Assignment 1 - Redesigning Pervasive Computing
203CR - Designing for Usability 2
December 2009
Thomas Davies
2179955
Usability Blogshttp://thomasdavies-203cr.blogspot.com/
Table of ContentsAbstract 5
Introduction 6
The Subjects 6
Limitations 6
Objectives 7
Methodology 8
Researching Ethics 8
Questionnaires 8
Observations 8
Secondary Research 9
Stakeholders 9
Heuristic Evaluation 10
Results 13
Design Recommendations 13
Results 14
Questionnaires 14
Heuristic Evaluation on the VDUs 17
Heuristic Evaluation on TextTime 19
Heuristic Evaluation on MobiTime 20
Observations 21
Secondary Research 21
Redesign 23
Visual Display Unit 23
Interactive Journey Planner 24
Conclusion 31
Report 31
Issues 31
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 3
Appendix A 32
Research E-mails 32
Appendix B 40
Questionnaire 40
Subject A Answers 42
Subject B Answers 43
Subject C Answers 44
Subject D Answers 45
Subject E Answers 46
Subject F Answers 47
Subject G Answers 48
Subject H Answers 49
Subject I Answers 50
Subject J Answers 51
Appendix C 52
Observations 52
References 55
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 4
AbstractThis report looks into the usability of bus arrival notification systems in Coventry, and in particular Pool
Meadow Bus Station. After conducting a heuristic evaluation and observations I found several issues with
the usability of the systems implemented by bus operators in the Coventry area. Therefore, I have proposed
many redesigns and solutions to the issues plaguing the Coventry bus operators and Pool Meadow Bus
Station.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 5
IntroductionThe Subjects
National Express
National Express is a worldwide organisation
that has a presence in the United Kingdom,
North America and Spain that focuses on
transportation. Every year in the UK, 320 million
passengers travel on National Express buses to
journey through London, the West Midlands and
Dundee (National Express Group PLC 2008: 16).
National Express Coventry
With over 90,000 travellers every day, National Express Coventry has over 160 buses that operate on 90
bus routes in the city (National Express Group PLC 2009).
Pool Meadow Bus Station
Managed by Network West Midlands, Pool Meadow is Coventry’s bus station that serves as a hub for
several bus operators. With over 40 routes, National Express Coventry is the main operator that utilises the
Pool Meadow Bus Station, along with smaller operators such as Travel de Courcey and Stagecoach in
Warwickshire.
Limitations
Obtaining Statistics
While researching for this project I contacted National Express locally and nationally asking if they could
provide me with information concerning traveller demographics; disabled users, foreign users and visitors
who are new to that city. Even though they promptly responded to my emails and as shown in Appendix A,
National Express are unable to ‘respond to individual requests’ as they ‘receive many hundreds of enquiries
from students every month.’ (Travel Care
Team 2009). After failing to receive any
statistics from National Express, I
contacted Passenger Focus - an
independent passenger watchdog - yet
they lacked the statistics I required, stating
that the Department for Transport would
be ‘the best source of independent
information.’ (Passenger Focus 2009).
Following the response from Passenger Focus, I contacted Lord Andrew Adonis, the Secretary of State for
Transport, and the Shadow Transport Secretary; Theresa Villiers. Apart from an automated response from
the office of Conservative MP; Theresa Villiers, I received no response concerning my request for statistics.
While the Department for Transport and the Office of National Statistics provides data that will be used in
Figure 1 National Express logo
Figure 2 Passenger Focus logo
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 6
this report, the specific data requirements I had were not publicly available through any government
department.
Objectives
Redesigning Pervasive Computing
The main objectives of this report is to evaluate the current bus arrival notification system implemented by
National Express Coventry and Network West Midlands in the Coventry area. Utilising a combination of
several sets of heuristics - that will be discussed in the Methodology section - I will evaluate how effective
their current system is in informing the travellers when their buses arrive and whether they will be late.
Following the evaluation I will produce a set of possible redesigns that could be implemented to assist the
travellers in using public transport.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 7
Methodology Researching Ethics
When gathering information from the general public - whether directly or indirectly - it is important we
handle the data received with care. As stated in Designing For Interaction by Dan Saffer, treating your
research subjects correctly is ‘not only the right thing to do, but it will yield better results, since the subjects
will likely open up more if they know that they (and their data) are being treated well.’ (2007: 74). The main
aspect of ethical researching is to gain consent from the subjects and making them aware of how the data
from their answers will be used in the report. To ensure they are at ease, the subjects must be made aware
that their data will be used anonymously. While this isn’t a major issue for my project, in certain situations, if
the subject provides a controversial answer it could affect their job prospects in the future if discovered by
potential employees.
