InformalPrototype:EasyBart
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Contents |
[edit] Introduction and Mission Statement
We are evaluating the current BART system. On the current system there are digital signs on the platform depicting train times intermittently, as well as large basic maps in the trains and on the platforms which only depict routes of the trains. There is also an online interface on the 511 website for people to find out train schedules. The purpose and rationale behind the project to reduce confusion and enhance the convenience of BART users of varying missions and purposes through improving their surroundings and overall experience. We are conducting this experiment to refine our design and identify flaws or errors in our concept. Through the use of common design principles such as mapping, constraints, visibility and feedback, Team Easybart is committed to providing the means for convenient transportation to as many people as possible.
[edit] Prototype Descriptions
[edit] BART text
The prototype of the BART Text feature is designed for cell phones and allows users to remotely access BART train times conveniently from any location. The BART Text feature makes it easier for users to find out train times because all they need is a cell phone that is able to send and receive texts. The way BART text would work is that a person would enter the numbers “2278” in the “Send To” area; these numbers spell out BART. In the actual message the user would first enter the destination city, then after that insert a comma and then type the BART station that they are closest to. For example, if a user wanted to find out how to get to Fremont from Downtown Berkeley, the user would text “Fremont, Downtown Berkeley” to 2278 (BART). A few seconds later the user will then receive a text, which will display the train name first, then the four next arrival times for that train depending on when the text was sent. To demonstrate this in the prototype, a fake cell phone was created out of construction paper and the two different interface screens were depicted “post-its” of what the cell phone screen would look like. The first post-it illustrated what the interface screen would be while the user was writing the text to BART (Figure 1). The second post-it illustrated what the screen would look like a few seconds after, when the user received a text with all the BART times and information on any delays (Figure 2).
Figure 1:BART text sent
Figure 2:BART text received
[edit] BART map
The prototype of the new proposed BART map shows the different routes of the BART trains like the regular BART maps. This map located on the BART train also has the stops light up that the train is going to and the stops unlit that the train has already gone past. This makes it easy for users to glance at the map in a crowded and loud BART train and easily see where they are or what stop is coming up next. The BART map located at the train station will have the route light up of the train that is approaching the station. This makes it easy for users to see what stops the train approaching the station is going it and which attractions are near the route of the train approaching. To demonstrate this in the prototype Christmas lights were inserted and poked into the map at all the stops to demonstrate the lighting. Figure 3 shows the map without lights and Figure 4 shows the map with some of the lights on. The prototype also shows different attractions in the Bay Area such as main shopping spots, UC Berkeley, Pier 39, and sport parks like Monster Park and AT&T Park. Each attraction shown on the map also has a symbol drawn next to it explaining what it is. For example, the AT&T Park has a baseball drawn next to it, and some of the shopping areas shown have a shopping bag drawn next to it.
Figure 3:BART map prototype with no lights
Figure 4:BART map prototype with lights
[edit] Digital Sign
The digital Bart signs will be placed at the entrance to the Bart station and at the Bart ticket-purchasing counter. The main purpose of the signs is to show real-time arrivals and information to patrons for any variety of reasons, e.g. for patrons who need to rush to the platforms to catch a train or for people picking up patrons as a way to estimate their approximate wait times. Our digital Bart prototype has two parts. The first digital Bart sign (see figure 1) is a design pattern adapted from the existing digital Bart signs on the Bart platforms. Its red lettering on a black background is a pre-attentive design feature used to help the words jump out at the user, allowing him or her to read it easier and more efficiently. This pre-attentive feature is further enhanced by the movement of the words from the top to the bottom of the sign. The Bart arrival time is also clearly mapped by being placed horizontal to its corresponding train name. Lastly, the sign is placed in a high, central area at the ticket counter to help promote the visibility of the sign. The second digital Bart sign (see figure 1) is a design pattern adapted from existing digital signs seen in places such as the airport or at train stations. Similar to the first digital Bart sign, it has the pre-attentive feature of red lettering on a black background. Additionally, it shows the arrival times of all Bart trains mapped with the arrival times horizontal to the train names. And finally, this sign is also placed in a high area to promote the visibility of the sign.
