Trafik: Navigating road chaos with finesse.
Role
I designed this as a solo designer. I was in charge of research, flows, wireframes, UI screens and all the deliverables needed for the project.
Overview: Making Road trips Less Stressful
Trafik is a traffic management app that provides real-time information on traffic conditions to drivers. The app is designed with the idea of a complex algorithm that uses data from various sources, including GPS, traffic cameras, and social media, to provide users with up-to-date information on traffic conditions.
The challenge: Traffic Chaos
Traffic management is a critical issue for cities and municipalities around the world. With the increasing number of vehicles on the road and the lack of proper infrastructure, traffic congestion is a common problem that affects the daily lives of residents and commuters. Trafik is a management app that is conceived due to this problem and can help alleviate these problems by providing real-time information on traffic conditions and helping drivers make informed decisions about their routes.
Research: Mapping Out The User Experience
To kick things off, I conducted a research with people who live in metropolitan cities to gain more understanding on the problems they face concerning traffic. While conducting the research, I discovered the user painpoints. The research drew me into users’ world and from that I was able to gather insights. The insights gathered are as follows:
- Users express a desire for real-time traffic updates, including road closures, accidents, and construction updates.
- Users want to be told the most suitable means of transportation a particular road to avoid wasted time & damage to their automobiles
- Users prefer a user-friendly interface, with easy-to-read maps and clear navigation instructions.
As soon as I understood what the problems were and gathered some insights, I tried to figure out a way to design an app that is easy to navigate and at the same time solve user’s problems. This led me to asking some “how might we” questions.
How might we provide real time and accurate traffic information to users?
During this study, I was able to gather some ways which are:
- GPS
- Traffic cameras
- Social media
- Update from other drivers
How might we help users make informed decisions about the routes to follow?
During this study, I was able to gather some ways which are:
- Telling them the estimated time a journey might take them
- Suggesting alternative routes
- Giving directions on unfamiliar roads
This process holistically helped me visualize the project and provided alignment throughout the process of designing this app. It helped me in making informed design decisions that doesn’t affect users negatively.
One key factor that struck and guided me in this project was a statement made by one of the users I interviewed:
“Sometimes, when I’m stuck in traffic and I get frustrated, I used to wish that I know a shorter route I can pass. Even if I get home by trekking, I don’t mind.”
This process made me empathize with users more and aided me in designing a feature that suggests alternative route for users and also informs them on the suitable means of transportation on a particular route.
Solution
After synthesizing data from surveys, interviews, and competitive analysis; I proceeded to define a solution hypothesis for each identified problem area. They include:
- Create a user-friendly interface that is critical for the success of a traffic management app, as users want to be able to quickly and easily access traffic information.
- Keep users informed by telling them the estimated time they will use on a particular route and the traffic condition on the road
- Provide alternative routes to users. Provide routes that are faster and better than the ones users are avoiding. Factors used to determine better routes are time, road condition and distance.
- Give directions to users who are taking an unfamiliar route. Users can take directions either by a voice assistant or text. Users can also reroute or scan their area when they get lost.
- Suggest a suitable means of transport for users on roads. The condition of a road and the distance will determine the kind of transport means that will be suggested to users.
- Give real time traffic updates to users so they can make good travel decisions. Updates can be gotten from fellow drivers or the ones sourced by the app from different means.
- Allow for community input. Give users the chance to give updates such as reporting accidents and road closures, construction updates and other up to date information. Of course the information will be vetted before being put up for other users to see.
