App Design Competition
UX Research & Android Development
Team (Key Role)
Winny Chang (Project Manager & Android Developer)
Olive Chang (UX Researcher)
Jason Chen (UX Designer)
Contribution
Duration
Tools
Project Management
UX Research
Android Development
4 months
(Feb - May 2024)
Online Survey
Interview
Android Studio
Introduction
Physical products often take longer to iterate and develop. During my time at BenQ, I sometimes found myself impatiently waiting for the final results. In 2024, I opted to transition into the software field. One day, while commuting, I came across a poster for Taipei Metro's app design competition and decided to participate, teaming up with two of my colleagues from BenQ.
The competition, now in its fourth year, centered on the theme "Smart Life and Creative Application," encouraging participants to leverage Taipei Metro's open data to develop innovative and practical features for the existing app. My team conducted thorough UX research to understand user needs and proposed new features that offer an accessible riding experience for a diverse range of passengers. Ultimately, we secured fourth place out of 92 teams.
Design
Grant Permissions
& Input Locations
Upon first-time installation and launch, the app requests permission for location and Bluetooth access.
After navigating to the "Metro Route" feature from the home page, users can input origin and destination, assisted by location suggestions provided by the Google Places API.
Get Directions
Based on Preferences
The "Metro Route" feature offers three modes: "Best Route," "Accessible Route," and "Kid-Friendly Route." The latter two modes guide users to exits with elevators and adjust the estimated travel time accordingly.
The directions overview page presents key information extracted from Google Directions API search results, including station names, headsigns, travel times, and exits.
Follow a Step-by-step
Guide to the Destination
Instead of cramming all direction info onto one page, the details are divided into separate pages for easier comprehension. Each page corresponds to a stage of the user journey:
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Walking (origin → exit)
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Waiting for the Train (exit → platform)
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On the Trian (station → station)
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Transiting (platform → platform)
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On the Train (station → station)
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Exiting the Station (platform → exit)
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Walking (exit → destination)
Seat Matchmaking
If there are no empty seats on the metro, users can ask for a seat through the app. The "Seat Matchmaking" feature connects passengers willing to offer their seat with those in need of one. (This will be achieved by broadcasting and scanning specific Bluetooth signals.)
When a passenger agrees to offer their seat, the app triggers vibrations on both the giver's and requester's phones, helping them identify each other easily.
Continue to the Destination
After completing the seat matchmaking process, users can return to the step-by-step guide and follow the remaining directions to reach their destination.
Process
The app design competition consisted of two rounds. In the preliminary round, ten teams were selected based on their idea proposals. Final placements were determined during the final round, which was based on the teams' presentations. Although the overall duration of this side project was four months, one month was spent waiting for the preliminary round results.
In line with the competition's structure, our project was divided into two phases. Phase 1 focused primarily on research and ideation, while Phase 2 concentrated on iterating the design and developing the demo app.
Project Timeline
Phase 1. Research & Ideation
Desk Research
We sought inspiration from various sources, including reports, news articles, and social media discussions. We also analyzed several metro and navigation apps, both domestic and foreign ones, to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different designs. Additionally, we reviewed presentation videos from the first three years of the competition and examined the open data provided by Taipei Metro to identify unmet needs and opportunities.
Metro and Navigation Apps from Different Regions
Field Research
Through our desk research and initial discussions, we began to shape our key features, ultimately deciding to focus on accessible design. We conducted in-depth interviews with friends, family, and colleagues to understand the inconvenience they had. We also carried out brief interviews with passengers who have accessibility needs and spoke with metro front-line staff to gain insight into the accessible services they provide. Last but not least, we conducted an online survey, gathering 202 responses from a diverse range of passengers.
We conducted 18 interviews and observed signage and other details within the metro station.
In our online survey, we made an effort to include a diverse range of age demographics and user groups.
Data Analysis & Key Findings
After completing the research, we organized data from different sources, using charts and an affinity diagram to uncover insights.
Qualitative data was grouped using an affinity diagram.
The themes in our affinity diagram highlight the common pain points experienced by users.
The key findings are as follows:
Over a million people in Taipei City
& New Taipei City have accessibility needs.
According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of 2022, there are nearly 1.2 million seniors aged 65 and older, approximately 170,000 people with disabilities, and 500,000 children under the age of nine in Taipei City and New Taipei City.
Those with accessibility needs are not limited to the elderly, women, or children.
Our online survey asked respondents to identify situations where they experienced inconvenience when taking the metro in the past six months. The most common situations were being in poor condition (39.6%) and carrying heavy or large items (36.6%), while 38.6% reported no difficulties.
Word Cloud of Inconvenient Situations
(Larger font sizes indicate higher percentages. Situations with the same color have similar percentages.)
Elevator and seating areas are important metro facilities,
but are relatively hard to locate.
"Every time I take the metro with a stroller, I worry about
which entrance has an elevator - it's really troublesome."
Passengers sometimes get lost or
take unnecessary detours inside the station,
and it's hard to determine which exit to take.
"Some stations are quite complex,
making it easy to get lost or take the wrong exit."
