As a designer, understanding the needs and pain points of people is kind of what I do. But even the most empathetic person in the world couldn’t guess exactly what users want at any given time. Luckily, we don’t have to guess.

In this first part of my “Detailed Design Deep Dive" series, I’ll walk you through the first step of a new project of mine: Interviews and Surveys.

In any project I undertake, whether it's branding, product design, or even illustration projects, this is always the first step I take. Even if it’s just a few people from my network, I always start by asking questions and interviewing a few people.

The project I started now is a public transportation app that I’m developing in collaboration with a writers workshop. More on that later.

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Preparing a Guide/Questionnaire

The first step in my process is preparing a guide or questionnaire. What questions am I looking to answer and why? I start with getting to know the person before diving into the topic of transportation apps. Here are some key areas I focus on:

• General Experience: How often do they use public transportation? Which apps do they currently use?
• Pain Points: What are their biggest frustrations with transportation apps?
• Features and Preferences: What features do they find most useful? What do they wish the apps had?
• Usability: How easy is it for them to navigate and find information?
• Notifications and Updates: How important are real-time updates and how do they prefer to receive them?

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Interviewing the Participants

I conducted interviews with four people representing different segments of our target audience. These included a tech-savvy daily commuter, an occasional user who prefers simplicity, a non-tech-savvy daily commuter, and a biker who occasionally uses public transport.

I try to make the interviews as easy as possible by engaging with participants on a human level. Without losing the focus of the interview, my rule of thumb is that it should feel like a natural conversation.

For example, if someone seems uncomfortable or the conversation isn’t flowing naturally, I might try to build rapport through easy small talk, going as far as sharing short anecdotes about my own experience with the question. Of course, I’m not there to hear myself talk, so I always try to lead it back to the other person.

I personally never take notes during interviews. Whenever I can, I’ll use Zoom for the interview and make a screen recording. That way, I can see facial expressions and reactions later on when transcribing the interview. If I do in-person interviews, I will use the RodeReporter to capture the audio. Cameras during in-person interviews are usually just distracting and intimidating to interviewees. (Believe me, this is coming from someone who made his living for a few years interviewing and making people in front of a camera feel comfortable.)

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Collecting the Data and Making Recommendations

After conducting the interviews, the next step is collecting the data and analyzing it to make recommendations on how to proceed. Here’s a brief summary of the insights gathered from my interviews:

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Key Insights and Recommendations

Common Pain Points:

• Lack of trip customization options.
• Inaccurate or delayed real-time updates.
• Limited offline functionality.
• No option for alternative routes, like fewer bus/subway transfers or more walking/biking.

Desired Features:

• Reliable real-time updates.
• Simple, intuitive navigation.
• Customizable trip options.
• Save trip options.

Usability Needs:

• Straightforward, easy-to-understand information presentation.
• Intuitive design to accommodate both tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy users.

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To add some quantitative data to these insights, I created a short survey using Google Forms. At the time of writing, it is still collecting data, but it is already mirroring the trends seen during the interviews.

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Recommendations:

1. Real-Time Updates: Ensure the app provides accurate and timely updates on schedules, delays, and changes.
2. User-Friendly Interface: Design a simple and intuitive interface that allows users to quickly find essential information.
3. Trip Customization: Include features that allow users to customize their trips based on preferences like more walking or fewer transfers.
4. Offline Functionality: Provide essential features that work offline to assist users without internet connectivity.
5. Personalization: Include features for saving favorite routes and customizing notifications.
6. Alternative Routes: Ensure that users can easily find and switch to alternative routes during unexpected changes or delays.

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Moving Forward

The insights gathered from these user interviews will be the bedrock of all design decisions moving forward.

I’ll be designing this app in real time with you, dear reader, and will update this series every few weeks with another deep dive into the next step of the design process. Stay tuned for the next part, where I will explore the competitive analysis, examining how other players in the industry do it right now.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. If you enjoyed this deep dive, I’d appreciate your help with the survey. It should only take 2-4 minutes to complete.

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Click here for the survey

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