For a week-long design sprint, I took on the challenge of redesigning the Transport for Edinburgh: Bus & Tram App, an app I use daily.
User satisfaction ratings on the Google Play Store and App Store show a clear discrepancy in user experiences. As an Android user, I am particularly familiar with the issues on that platform, which is why I focused this redesign on improving the Android version while highlighting the differences between the 2 interfaces and the need for standardisation.
Afterwards, I decided to dive deeper into the reviews of the app, both on iOS and Android.
Key insights from analysing the reviews show that many Android users are dissatisfied with the “plan your trip” feature, which is a core function of the app. Another significant takeaway is that both iOS and Android users commonly use the app to check bus arrival times at stops. Overall, the reviews for the iOS version are more positive.
In order to gain more insights into people’s experiences with the app, I created a short survey and distributed it via my network. The survey had 6 questions and gathered 16 responses. The results were analysed using an Affinity Diagram (click here to see all the analysis).
The quantitative data was analysed using the Google Forms Summary feature, as shown here:
Using Nielsen’s 10 General Principles for Interaction Design, the app was evaluated, especially for the purpose of trip planning, which emerged as a pain-point for users from the survey.
Since route planning is one of the app's main features, but many users find it impractical, I decided to analyze the route planning process on both Android and iOS. Using insights gathered from the research, I visually highlighted the key pain points throughout the user journey.
On Android, nearly every step of the journey planning process felt cluttered, confusing, and monotonous.
The iOS version is better, however, some pages are still cluttered and confusing.
Based on the research, the primary requirement for this project is to redesign the trip planning feature of the Transport for Edinburgh: Lothian Bus & Tram App, with a particular focus on Android. Additionally, standardizing the app across platforms is essential to ensure all users have a consistent and high-quality experience, regardless of the device they use. Here are the main problems defined:
The app's trip planning feature lacks intuitiveness, leading to user confusion and errors. With steps and the map separated, users must constantly switch between them, making navigation difficult and potentially causing trip failures.
The app's outdated interface poses a challenge for most users, with cluttered screens that can leave them feeling lost. There's also no option to personalise or adjust the map's information hierarchy. To improve usability, the app will be simplified.
Survey results and reviews suggest that users prefer notifications about disruptions on their current trips or saved routes. To support this, trade-offs like removing previous trips will be considered.
Based on the results, I brainstormed wireframe and UI ideas on paper for quick idea generation, then sketched out interface concepts.
I then created rough sketches, exploring different design variations and iterating on them.
Using Figma, I created two low-fidelity prototypes by combining some of the previously sketched ideas. This approach allowed me to quickly validate concepts and gather feedback, ensuring a solid foundation before moving on to a high-resolution prototype.
The high-fidelity prototype focused on the user's journey of planning a trip, from the home screen to navigation. Incorporating feedback from the research phase, I streamlined the interface to reduce clutter and enhance usability. Drawing inspiration from the iOS Maps app, which users favour, and Google Maps, known for its intuitive navigation, I aimed to create a similar user-friendly experience. The quick prototype can be accessed here.
Evaluating the redesign was outside the project's scope due to time constrains, but several methods are suggested: user testing sessions to gather feedback on the trip-planning feature, A/B testing to assess usability, and post-release analytics from Google Play (e.g., downloads, ratings, and comments) to measure success over time.
Throughout this project, I redesigned the Transport for Edinburgh: Lothian Bus & Tram App. As a daily user, I find the app difficult to navigate, a sentiment shared by many. Given its potential to greatly assist both Edinburgh residents and tourists, I believe the app should better reflect the reliability and quality of Lothian Buses as a company.