Figure 5:Digital BART signs
[edit] Detailed Map
The detailed map will be a map showing all the streets around the area of the BART stop located at the train station of the stop the user got off on. The purpose of map is to show how to get to certain attractions around the area. Users are able to see exactly what streets they must take to get to their attraction or destination. Another nice thing about this detailed map is that users can easily take a picture on a camera or on their camera phone and easily look at the picture they took later when they get lost or need to remember a street name again. If users don’t have some type of camera device they can write down or memorize directions to their destination. For this prototype we basically used google maps because it gives details of each street name while also listing main attractions in the area.
Figure 6:Detailed map of area around BART stop
[edit] List of Attractions
This sign will be located next to or near the BART map. It lists main attractions around the Bay Area and what stop you should get off on to get to each attraction or destination. The BART website has one of these but we thought it would be better if this sign was on the BART train and at the BART station so users could easily reference it instead of having to remember to bring a copy with them. This sign helps users easily find their attraction(s) because they are listed in alphabetical order and see which stop they must get off on to get to it. The detailed map at the station will then help the users get to their attraction or destination.
Figure 7:List of Attractions (partial)
[edit] Whole system
Below is a picture of the the entire system as a whole, held up by team members. The list of attractions is not shown, but would be attached to a visible area on or next to the route map.
Figure 8: Entire system
[edit] Method
[edit] Participants
[edit] Participant 1
- Graduate Student at UC Berkeley
- 24 Years old
- Takes BART occasionally, only to go to San Francisco
[edit] Participant 2
- 2nd year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley
- 20 years old
- Does not use BART very often
[edit] Participant3
- 3rd year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley
- 21 years old
- Uses BART very often
[edit] Environment
The participants were given the prototype of the cell phone with BART Text before they enter the room, which represents the BART station. There are digital signs at the door, which represents the entrance of BART station, showing the arrival time of the next train. There are also several digital signs set up by the ticket vending machining showing the arrival time of BART train. The maps and the lists of attractions were taped on the wall, representing the inside of the BART train.
[edit] Tasks
- You are away from a BART station, you need to get to Fremont.
- Use your cell phone to find out when the scheduled Fremont trains are supposed to arrive.
- Upon arrival at the station, use the digital BART sign to see the state of the arriving trains.
- Before purchasing ticket, observe that sign to see if you should hurry.
- Observe the light up sign at the train platform to see which train is coming, what stops it's going to and whether there's a better way to get there, perhaps by transferring.
- Once on the train, observe or glance at the light up sign located inside to find out how far you are from Fremont or whether your destination has been reached..
[edit] Procedure
[edit] Task #1
Finding and reaching landmarks (Easy) scenario: They are at the station, they want to find Union Square.
[edit] Participant #1
User immediately locates the detailed map and list of attractions. From the look on his face, it appears that he is clear about the street that will take him to his destination fastest way possible. He then takes the exit to the appropriate street.
[edit] Participant #2
User is at the BART station. It takes a couple of seconds for her to locate the detailed map. After finding the detailed map and list of attractions, she is confused and it seems that she is a bit overwhelmed by all of the signs on the map. She keeps pointing at the map and traces the distance between her desired location and closest street. After a couple of seconds she finds the closest street to her destination and takes the appropriate exit.
[edit] Participant #3
User is at BART station. She finds the detailed map easily and locates her desired destination, however she is having a hard time trying to figure out which street is actually closer to her desired landmark. After a while she finds the closest street and takes the appropriate exit.
[edit] Task #2
Finding out your schedule anywhere (Moderate) scenario: They are on campus, not near computers, and they have to immediately go home to Fremont or San Francisco. However, when you can get there will affect your immediate plans. Going to the station to check will take too much time and harm those plans.
[edit] Participant #1
User texts the desired city and destination of Fremont to the number "2278" (BART), after a very short period he gets a response back that includes the name of the train and the four next arrival times. He then smiles and says "GOOD!". He continues on doing what he was doing without worrying about wasting his time at the BART station.
