New Guide is a proposed digital mapping and navigation platform. In this generative research project, new app features and strategies for user learning are explored. Many UX research methods (interviews, focus groups, observational studies, surveys, usability tests, cultural probes, and diary studies) were used to investigate and inform its design.
How does navigation vary across existing mobile mapping applications?
Evaluation Based Off of Neilsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics for UI Design
An audit of the adherence to UX/UI principles was also conducted across each of the competitors and their mobile platforms. A brief literature search was later conducted to better understand the current trends and advances in digital mapping.
Using the 5W (who, what, where, when, why) technique, we wrote the following opportunity statement.
Users overly on their the use of mapping applications whilst navigating their surroundings. With typically reliable access to cellular data or WiFi, users are able to access their mapping app of choice on-demand instead of consciously engaging with their local and surrounding area and learning the routes they travel. Sometimes, their mapping app also falls short as with users noting inaccuracies or the absence of necessary content.
The interviews explored participants’ relationships thoughts, opinions, and experiences in three main topics: experience and interaction with mapping applications, their learning styles and engagement with the local area, and participants’ experiences with navigating their local area.
Focus group participants partaking in 3 different group discussion sessions and activities. The first was fill-in-the-blank activities to help the researcher team to grasp the attitudes, opinions, and emotions of participants. It was followed up by a group discussion and then finished off with a word association activity.
The observational studies were conducted in-person, based on the AEIOU framework. These studies focused on participant’s habits and their manner of using mobile mapping apps to support their navigation from a start to end location.
Distributed through Qualtrics, this virtual and unmoderated survey asked participants a mix of open-ended, likert scale, and ranking-based questions. The objective was to continue learning more about participants’ behaviours, thoughts, and experiences, to test the validity of earlier findings, to assess participants’ receptiveness to new design ideas, and to gather a better understanding of users' preferences for future design recommendations.
Participants were asked to complete a variety of tasks using the Google Maps mobile app to understand the real-life application scenarios and contexts. Each participant had their session and in-app actions screen recorded and their performance was evaluated by quantitative metrics and involved the collection of qualitative data with the use of retroactive think aloud protocol.
High-level considerations include participant familiarity with the local region, age, transportation type, and modes. More specific case-considerations for potential participants include:
Note: This option was not future explored due to the absence of REB approval
We began exploring possibilities for various features in a team brainstorming session. Below each suggestion were relevant participant quotes or insights that prompt/support those ideas.
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The themes and insights from our research highlight many possible directions and opportunities for the design of a future mapping app. However, future rounds of ideation and feature development will centre around holistic different in-app features and offerings, social media and digital networking elements, and gamification for learning and information retention.
Throughout the user research, the impact of social influences on mapping app usage was evident with a mix of team ideated features/suggestions and ideas provided by research participants. The ability to highlight and share special and standout locations incorporates a social component that can motivate users to use the app alongside their own network of friends and family.
Spaced repetition and gamification strategies can be leveraged to solidify learning and information acquisition for the user. These techniques may help to better educate users in navigating their surrounding environment. Gamification and token economies can incentivise and support the learning of its users, making the app stand out from its competitors while appealing to a combination of both social influences and users’ desire to learn.
The themes and insights from our research highlight many possible directions and opportunities for the design of a future mapping app. However, future rounds of ideation and feature development will centre around holistic different in-app features and offerings, social media and digital networking elements, and gamification for learning and information retention.
The idea of the New Guide app and the user research began as an exploration and applied learning opportunity for the generative methods introduced in this course. As this user research evolved, I believe it is worthy to explore the need to build out an entirely new digital product. A reasonable and foreseeable pivot could be towards a (re-)design of an existing navigation app (e.g. Google Maps) with addition of proposed features and the refinement of others. It did not surprise me that Google Maps was the favourite and predominately used mapping app amongst research participants. However, it was Google Maps' strong brand presence and user loyalty towards the Google Suite of products that contributed to its favourability.
While it was not in scope, exploring the UX of the apps on different devices (Smart Watches, desktop) would have definitely changed the outcome of our heuristic evaluation and the feature set. I believe it would be insightful to see the flexibility of each of the mapping apps and their ability for integration into a user’s everyday journey. The immediate next steps for this project could entail further in-depth interviews, diary studies and cultural probes. The results of these studies will assist to validate the existing findings and our recommendations for future designs in the upcoming prototyping stage.
Thank you to my team members (Clara, Laynol, Caleb) for their hard work and many hours of dedication in working through this team project. I’d also like to thank Dr. Umair Rehman for his continued guidance throughout the duration of this project and the positive impact he has had on my first year in this program.