mex 2011 - efficient ux techniques for an age of network austerity

Tom Godber May 2011

- Efficient UX Techniques for an Age of Network Austerity

mass market mobile transport ticketing solutions

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What Do I Do?

Pick a Good Problem

Plan for Real World Networks

App File Sizes

Metaphors and Complexity

Agenda

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Mobile is a tool

A small part of a wider world

No mobile ‘manifest destiny’

No mobile ‘manifest destiny’

Pick the right problem

Address real user needs

Perform better than the alternatives

(on and off the user’s handset)

"Capturing the first 40%" Transport will be a key driver of early

mCommerce adoption

1.3bn tickets/yr

70% of tickets bought at station

Purchase tickets with phone

Eliminate paper – go straight onto train

Pick a Good Problem

Plan for Real World Networks

App File Sizes

Metaphors and Complexity

> 100 connections

Front page:

412Kb

Purchase requires 8 pages, Full web site:

...and then a phone call!

Front page:

3Kb

Purchase requires 10+ pages Mobile web site:

< 1Kb Purchase with 2 net connections App:

Why does that matter?

Off the Beaten Path

Usage Scenarios

Busy Stations

Usage Scenarios

Moving Vehicles

Usage Scenarios

Dwell Time

Usage Scenarios

Pick a Good Problem

Plan for Real World Networks

App File Sizes

Metaphors and Complexity

In the Queue App Stores Capture Points

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

> 5 mins at peak

> 3 mins off-peak

> 3 mins at weekends

Convert customers at pain point

<5 mins to capture sale App download size matters

Pick a Good Problem

Plan for Real World Networks

App File Sizes

Metaphors and Complexity

UK Rail Industry Structure

John Major’s Legacy...

Complexity Problem

UK has more fares combinations than people

...all pretty inaccessible to the layman

Presenting a timetable is ‘easy’

Standard phone UI components can be used intuitively

- minimal graphics size overhead

Matching trains and fares is harder...

Leverage iOS ‘spinner’ concept

...but this is where the money is

That’s great

for iPhone

(>90% of population)

What about everyone else?

JavaME (BlackBerry, Nokia etc) Like pulling a paper timetable behind a window

Android has a less uniform, recognizable style

Multi-step workflow in one app

Spinner-style selections Eg. for:

‘Building the ticket’

Ticket-like visual elements ‘accumulate’ during workflow

Footer rounded off after purchase > real ticket

Train / Fare selection more like JavaME

Texture encourages interaction

Tom Godber tom@masabi.com

Photo credit: Timo Arnall, Einar Sneve Martinussen and Jørn Knutsen -

http://yourban.no/2011/02/22/immaterials-light-painting-wifi/)