Questionnaires
Subjects
For this assignment, I selected a small sample of participants to answer questionnaires. As public transport
is used by all demographics, I decided I would not target a specific group, rather ensure a wide range of
people complete the questionnaire. Therefore, I selected 10 people who use public transport at least once a
month within the age range of 19 - Over 60. While searching for users of public transport, I discovered there
were more women than men who use buses, and therefore the gender ratio is skewed towards females for
this questionnaire. I decided on the wide age range so that it included students, workers and OAPs that
receive free bus passes from the government.
Information
While considering several possible data gathering methods, I selected the use of questionnaires over
interviews. This was due to the fact that as a student it is difficult to find a suitable time to interview
subjects, especially as several of them were 9am to 5pm workers. As questionnaires allow for the subject to
complete them in their own time, it was logical to select this option both for the project and for the subjects
who have their own commitments. While they allow for open and closed questions, questionnaires must be
clearly worded, as ‘there is no researcher present to encourage and to resolve any
misunderstandings.’ (Sharp et al. 2007: 308). As shown in Appendix B, the questionnaire provides both
quantitative and qualitative data. The initial question provides quantitative data as subjects select an
answer from a couple of specific options, while this is then followed by a qualitative question that asks for
the subjects’ opinions on the same matter. The usual issue with questionnaires is that the completion rate is
rather poor, with 40% being ‘generally acceptable for many surveys, but much lower rates are
common.’ (Sharp et al. 2007: 317). As my questionnaire was targeted to specific people I achieved a 100%
completion rate.
Observations
While questionnaires have a role in interaction design research, it can not be the sole method of the
analysis. Questionnaires may provide targeted answers to questions, ‘but it is difficult for people to describe
all the details of the relevant aspect of everyday life.’ in this form due to it being ‘difficult to describe the
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 8
activity in words’ and the subject ‘may describe the ‘official’ procedure rather than how it is actually done in
practice.’ (Benyon et al. 2005: 222). Dan Saffer discusses four methods of observations in Designing for
Interactions; Fly on the Wall, Shadowing, Contextual In
quiry, and Undercover Agent (2007: 78). For this project
I will be using the Fly on the Wall method which allows
designers to visit a specific location, such as Pool
Meadow Bus Station, and ‘unobtrusively observe’ how
their current bus arrival notification system works and
how the general public interacts with it. The object of
the observation method ‘is to blend in with the
environment’ so that the observer can ‘look like they
belong’ in the surroundings (Saffer 2007: 78). Therefore,
while I am at the bus station, I will be using my mobile
phone to write notes because the general public
around me will either think I am writing a text message
or playing a game. This is less conspicuous than using
a pen and paper which would appear out of the
ordinary at Pool Meadow.
As it is against university policy to directly interact with
the general public for research I will be unable to use
the Contextual Inquiry method suggested by Dan
Saffer. This method allows me to observe how the
public interact with the system, and then ask ‘questions
about their behavior’ such as ‘Why are you doing that?
Could you describe that to me?’ (Saffer 2007: 78). This
would have allowed me to ask questions directly after the subject has used the service, so I can get their
feedback immediately. The advantage of this - over asking similar questions in a questionnaire - is that any
issues they have with the system will be at the forefront of their mind, rather than them trying to recall it -
and usually failing to do so - for a questionnaire.
As with questionnaires, the observation method will yield both qualitative and quantitative data. For
quantitative data I will record information such as how many times the bus arrival notification system is
correct, how many times it informs the public of late buses and queue build up. While for qualitative data I’ll
be able to write ‘notes about the level of frustration, or the nature of interaction’ between the users and the
system (Sharp et al. 2007: 356).
Secondary Research
To compliment my primary research through questionnaires and observations, I will be using data and
statistics from the Department for Transport, Office for National Statistics, National Express, and
independent passenger bodies such as Passenger Focus. Through this data, I can discover the issues that
the general public are having with the bus service, and how official government documents recommend
certain practices for making bus services more accessible.
Stakeholders
There are two types of stakeholders involved in pervasive computing, and both are affected by the system.
Therefore both direct and indirect stakeholders need to be considered during any usability evaluation.
