Timeline

  • November 2022 (3 weeks)

My Role

  • UX Designer / Researcher

  • Conceptual portfolio project

CONTEXT

Ruter is Oslo's public transportation system

Ruter is the main provider of all public transport (that includes city and regional buses, trams, undergrounds, local trains and ferries). 

Through secondary research I found out that, according to NHO (Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon), in 2018 Oslo received 7 million tourists from around the world and is considered the most visited city in Norway.  In addition to this, tourism in Oslo generates over 1 billion in tax revenues to the municipality.  

VisitOslo that is the Official Travel Guide to Oslo, and which purpose is to promote Oslo as a travel destination, states that the Ruter app is the easiest way to get and manage your tickets for public transportation in Oslo.  

So being the main local transportation app for Oslo’s residents and tourists, is fundamental that the functioning of Ruter app is optimal, since it affects user’s experience in the digital and physical world. 

PROBLEM

The app is focused mainly in navigation, not in local transport

Since its introduction to the market, the app has received several critics and to these days it still lacks a user-friendly experience, where users are facing pain points even when trying to perform the simplest task within the app. In general, the users find it very frustrating to use Ruter app and instead they often go other alternatives.

SOLUTION

3 main improvements

Home screen

Redesign

Current design

Creation of a simpler and intuitive interface for the home screen which removes unnecessary features and it's focused on the itineraries search process.

User flow

Redesign

Current design

Introduction of a bottom navigation to simplify user flows along the app and make key functions more accessible.

Checkout

Redesign

Current design

Improvement of the tickets purchasing process

Major Findings

  • The users find it extremely confusing and frustrating to do a search about how to go from one destination to another. 

  • The users often feel overwhelmed with the amount of information displayed on the home screen, which in most cases, is not relevant. 

  • Lack of reliability regarding notifications about delays and disruptions. 

  • The process of purchasing a ticket within the app is not intuitive and it's prone for the users to make mistakes. 

ANALYSIS

Research

User research was conducted via surveys, app reviews, secondary research and user interviews. I received 14 responses from this survey and conducted 7 usability testing and 6 user interviews, with many providing detailed feedback on how they use the app, how they would use it differently if they could, and what they didn't like about it.

Competitive Analysis

I downloaded and analyzed three apps, one Norwegian and two which are the main local transportation apps in two major Scandinavian cities.

Rejseplanen – Copenhagen 

SL Journey Planner - Stockholm 

Entur - Norway 

The pros: 

  • Intuitive interfaces 

  • The meaning of the UI icons and features are explained in a clear and simple way. 

  • Clean design with good information architecture. 

  • Innovative features that allow you to follow your journey in real time, giving you updates about delays and traffic disruptions. 

  • Multiple payment methods and the possibility to buy period tickets for big groups on the same device. 

The cons: 

  • The app has some features that are meant to be very useful, but unfortunately doesn’t work, like the Traffic Updates feature (Rejseplanen) 

  • The app mixes English and Swedish languages in some of the screens (SL) 

Personas

I created two personas with the main purpose of exploring he needs of a larger group of users and create a design with specific target users in mind

User journey map

A user journey map was created to identify the paint poinst and feelings the user might go through when using the app to plan a bus journey.

Flow diagram

To outline all the necessary functionalities, i created a simple flow diagram of the main task the users can perform within the app.

Next Steps

  • Create a prototype of the new design 

  • Create a research plan and run usability testing with the previously created prototype 

  • Start with the iterative process 

Reflection

It was very insightful to work in an app that is such a fundamental part of Oslo citizens and visitors. It was rewarding going through the process of working with real users and seeing how the improvements could have a positive impact on their lives. Something I learned is that once more, it's extremely important to build apps that are user-centered, especially when they are such a key part of the user’s daily life such is a transportation app.