Ollie
Design a conversational AI assistant for Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)
PRT is one of the most important parts for everyone living in Pittsburgh, but still has lots of opportunities to upgrade the experience before, during, and after the public bus rides. We design Ollie -- the voice assistant for PRT, both on mobile and bus stop screen interfaces to connect the experience of diverse groups of users. Based on the nature of voice-based interaction, we defined Ollie's identity and its functions to assist users in different scenarios and issues, which can improve the usage of public transportation, provide more reliable services, and help more people in need.
Team
Yuehui Du (Designer)
Iris Cai (Designer)
Angela Nam (Designer)
Aishwarya Rane (Designer)
Contribution
Value Creation
UI/UX Design
User Research
Motion Design
Prototyping
Timeline
5 Weeks
Sep. - Nov. 2022
Tools
Vioce Flow
Figma
Illustrator
After Effects
Premier Pro
Project Type
Studio project collaborated with Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)
Overview
Interaction through Mobile
We prioritize the mobile experience, recognizing it as the most accessible device during transportation rides. The interface boasts interactive and conversational elements, enabling passengers to seamlessly interact with Ollie for assistance. Features include shortcuts for primary functions, typing for searches, and natural language interaction for queries. Ollie consistently provides pertinent information and recommendations whenever needed.
Interaction through Kiosk
During our contextual inquiry, we identified a chance to repurpose the interactive screen already installed at the bus stop. We developed an interactive kiosk featuring Ollie's capabilities, enhancing the user experience beyond the mobile interface. This broadens access to Ollie's assistance, facilitating a more convenient transit experience for all users.
Concept Video with Key Scenarios
Challenge
Why leveraging conversational AI to an every-day experience of riding a bus?
Goal
How might we…
create an intuitive, inclusive, and reliable conversational AI that enhances the public transportation experience
Understand Client
Why Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)?
As the most used local public transportation in Pittsburgh, designing for PRT includes an opportunity space that conversational AI can step in to ease the process and shape a richer user experience. The potential opportunities are listed below:
Prominent Public Transportation
PRT is the most used local public transportation in Pittsburgh, providing 60 million rides a year, and the majority of people that inside and outside the city would use its daily service.
Variety of Users & Multifaceted Requirements
PRT serves a wide array of passengers, each with unique needs, seeking various forms of support from the service. It's essential to provide detailed information that caters to every aspect of the journey.
Complex & Comprehensive Information
There are diverse types of users using PRT and request multiple support from the service. The comprehensive information related to every step during the ride is needed.
Understanding the Brand
We started by deep understanding the brand identity and visual system of PRT. We looked into client's brand identity and core values to align with their vision and goal to serve for the public: providing safe, reliable, and accessible public transportation throughout the community.
PRT Official Website
PRT Field Scenario
Auditing Existing PRT App
Ready2Ride, the mobile app developed by PRT, is designed to bring website information directly to users' smartphones, offering key features such as ticket purchasing, bus schedule checking, and accessibility support. However, the app is still under development and faces challenges with fragmented information, leading many passengers to opt for alternative solutions like the Transit app for their transportation tracking needs.
Secondary Touchpoint Opportunity
During our field research, we identified the bus stop as a significant secondary touchpoint for users. Although PRT initially aimed to install interactive screens, budget constraints have led to the use of posters with QR codes instead. We see this as a strategic opportunity to implement our client's vision.
User Research
Understand and Learn from the Everyday Users
Findings: Identify User's Painpoints from User Research
Through meticulous user research, we delved deeply into the experiences of our users, uncovering their core challenges and needs. By employing a variety of methods, including shadowing observation, interviews, and stakeholder synthesis, we gained valuable insights into the daily interactions passengers have with our services. Some pain points as key digests from interview are shown below:
Bus drivers arrive and depart on their own time. Don’t count on the set schedule...It’s hard to know when is correct to get to the bus stop.
Inefficient Communication
Why is it so difficult to find a place to buy a bus pass? I even don’t know when it was expired and it turned really chaotic when I got on bus to renew it.
Complicated Fare Purchase Process
Late night buses are really terrible. The app says they are coming but didn’t show up at all. It’s ruined my night...
Unreliable Service Reporting
Stakeholder Map
We created a stakeholder map to pinpoint the essential participants within the PRT service ecosystem. This visualization helped us understand the interactions and impacts among these groups, enabling us to assess how the AI assistant could offer advantages to each stakeholder, which we then clearly delineated.
Interview Synthesis
We analyzed user interviews to identify key challenges in current PRT experience. From these insights, we crafted hypotheses on how conversational AI could enhance user experiences, such as improving communication, simplifying fare purchases, ensuring service reliability, and boosting accessibility. These hypotheses will shape our design approach for Ollie.
Modeling: Current User Flow
To validate potential opportunities, we charted the comprehensive journey for both passengers and drivers, identifying prospective users of our digital service. Marked segments within these maps signify areas where a conversational AI agent could intervene to enhance the user experience.
Modeling: Target Users & User Journey
Following our stakeholder mapping and interview synthesis, we pinpointed three primary user groups for the conversational AI: general passengers, passengers needing accessibility support, and bus drivers. We crafted detailed personas for these groups and conducted a thorough analysis of their experiences to unearth potential design opportunities.
By employing user journey maps, we meticulously charted the experiences of these key users, identifying crucial pain points and areas ripe for improvement. This method allowed us to capture their emotional journey and explore how conversational AI could significantly enhance their overall experience.
Ideation
Prioritizing Target Users
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Proposing Design Directions from User Painpoints
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Storyboard Scenarios
To illustrate the diverse experiences of our users, we crafted storyboards that encapsulate the journeys of a daily commuter, a passenger with disabilities, and a bus driver, allowing us to examine the flow and gain insights into how each distinct experience could unfold, and enhancing our understanding and design approach for each group.
Define the Identity of Conversational AI
We explored defining Ollie's identity by considering the traits and tone that best align with the project's objectives and the client's core values. We concluded that the following characteristics would suit Ollie best:
Visualizing Ollie
After establishing Ollie's traits and personality, we iterated on its design, focusing on embodying public transportation attributes and PRT's mission in a singular visual form. This iterative process involved considerable refinement until we settled on Ollie's definitive visual representation.
Ollie's Motion Status
We identified essential statuses for conversational feedback and created motion designs to visualize these states, focusing on smooth transitions and infusing shapes with easy-understanding movements and transformations.
Explore
Developing Visual System
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Prototyping Mobile Interaction
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 1. Schedule Tomorrow's Trip
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 2. Renew Bus Pass
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 3. Driver Updates to the Passengers
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 4. Request Accessibility Supports
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Prototyping Mobile Interaction
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 5. The Tourist Plans Trip and Cross-platform Experience
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 6. Notification to Waiting Passengers
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Value Proposition
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Explore
Developing Visual System
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Prototyping Mobile Interaction
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 1. Schedule Tomorrow's Trip
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 2. Renew Bus Pass
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 3. Driver Updates to the Passengers
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 4. Request Accessibility Supports
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Prototyping Mobile Interaction
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 5. The Tourist Plans Trip and Cross-platform Experience
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Scenario 6. Notification to Waiting Passengers
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
Value Proposition
Structure
Before detailed design, we identified key user groups to focus our limited resources effectively. This strategic allocation allows us to deeply understand and address the specific needs of these prioritized users, enhancing the overall design impact.
© Yuehui Du 2024