Figure 3 The Notes app used for observations
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 9
Direct Stakeholders
These stakeholders are ‘those individuals who interact directly with the technology’ (Friedman et al. 2003:
16). For example, the user sending a text message to see when the next bus will arrive is a direct
stakeholder.
Indirect Stakeholders
Indirect stakeholders are ‘those individuals who are impacted by the system, though they never interact
directly with it.’ (Friedman et al. 2003: 16). Examples of indirect stakeholders include ‘people who are with
the direct stakeholder’ when he is sending the text message such as friends or colleagues, and those
‘around (but not “with”) the direct stakeholder.’ (Scholtz, Consolvo 2004: 8).
Heuristic Evaluation
Inspection Method
Nielsen recommends a two pass method of analysis, with the first pass ‘intended to get a feel for the flow
of the interaction and the general scope of the system.’ while the second pass ‘allows the evaluator to
focus on specific interface elements.’. Even though Nielsen believes conducting several passes through the
application for each separate heuristic would be ‘tedious’, I feel for such a small project this method would
work very successfully. Therefore, I will be looking for violations of small groups of heuristics at a time; for
example, looking for consistency issues through one pass, then accessibility in another. Moreover, Nielsen
stated that ‘it would seem unnatural to evaluators to “overlook” usability issues that were not related to the
one issue they were supposed to inspect for in a given pass.’ (Nielsen, Mack 1994: 29). To combat this
problem, I will be noting down usability issues irrelevant to the one being inspected at that time, so I can
investigate them further later. Each issue in the application will be given a severity rating based on the
heuristic it contravenes.1
Equipment
Known as a discount usability method, Heuristic Evaluation requires no specific recording equipment,
therefore only the items being tested are necessary. For the inspection, I used the Visual Display Units
(VDUs) at Pool Meadow Bus Station and the iPhone 3GS for the mobile services provided.
Device Usage
VDUs For completing all the heuristics on the VDUs at the Pool Meadow Bus Station
iPhone 3GS For using the SMS and mobile web services
Research
The foundation of these heuristics are Shneiderman's Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design. As
Shneiderman created his rules for the desktop they have had to be adapted to suit the evaluation of
pervasive computing as ‘there are considerable differences in the models of these two types of
computing.’ (Scholtz, Consolvo 2004: 2). To adapt Shneiderman's heuristics I used an Intel document that
discusses evaluating pervasive computing. The aim of the Intel document was to ‘create a user evaluation
framework specifically for ubicomp.’ (Scholtz, Consolvo 2004: 2). Furthermore, to ensure the current system
and proposed redesigns satisfy current laws, such as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the heuristics
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 10
1 Work from my 106CR Heuristic Evaluation assignment has been used to produce the Inspection Method paragraph.
Table 1 Required Equipment
include guidelines set out by government agencies and partners in the 2006 document Meeting the Needs
of Disabled Travellers. This document discusses how VDUs should display data allowing information to be
‘accessible to as many users as possible’ ensuring it is ‘clear, concise and consistent.’ (RTIG 2006: 1). As
there is a mobile aspect of the bus arrival notification system, I have utilised certain heuristics that I
assembled last year for a heuristic evaluation on a mobile phone for my 106CR Designing for Usability
module. Those heuristics relied on Apple’s iPhone Human Interface Guidelines (2008), as well as Nokia’s
Mobile Game Playability Heuristics (2006). While these are targeted at multi-touch displays and mobile
games respectively, they still provide rules for creating any applications or services on mobile devices.
Severity Rating
While conducting a heuristic evaluation, a severity rating system is vital for the overall success of the
project. Without a rating system, the designers would be unable to decide what usability issues require ‘the
most resources to fix’ (Nielsen, Mack 1994: 47) such as time and financial costs. For this task, I chose a
four-point rating system:
Rating Description
None It is not a usability issue
Low Cosmetic or minor usability issue that can easily be resolved by the user
Moderate A significant usability issue that should be fixed before release as it could affect a large proportion of users
High Usability issue makes the system unusable or will affect the majority of users and must be fixed immediately
Table 2 Severity Rating System
During the analysis stage, these ratings will be judged on the three factors suggested by Nielsen; the
frequency of the issue, the overall impact of the problem, and the persistence of the usability flaw (Nielsen,
Mack 1994: 47).
User Interface
ID Heuristic
Consistency & InteractionConsistency & Interaction
UI1 Navigation is consistent and logical.
Well organised and easy to use workflow.
UI2 Consistent typeface, style and size.