[edit] Participant #2
User wants to know when is the next arrival time for San Francisco/Millbrae train at the Down Town Berkeley station. She texts the city and station to the number "2278" (BART) and gets a response back after a moment. The response says that there are no direct San Francisco/Millbrae trains at that moment. She gets frustrated, but texts another city that she knows will have a transfer station for San Francisco. She shortly gets a response with the four next arrival times for Fremont. She is now less worried and knows when to head towards the BART station on time.
[edit] Participant #3
User wants to get on the Fremont train at the Down Town Berkeley station. She texts the city and station to the number "2278" (BART). She gets a response back that says there is a delay of approximately 10 to 15 minutes for the Fremont train and that the next arrival time is unknown. She frowns and is frustrated, however she knows that she doesn't need to rush to BART station for a while. After 15 minutes she texts back again and is concerned about how she is going to be charged per text. She then gets a response back that displays with the four next arrival times and a brief message that says there are no delays!
[edit] Task #3
Where are the trains going (Difficult) scenario: You are on BART, it is a crowded train, and you can't hear the announcer or see out the window. How do you know when to get off to get to your destination, Union Square?
[edit] Participant #1
User wonders where the train is headed to and what stations it stops at. He finds the light up map which is located inside the train. It appears that he is overwhelmed by all the little light bulbs on the map. He stairs at the map for a while and does not understand what the lit up bulbs stand for or what do the ones that are not lit up stand for! He is confused and frustrated. After the train leaves the station, he observes that the light located on that particular station turned off. He now knows how to read the map and his confusion is gone.
[edit] Participant #2
The user wants to know how many stops away from her desired station she is. She is having a hard time trying to find the detailed map inside the train. She finally finds it and takes a close look at the map. At first it seems that she is a bit confused about the lights on the map, but then she points at the map and starts counting the lit up bulbs on the map. There are three lights lit up to her desired station. She then figures that there are 3 more stations before she gets to her destination.
[edit] Participant #3
User wants to get off at the Bay Fair station on the Fremont train. She falls asleep on the BART and wakes up after a while and realizes that she has missed her station. She immediately goes towards the detailed map and is trying to make sense of the lights on the map. She points at the very first lit up bulb on the Fremont line (which is colored in orange). She then counts back the lights that are turned off. She finds out that the train is two stations away from the Bay Fair Station. She gets off at the very next station and waits for the train that goes the opposite route which is the Richmond train and makes sure to get off at the Bay Fair station.
[edit] Test Measures
We are trying to determine if our new proposed features will make BART more "user friendly" by observing the actions of the participants. We are concerned about the cosmetic and usability of the new design. The most important thing about the test is to determine if BART users can easily access the information about the BART system and its trains and see if they can intuitively tell the function of these new features.
[edit] Results
The participants are able to easily identify the functions of each of the prototypes. They are able to perform the tasks that are given pretty easily most of the time. The participants have different opinions about the BART text, some think that it would be nice to have such function on the cell phone while others think it would be difficult to use because it would be too time consuming to find out the BART arrival time on the cell phone. All the participants asked if such service would cost money to use. All the participants love the idea of having large digital signs by the entrance of the BART station and the ticket vending machine. They believe it is one of the most useful features in this project and would really make the BART riding experience better because they would know whether they should run or not. When the participants were asked to find the destinations from the list of attractions, they were able to easily find out which station they need to get off at. Given the two designs of the list of attractions, the participant found that the “Destination-Station” one is better for the tourist and the “Station-Destination” one is more useful for local users. The map with lights telling the passengers the location of the train turned out to be the most problematic one. The participants had a difficult time figuring out the purpose of the lights and felt that the lights are hard to follow. They felt that there is better way to improve the design of the map so it can be easier to understand.