Priority seats cannot always serve those in need,
and some people find it hard to ask for a seat.
"There are only four priority seats nearby, but there are more than four elderly people. The priority seats are insufficient, but I don't want to ask passengers on regular seats to offer their seats. I think healthy passengers should automatically offer their seats to the elderly. With osteoporosis, it's unsuitable to hold onto the straps, as the swaying is very dangerous!"
During peak hours, groups that need elevators
have to wait for extended periods.
"Although there are priority and regular queues for the elevator, they often seem like just decorations, as many regular passengers do not yield."
"When going out with a child in a stroller, we need to use the elevator,
but sometimes the wait can be very long."
Ideation & Initial Design
Based on our findings, we formulated "How Might We" questions from both the users' and Taipei Metro's perspectives.
"How Might We" Questions Grouped by Importance
We then brainstormed potential designs and app features to address these questions. Considering the importance of the questions and the time constraints of the project, we selected "accessible route" and "seat matchmaking" as the main features, adding "achievement and reward system" as the auxiliary feature. Leveraging Taipei Metro's open data and incorporating strong UX principles, our goal is to help passengers navigate stations with ease, quickly access essential metro information, and reach their destinations smoothly.
Sticky Notes from Our Brainstorming Session
Finally, we hand-sketched the app screens and created the initial designs in Figma.
My sketches illustrate the concept of integrating physical signage into in-station navigation.
Accessible Route
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Find the elevator at Exit 2.
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Successfully locate the seating area by following the instructions.
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Choose a less crowded car or a car closer to the destination exit.
Seat Matchmaking
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Look for nearby kind passengers willing to offer their seats.
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Request a seat from Olive, who is the closest person.
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Matchmaking success!
Achievement and Reward System
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Check my achievements.
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Look for new missions to accomplish next time.
Phase 2. Design Iteration & Demo App Development
Design Iteration
In our initial design for in-station navigation, we included metro station floor plans. However, users found these plans difficult to read and understand. Additionally, focusing too much on the phone while navigating the station was considered unsafe, particularly during rush hours. While advanced solutions like AR technology were considered, they were ultimately deemed impractical in such environments.
Upon observing the existing signage in metro stations, we noticed that there were already plenty of signs directing passengers to metro lines, exits, elevators, and restrooms. Therefore, we decided to remove the floor plans from our design and instead align the app’s interface with the station's signage. The locations of metro facilities are described using terms like "Near exit 3," allowing passengers to follow the prominent exit signs to find the facilities they need.
Another adjustment we made was to the seat matchmaking feature. While we can search for nearby seat givers using Bluetooth signal strength, there are technical diffculties to know the exact position and orientation of different phones. We considered using sound, blinking the flashlight, or displaying a specific image on the screen, but ultimately decided that phone vibration would be a more suitable hint to help the seat giver and requester identify each other.
Demo App Development
Our app design aimed to integrate several APIs and Taipei Metro open data into our app to provide a seamless travel experience from origin to destination. However, as I was relatively new to Android development, I was only able to develop about half of the "Metro Route" feature. The remaining parts of the app were demonstrated using a Figma prototype.
Our key features were detailed in the previous "Design" section. Here’s another demo clip highlighting part of the "Metro Route" feature.
Expected Benefits
For passengers, our "Metro Route" feature addresses the top three pain points: confirming which exit to take, looking up the complete route, and finding a map of the area near the exit. Additionally, the "Achievement and Reward System" makes taking the metro more engaging, encouraging kindness towards those with accessibility needs.
For Taipei Metro, our innovative accessibility features can attract more users to download the Taipei Metro Go app. According to our online survey, 72% of respondents use Google Maps, 36% use Bus Tracker Taipei, but only 13% use Taipei Metro Go. Increasing active users would not only boost ad revenue but also create more collaboration opportunities with nearby stores. Furthermore, the general public will have a better impression of Taipei Metro, as the new design demonstrates a commitment to listening to passenger feedback and addressing their concerns.
Reflections
As the project manager, I managed to meet deadlines while ensuring my team could have enough rest on weekends and holidays. However, in hindsight, scheduling tasks a little earlier could have reduced the pressure as deadlines approached.
During the research phase, I'm proud of the 202 survey responses we collected, representing a diverse range of passengers. This was no small feat given that our survey consists of questions with lots of choices and several open-ended questions. I’m deeply grateful to friends, family, and other generous people who shared their valuable experiences with us. Moving forward, I’d like to lead research workshops. Olive, our lead UX researcher, did an outstanding job with them, and I aspire to not only master the research process but also teach others with less experience how to conduct effective research and analysis.
As the team’s Android Developer, I recognize there’s a lot of room for improvement. I need to deepen my understanding of the capabilities and limitations of app features so that UX designers have a clear sense of what’s feasible. In addition, I underestimated the complexity of app development, thinking it could be learned just by taking a few courses. In reality, it requires much more practice, and I should focus on learning by doing.
Overall, it was incredibly rewarding to work on a side project that's related to so many people’s daily lives. I’m committed to becoming a better researcher and app developer, with the goal of continuing to create exceptional user experiences.