UI3 Simple and consistent colour palette.
UI4 Minimal data entry.
UI6 Use standard user interface controls so interaction is predictable and familiar.
UI8 Provide large sized targets for interaction.
Eg. At least a 44 pixel square for touch screens.
FeedbackFeedback
UI9 Feedback should be provided immediately after user input.
Eg. Selecting an item will highlight it to show the system has accepted the input.
UI10 Audio should be relevant. However, can not be the primary source of feedback.
UI11 Animation should be subtle and provide meaningful feedback. It should enhance the user’s experience.
HelpHelp
UI12 The system should be obvious to use and require little or no help.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 11
ID Heuristic
System StateSystem State
UI13 Users should be kept informed about the system.
Eg. Show progress in a download.
UI14 Do not force the user to remember previous actions.
AccessibilityAccessibility
UI15 Display messages for at least 10 seconds.
UI16 Place text on a plain background.
UI17 Use san-serif fonts for information.
UI18 Do not display a message in capital letters only.
UI19 Avoid abbreviations, apart from common abbreviations.
Eg. Rd for Road and St for Street.
UI20 Do not use flashing or scrolling text.
UI21 Keep instructions simple by using action instructions.
UI22 Provide all visual information in audible form where possible.
UI23 Make any synthesised voice sound as natural as possible.
UI24 Ensure signs are capable of displaying special or emergency messages if required.
Mobility Issues
ID Heuristic
MobilityMobility
MI1 The system should be working within several seconds.
MI2 Content should be optimised for mobile devices.
MI3 If accessing on a more modern smartphone, the system should display richer content.
MI4 The system should work with the surroundings. Applications should respect the device’s state.
Eg. Ring/Silent switch.
Pervasive Issues
ID Heuristic
AttentionAttention
PE1 Number of times a user needs to change focus due to technology.
PE2 Number of events not noticed by a user in an acceptable time.
AdoptionAdoption
PE3 Number of people using the service.
PE4 The system should benefit the user.
Trust & SecurityTrust & Security
PE5 User should not have to divulge a lot of personal information for the system to be useful.
PE6 The system discusses how the personal information is utilised.
InteractionInteraction
PE7 The system should complete the task set out by the user.
PE8 Completing a task should be as quick as possible.
PE9 Limit all distractions so the user can focus on the main task.
InvisibilityInvisibility
PE10 Time taken to personalise (learn or adapt) the system for the user’s preference.
Eg. Invert screen colours to make it more clear for partially sighted users.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 12
Results
As there could be many issues with the bus arrival notification system implemented at Pool Meadow Bus
Station, my results will include the major issues that affect bus users and any issues that could be resolved
through innovative means. Moreover, not all of the heuristics above can be used to evaluate every part of
the system. For example, the Mobility Issues heuristics will play no role in evaluating the VDUs at Pool
Meadow, but they will be the main focus of the evaluation on the system’s mobile services.
Design Recommendations
During the final stage, I will provide suggestions for possible redesigns in the form of written explanations or
annotated prototypes. Providing possible solutions to design flaws is vital as designers have ‘no information
to help design the exact changes to the interface.’ (Nielsen, Mack 1994: 32) as heuristic evaluation only
highlights problems with systems and does not produce solutions. While the majority of the design
recommendations will be based on the results of the heuristic evaluation, the information gained via
observations, questionnaires and secondary research will still play a significant role in the redesign process.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 13
ResultsQuestionnaires
Demographics
As stated in the Methodology section, this questionnaire is slightly skewed towards female bus users, as 6
women and 4 men completed the questionnaire. Meanwhile, the chart below discovers that women use the
bus service more often than men.
Male Female
0
1
2
3
Under 2020 - 29
30 - 3940 - 49
50 - 5960 or above
Figure 4 The age groups of bus travellers split by gender
Male Female
0
1
2
< 12 / 3
4Everyday
Figure 5 How frequent the subjects travel by bus per week split by gender
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 14
Printed Timetable Data
The majority of those who completed the questionnaire stated that they used the printed timetable data at
bus stops and bus stations. There was however, a few problems with the timetables concerning reliability as
they do not ‘take into account traffic’ issues (Subject A 2009). The reason why some of the subjects do not
utilise the printed timetable data is because they already know the times that the buses are coming, as they
are regular users of public transport.
