I need to go without having to use 2 apps for one trip."
Results
The usability testing and feedback revealed that the new design solutions were effective in addressing the issues identified in the heuristic evaluation and user interviews.
Task performance was compared for
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Searching for a route
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Planing a trip
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Getting directions
The results of the paired samples t-test revealed a significant reduction in task completion time (t(29) = -18.670, p < 0.001) and error rate (t(29) = -3.865, p < 0.001). The MANOVA results also showed a significant main effect of design on task completion time and error rate (Approx. F = 256.724, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that the new design is more efficient and effective in reducing errors for tasks such as searching for a route, planning a trip, and getting directions.
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Comparison of Task Completion Time
Comparison of Error Rates
User Satisfaction and Ease of Use
I analyzed how users answered questions like:
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How satisfied are you with the app?
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How enjoyable was the experience?
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How likely are you to recommend the app?
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I found that users reported a significant increase in satisfaction and enjoyment, with a mean user satisfaction of 4.030, mean enjoyment of 4.240, and mean recommendation of 4.320. The paired samples t-test revealed a significant increase in user satisfaction for satisfaction (t(9) = -17.140, p < 0.001), enjoyment (t(9) = -23.690, p < 0.001), and recommendation (t(9) = -13.878, p < 0.001) in the new design. Users rated their satisfaction, enjoyment, and likelihood to recommend the app on a 1-5 scale, with higher scores indicating more positive experiences. The MANOVA results also showed a significant main effect of design on user satisfaction, enjoyment, and recommendation (Approx. F = 642.820, p < 0.001).
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Satisfaction with Old and New Designs
Enjoyment of Old and New Designs
User Anxiety and Stress
I also asked questions like:
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How anxious or stressed did you feel while using the app?
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How confident did you feel while using the app?
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How frustrated did you feel while using the app?
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Users' responses to the questions indicated a relatively low level of anxiety, stress, and frustration while using the app. The MANOVA results showed a significant main effect of design on user anxiety and stress (Approx. F = 37.050, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that the new design has a significant impact on user experience, satisfaction, and engagement, while reducing anxiety and stress.
Anxiety with Old and New Designs
Stress with Old and New Designs
Lessons Learned
Thinking about my design process, one thing that stands out to me is how important it is to take the time to understand the people who are going to be using the thing you're designing. It's not just about making something that looks aesthetically pleasing or works on a technical level. It's about creating something that actually helps people and makes their lives easier.
I also learned a lot about the importance of testing and iterating. It's not always easy to let go of your ideas and be open to feedback, but it's worth it in the end. By taking the time to test and refine my design, I was able to create something that was way more effective and user-friendly than it would have been otherwise.
If I'm being honest, there are definitely some things I would do differently if I were to do this project again. I would like to take more time to think about the bigger picture and how my design fits into it. I would also try to be more mindful of accessibility and inclusivity because it's important to make sure that the things we design are usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities.
Overall, this project was a valuable learning experience for me. It taught me a lot about the importance of empathy and iteration in design, and it gave me a chance to practice my skills and learn from my mistakes. I'm excited to take what I learned and apply it to future projects, and to keep growing as a designer.