[edit] Discussion
After performing the experiment, we realized that there are still things that we can improve to make our design better. For example, the map with lights, we can improve it by simplifying the map to make it easier for passengers to understand. Also, the BART text can also be improved by creating another screen showing all the stations so the users can simply click on it instead of typing the name of stations. The experiment definitely helps us to understand our design more and by listening to the participants’ opinions and observing their actions, gives us ideas on how to improve our design. Furthermore, we should have considered illiterate participants as well in our experiment. In that case we could have made sure that our proposed design addresses all the problems passengers are currently facing on the BART.
[edit] Appendix
Note: Raw process data was sufficiently covered previously, see Methods - Procedure section.
[edit] Preliminary sketches of prototype
[edit] Consent Forms
[edit] Script/Instructions to interviewers
Introduce yourself
- Give a short description of project (see the intro/mission statement for inspiration),
- Give the consent form to them
- Let them read it and sign it
- The demonstration: This is where you demonstrate to them how to do a simple task, before you start asking them to perform tasks.
- Task: You are away from a BART station, you need to get to Fremont.
- Use your cell phone to find out when the scheduled Fremont trains is supposed to arrive.
- Upon arrival at the station, use the digital BART sign to see the state of the arriving trains.
- Before purchasing ticket, observe that sign to see if you should hurry.
- Observe the light up sign at the train platform observed to learn what station the train is coming to and whether there's a better **way to get there, perhaps by transferring.
- Once on the train, the light up sign is also inside, and watch it to learn whether Fremont has been reached.
Now the demonstration task has been covered. Next is explaining the tasks. The assignment sheet is better at telling you what you need to do.
For each task:
During the experiment, you should make a log of critical incidents (both positive and negative events). For example, the user might make a mistake or they might see something they like and say, "cool". Write it down along with a description of what was going on. Collect all the incidents first (all observers do this). Then go over them again as a group to assign severity ratings. The ratings scale looks like this: 1.I don’t agree this is a usability problem. 2.Cosmetic problem 3. 4.Minor usability problem 5.Major usability problem: important to fix 6.Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix Each participant will perform all 3 tasks. You will want to keep the data separate for each task and participant.
But anyways, here's the tasks/scenarios to explain:
- Finding and reaching landmarks (Easy) scenario: They are at the station, they want to find Union Square.
- Finding out your schedule anywhere (Moderate) scenario: They are on campus, not near computers, and they have to immediately go home to Fremont. However, when you can get there will affect your immediate plans. Going to the station to check will take too much time and harm those plans.
- Where are the trains going (Difficult) scenario: You are on the BART, it is a crowded train, and you can't hear the announcer or see out the window. How do you know when to get off to get to your destination, Union Square?
[edit] Team Member Names and Roles
[edit] Shilpi Verma
Created the cell phone prototype illustrating the BART Text feature that was used during the testing procedure; met with other group members to come up with the mission statement and introduction that described the goal of our project. Also assisted in writing the script that was used when we tested our prototypes, and wrote the prototype description for the new proposed BART Text feature. In addition, contributed to other parts of the project through group discussions.
[edit] Timothy Manglicmot
Created the digital-BART sign prototypes used during the testing procedure, met with other group members to comp up with the mission statement and introduction that described the goal of our project, assisted in writing the script that was used when we tested our prototypes, and wrote the digital-BART sign prototype description. I also contributed to other parts of our project through group discussions.
[edit] Megan Whittey
Created the BART map prototype illustrating the BART stops light feature and attractions with symbols showing where they are relative to BART stops that was used during the testing procedure; met with other group members to come up with the mission statement and introduction that described the goal of our project. Also assisted in writing the script that was used when we tested our prototypes, and wrote the prototype description for the new proposed BART map, detailed map, and list of attractions.
[edit] James Chun Jye Tong
Worked with Roya. Designed the list of attractions, conducted interviews, write up method, results, and discussion.
[edit] Roya Pakzad
Worked with James. Designed the list of attractions, conducted interviews, write up method, results, and discussion.
[edit] Michael Toulouse
Created the introduction and mission statement, took and edited pictures, created a script and instructions to members absent from meetings. Compiled, formatted and submitted the report & powerpoint.