Digital Signage
As shown in the chart above, just over half of those questioned have digital signage at their bus stops to
inform them of the next arrival. While Subject C informed us that at his bus stop the digital signage made
users aware of late buses, many others believe that at their bus stop it ‘does not say if it is [the bus]
late.’ (Subject D 2009).
Yes No
70%
30%
Figure 6 Percentage of users that use printed timetable data
Yes No
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Figure 7 Number of users who have digital signage at their bus stops
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 15
Mobile Services
The question concerning mobile services provided by Network West
Midlands produced an overwhelming statistic that highlights a huge
issue with their mobile strategy. Out of those questioned, nobody
has ever used the mobile services knowingly - such as bus data via
text and through the mobile web - while 20% were unsure.
Even though Subject A stated that he has never had a need for it
because the buses he uses are ‘pretty reliable’ (Subject A 2009),
many others were totally unaware as they ‘did not know the service
was available for buses.’ (Subject F 2009). This was a sentiment
backed up by Subject G, H and I as they also ‘didn’t know it
existed.’ (Subject G 2009). While those questioned had never heard
of the service before, Network West Midlands have stated that they
‘receive around 6,000 SMS messages a month’ through TextTime,
while their MobiTime service - mobile web version - has ‘8,000 users
a month.’ (ITS UK 2009: 5).
Network West Midlands’ TextTime service provides ‘information
about your local bus service and tells you when the next bus will
arrive at your stop via your mobile phone.’ (Network West Midlands 2009) and as Subject E answered in her
questionnaire the majority of the information that users receive via text is the same ‘bus timetable that is
already up’ at the bus stop, and that the TextTime service ‘charges’ for usage (Subject E 2009).
The two subjects who were 60 or above gave very similar answers that highlighted the technology and age
divide. Subject C stated that he doesn’t ‘have mobile or internet access’ (2009), while Subject J suggested
the overall usability of mobile phones was poor as she could ‘barely use her phone to call people’ and
therefore she ‘wouldn’t attempt’ (2009) to use the service even if she was aware of it.
Yes No Donʼt Know
80%
20%
Figure 8 Percentage of users that use mobile services
Figure 9 TextTime Service
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 16
Heuristic Evaluation on the VDUs
UI1 - Navigation is consistent and logical - Severity:
Low
The VDUs provide logical navigation methods. The bus
arrival times are displayed in time order, so those that
are coming soon are at the top, while buses arriving
later are displayed nearer to the end of the list. This is
a common feature of all the VDUs at Pool Meadow Bus
Station. There is however a minor issue concerning the
use of real-time tracking on some buses. Buses on
certain bus routes have real-time tracking enabled,
which is shown by Point 1 in Figure 10, where the
Wood End bus is 3 minutes away, while many of the
other buses just provide the expected time according
to the official timetables. This is a rather inconsistent
method as the VDU utilises two options for displaying
similar information. A further, minor issue is that at the top of the VDU, sections of the station are referred to
as Stands, while in the list they are referred to as Bays.
UI16 - Place text on a plain background - Severity: Moderate
As shown in Figure 10, the majority of the white text is displayed on a plain
blue background, while the heading text is also white, but displayed on a
plain orange background. Even there notice concerning stand changes for
certain buses use the white text on a blue background contrast as shown in
Figure 11. Research from Dr. Lauren Scharff at Stephen F. Austin State
University suggests that white on blue nearly performs as well as black on
white and black on grey for readability. Interestingly though ‘darker text on a
lighter background was rated more readable than its inverse (e.g. blue text on white background ranked
higher then white text on blue background).’ (Scharff 1996), so therefore inverting the colours might be a
possible redesign suggestion.
UI20 - Do not use flashing or scrolling text - Severity: Moderate
On all of the VDUs at the bus station, there is scrolling text at the bottom of the screen. This is shown in
Figure 12, where the scrolling text is shown at different stages on three VDUs. It provides a welcome
message, and warnings such as the non-smoking law in public spaces. While a government document
states that scrolling text can be used when ‘unavoidable, such as where a message is too long to fit on a
display’ (RTIG 2006) the messages displayed at Pool Meadow Bus Station are not that important to warrant
the use of scrolling text especially as messages such as the non-smoking law are displayed in printed
format around the building. The Department of Transport also state that users can ‘find it difficult to process
information presented in’ the scrolling format way (RTIG 2006).
2
3
2 The header with white text on an orange background.
3 White text on a blue background.
1 The timetable is order by how long it will take the next bus to
arrive. Will show exact number of minutes when bus contains real-
time tracking.
