Softwire Internship
Transport for Greater Manchester
My Roles: UX Design Intern / User researcher
Application: Figma
Duration: 8 Weeks
Company: Softwire
Methodology: Agile process
Bee Network
A journey companion app that helps users find their nearest stop, & departure and buy their tickets.
Project scope
During an extensive eight-week internship at Softwire, I had the privilege of collaborating with another skilled designer, supported by a dedicated team of six developer interns. Our primary objective was to undertake a distinctive project, which involved the development of extension features for the TfGM Bee Networks mobile application.
These features were:
Map overlays for geographical map
Interactive overlays
Project Guidelines
The purpose was to explore possible features to add to the current TfGM app.
The project was modular so that it could be incorporated into other similar apps.
Goals
To help users travel around Greater Manchester.
Enhance their experience using the Bee Network App.
Methodology
Over the course of 8 weeks, we diligently adhered to the Agile methodology while crafting and refining our features. We embraced this approach for its remarkable capacity to foster team flexibility, coupled with the invaluable advantage of soliciting abundant user feedback through pop-up testing. We strategically integrated these testing points into our design phase, enabling us to gather real-time insights from our users. This not only empowered us to make well-informed decisions for iterative improvements but also facilitated clear communication with our client regarding the rationale behind our choices.
Overlay Menu
Users understood the icons for each of the overlay button.
Users felt familiar with the design from other apps.
Users struggled to read the names of the overlay buttons.
We increased the size of each of the button labels and highlighted the text in bold, within a toggled state.
Walking and Cycling radius with weather information
Users found walking radius helpful as a feature.
We made the choice to add cycling radius into this feature, providing users with distances to places of interest.
User agreed weather influenced how far they walked and felt the weather notification bar was useful.
Greater Manchester Boundary
Tram Lines
Train lines
Metrolink Map
Train tram map
Zoom level 1
Zoom Level 3
Tram / Train draw
Users found Zoom level 2 to be most useful when searching for train and tram stops.
Users also felt it was useful to have their location on the map to help them navigate around.
Users felt it would be useful to have pinch-to-zoom functionality.
Next steps
Adjusting Zoom level 3 would allow users to navigate much better at zoom level 2.
Changes to when the icon information for the tram stops should appear.
The zoom button should be considered for accessibility requirements; however, we want to add a pinch to zoom functionality to the map.
Zoom level Findings
Draw findings
Users took well to the dual tram stops they were able to differentiate between tram and national rail.
Users felt there was a good amount of information provided for tram and train.
Users noticed the drop-down for the favourite draw and were able to favourite their preferred mode of transport.
These findings clarified our design decisions for the Tram and Train drawers.
Intern Take away
During my 8-week tenure at Softwire, I gained valuable insights into the intricacies of a tech company's processes for developing and launching applications.
This experience proved to be instrumental in my professional growth as a designer. I had the privilege of not only examining existing design systems but also actively participating in the design lifecycle. Here I was able to collaborate with senior designers who
challenged my ideas, fostering a deeper consideration of the user-centric aspects of my work.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to lead and conduct user research tasks such as pop-up testing both within the company and around Manchester. This hands-on involvement in user research further enriched my skill set.
Furthermore, my time at Softwire honed my soft skills. I took on responsibilities such as leading presentations, meeting deadlines, critically evaluating and analyzing my own work as well as my peers', and engaging in team-building exercises.
To conclude, this internship has significantly boosted my confidence in my capabilities as a UX designer. I am enthusiastic about translating these enhanced skills and experiences into my future projects
Made by Shaqkeal Abiodun
2023
Geographical overlays
These features consisted of additional data or graphical information that would sit on top of the geographical map to give the user more information. These overlays provide context and details such as boundaries, roads, land use, natural features, points of interest, demographic information, weather conditions, and satellite imagery.
These were the ideas we decided to explore:
Tram routes
Tram map
Bus boundary
Walking radius
Cycle radius
Weather information
Interactive vector Map
This map was separate from the geographical map and the purpose of this map was to show user Manchester Metrolink lines and National rail lines.
For our design exploration, we looked at the Tram and Train map as it was the more functional and user-friendly of the two maps.
Using this map, we explored these ideas:
3 zoom levels
Interactive draws containing stop info
Tram line colours
Favourites
Icon amenities on the map