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Improving the NTU Omnibus App
Figma
The NTU Omnibus app is designed to help NTU students navigate campus efficiently by providing real-time updates on shuttle bus arrival times, guiding them to their destinations, and offering essential information such as bus stop locations and occupancy levels.
Despite its potential, the app has received low user ratings, highlighting significant usability issues. Our team sought to address these challenges by redesigning the app to create a seamless, intuitive, and personalized experience that better meets students' transportation needs.
Our design process was guided by the question:
01. Design Process
So how did we craft the final design for the NTU Omnibus app?
We adopted a structured and iterative design approach to ensure that our redesigned NTU Omnibus app directly addressed the key issues identified in the existing version. Our goal was to transform the app into a reliable, user-friendly, and highly functional tool that enhances students' campus transportation experience.
02. Design Methodologies
We adopted a participatory design approach, actively involving NTU students—the primary stakeholders, in the Design Choice Test. By integrating direct feedback from students, we not only ensured the app design was tailored to their needs but also fostered a sense of ownership and encouraged app adoption.
To delve deeper into the user experience, we also conducted persona interviews, gathering qualitative insights about how students interact with the app, their frustrations, and their expectations. These interviews enabled us to design with a deep understanding of diverse user needs, ensuring that the final design is empathy-driven and resonates with a broader audience.
Finally, to ensure the app's usability, we conducted basic navigation tasks, asking users to complete specific scenarios such as checking bus arrival times, finding routes, or setting a waypoint. These tests provided quantitative insights into whether the app's core features were easy to use and intuitive. By observing users’ experiences, we were able to identify areas for further refinement before the final launch.
By employing a mix of participatory design, persona interviews, and basic navigation tasks, we believe these user-focused design methodologies prioritize the needs of our target users and ensure that the final NTU Omnibus app is not only intuitive and functional but also closely aligns with the daily needs and expectations of NTU students.
03. Context & Problem Statement
Despite the various features offered by the existing NTU Omnibus app, we discovered that many students often opt for alternative transportation modes or third-party apps. This preference arises from frustrations such as unintuitive navigation, unreliable real-time updates, and difficulty accessing relevant information.
Through our analysis, we identified the primary issues contributing to the app's low ratings:
04. Competitor Analysis
By analyzing competitor apps like MyTransportSG, Singabus, and NUS Nextbus, we can identify features we are able to identify successful features such as real-time tracking and intuitive design and incorporate them into our app development.
At the same time, it also helps us avoid common pitfalls like inaccurate updates or UI distractions. By understanding user expectations and pain points from competitor feedback, we can therefore enhance the app’s functionality, improve its performance, and introduce innovative features like personalization options.
05. Key Findings & Insights
To understand the reasons behind the low rating of the NTU Omnibus app, we conducted surveys and persona interviews to explore the following questions:
- What users seek when downloading the NTU Omnibus app?
- Why do students choose other modes of transport over the NTU shuttle bus?
- What are the pain points and opportunities for improving the app?
Key Findings from Surveys
Actionable Insights
To address these challenges, our project aims to reimagine the NTU Omnibus app by focusing on three key objectives:
Allow users to customize favorites, ensuring quick access to frequently used features.
Simplify the interface so students can easily navigate the app and complete tasks in less time.
Streamline essential information, making it more practical and relevant to students' daily campus travel.
06. Prototype Design & Sketches
By streamlining the layout and removing unnecessary elements, the app now feels clean and simple, reducing visual clutter and allowing users to focus on their primary tasks. Functionally, the addition of features like offline bus timetables, route comparisons, and a search function improves usability, while the intuitive one- and two-finger navigation ensures a seamless experience. The design is user-centric, offering personalized options such as favorite bus stops and the ability to view recommended routes, ensuring the app meets the specific needs and expectations of the users.
07. Design Principles
As we moved forward with the design process for the NTU Omnibus app, we adhered to several key principles of design to ensure the final product is not only visually appealing but also functional and user-friendly. By utilizing visual hierarchy, contrast, scale, and the grid system, we aimed to enhance the clarity, usability, and overall effectiveness of the app’s interface.
08. Major Screens