May 23, 2021
Ironhack’s Prework: Citymapper
What is Citymapper?
Citymapper is a transit map primarily focusing on urban areas. Starting in London in 2011 the purpose of Citymapper was to simplify transport within cities finding the quickest and most efficient routes for its customers. Due to its fast routing algorithms and accessible interface, Citymapper has not only reached this goal, but also just reached its fifth consecutive year of being named the ultimate transport app by Apple.
Largest Problems Found in Interview?
Whilst conducting the interviews a common pattern emerged that users did not in fact have difficulty with the accessibility to our tickets however, they were confused to the rules, etiquette, and customs of local and foreign transportation.
Examples of this being:
- are pets allowed?
- are bikes or scooters allowed?
- do I have to buy a ticket for my baby?
- what is the noise and food etiquette?
- rules on seat reservations?
Therefore I defined the problem that users often bought the wrong tickets or overspent with regards to which services are included on a local basis.
What are Solutions For the Problem?
Luckily this problem comes with a viable and easy solution by creating a page on this app with it’s sole responsibility being to answer questions about etiquette, customs, and rules of the current region that the customer is in.
After setting your geolocation to either your current location or the location you have inquiries about, information in a simple format of question and answer will appear. The question and answer section will be organised into the most common topics of inquiries which will be determined after further research and interviews.
Here is a construction of the prototype of this feature:
What I Learnt?
It was very fascinating to discover that when designing an interface or an app how important it is to listen to users needs or feedback. As some problems may not be obvious, however, could still have consequences that lead to accidental overspending or confusion.
