UrbanGo-Mobility App
This project was assigned by Ironhack to help UrbanGo, a Silicon Valley public transportation startup, improve the application of its service. Using the principle of Design Thinking.
Urbango has created an application where users choose their place of departure and destination, and the application provides different routes of public and private transport, the fastest and cheapest.
What does Urbango need?
They want their application and service to be more complete, offering their users a function where they can buy their tickets quickly and efficiently.
Let’s do it!
In our search for information and understanding of users and their needs. I have conducted a survey of 5 people between the ages of 20 and 50 who are used to using public transport.
I wanted to know, what is your daily routine when you use public transport? How do you buy your transport tickets? What is your experience with local and foreign public transport services? What is your experience with the application and what would make you feel more comfortable using it? What other means of transportation do you use? And finally, I wanted to know, what experiences have you had with another public transport application?
Dav S. Machine Learning Engineer, 33, Lithuania.
I use a couple of different ones in Vilnius. It is pretty good, but sometimes it gets very annoying when there is no connection and bus tickets won’t show up.
Leila A. Student, 28, Paris.
It would be amazing if we could carry a kind of e-ticket on the phone, instead of queuing in stations to buy tickets.
Irene P. Real State Agent, 43, Ibiza.
I use an app when I travel abroad but the app bears its own limitations when it comes to indicating bus routes in small towns that only local people know about.
- Some users have problems when the application has connection failures and does not allow them to see the information they need to travel.
- Some users struggle if the app has its own limitations when it comes to indicating bus routes in small towns that only local people know about.
Project Idea
According to the results of the user surveys, we have applied the respective modifications to guarantee a better browsing experience.
UrbanGo offered a navigation map where users could see the routes and buses that were adjusted based on their search, but could not buy their tickets online.
The application now offers greater ease of use by offering the ability to purchase your ticket directly from your mobile application. You just have to indicate where you want to go, and the application will automatically identify your location. (Activate GPS on your mobile) The application provides the bus or train to take, prices, travel information through the map, travel duration, bus arrival time, detailed transfer instructions, and station changes. After making your previous choice, the application offers you to configure your bank account so that you can pay for your ticket from your mobile. (The configuration of the bank account on your mobile is done only once).
When you set up your account, the application will securely store your data after you authorize (read the security policies). The application will ask you to enter your email address to submit your ticket in case the application has connection problems and you cannot view your ticket. After making your purchase, you can now confirm purchased tickets and expired tickets in the app. Finally, the application offers the option of calling an operator in case you have any serious inconvenience with the use of the application and your tickets.
Acquired knowledge
The process of this project was very interesting for me. I found different ways to explore my creativity. I’m sure that with more practice I can do much better.
I understood the importance of empathizing with our users through an interview, where you not only limit yourself to asking questions but you can also transform the interview into a friendly and fun conversation. And curiously, in this way, I obtained additional data that helped me carry out this project. It really made me understand how important it is to put our effort and energy into knowing our users and understanding their needs. Because only then can we create a product that meets all the expectations of our users.
IRONHACK’S PREWORK: DESIGN THINKING — CHALLENGE 1