1
Figure 10 The VDU Unit
Figure 11 Blue background
Figure 12 Scrolling text at Pool Meadow Bus Station
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 17
UI22 - Provide all visual information in audible form where possible - Severity: High
While this is difficult to accomplish in a bus station, where there is heavy background noise and the bus
operators do not want to confuse passengers, it is still important and expected by the government that
important information is provided in an audible form. Clearly there is no need to announce when every bus
arrives at the bus station, but mentioning late arrivals and other issues that could affect the transport should
be provided, yet this is not the case at Pool Meadow. Very rarely will there be a public announcement, and if
there is it only states that the bus station is a smoking free zone.
PE3 - Number of people using the service - Severity: Unknown
Even though it was difficult to get solid numbers of those checking the VDUs for timetabling information, my
observations recorded that just over 50% of passengers checked the VDU at least once. For those who
didn’t consult the VDUs, I am unaware of the reasons why due to university policy concerning the general
public, and therefore was unable to ask for reasons. I do however, believe from questionnaire results that
some travellers already know the times of the bus service or they don’t trust the information provided as it
has been wrong in the past. For these reasons, the severity for this heuristic is unknown.
PE5 - Users should not have to divulge a lot of personal
information - Severity: None
The advantage of providing a general information screen
containing all the times for the buses is that no personal
information is shared and therefore the passenger should not
have any issues with using the system. While, as shown in
Figure 13, the disadvantage is that it can be difficult and
monotonous for the user to traverse through a lot of
information to reach their bus service times. For example, if
you travelled on the Number 22 bus service, you would have
to go through 11 lines to reach your specific bus.
PE7 - The system should complete the tasks set out by
the user - Severity: High
As shown by my observation on the 10th December 2009 in
Appendix C, the screen was used exclusively to inform
passengers that the Number 13 bus service had moved, with
the notice ‘The Number 13 bus service now departs from
Stand D.’ being displayed. Therefore, for that whole day, the
VDU did not display any timetabling information so Number
36 passengers did not know when their bus would arrive.
While it would seem understandable to use the screen to
display such important information, Stand G itself had several printed notices stating that the Number 13
bus service had moved to Stand D, which should have allowed the VDU to remain as a source of
timetabling information.
Figure 13 VDU Timetable
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 18
Heuristic Evaluation on TextTime
UI4 - Minimal data entry - Severity: Moderate
To receive a response from TextTime, the user has to
send a code to 84268 which tells the service what bus
stop the user is at. The issue with this is that the code
is a random set of letters, and doesn’t actually relate to
the bus service, or the bus stop in question. An
example of one of these codes are shown in Figure 14,
while Figure 15 shows a printed timetable at a bus
stop that includes the code for that stop. As it is a
random code, there must be a lot of incorrectly sent
messages, therefore wasting passengers money.
On the Network West Midlands website, they provide
Coventry passengers with a 12 page .pdf document including all of the codes for buses that serve the
Coventry area. Users surely can not be expected to remember all of the codes that could relate to them?
Due to this flaw, the TextTime service also doesn’t take into account the use case of a passenger walking to
the bus stop, and wanting to know whether they should wait for the bus or find another method of
transport, as they can’t guess or remember a random code.
MI1 - The system should be working
within several seconds - Severity: None
After texting the code for my bus stop to
TextTime, I received the response within
30 seconds. While it is not within the
several second period stated by this
heuristic, I feel it is an adequate response
time for them to receive, decipher and
then send the response.
PE3 - The system should benefit the
user - Severity: Moderate
Seeing as this service costs 25p per text, it would be expected to provide the latest, up-to-date data about
the buses, and provide more information than what is available on the printed timetable at the bus stop. Yet,
as shown in Figure 16, this is not the case and therefore is a waste of money for the passenger.
1 The code that I sent TextTime. It tells them I am at
Sandpits Lane bus stop, waiting for the Number 36
bus service.
1
Figure 14 SMS sent to TextTime
Figure 15 The printed timetable at the bus stop advertising the TextTime service
1 The times from the TextTime service are one minute ahead of those at the bus stop. However, it still doesn't provide any additional information.
TT stands for TimetabledRT stands for Real-Time
Text from TextTime Data from the printed timetable
1
Figure 16 Similar timetable data
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 19
Heuristic Evaluation on MobiTime
UI19 - Avoid abbreviations - Severity: Low
Even though abbreviations such as Adj (for adjacent)
and Opp (for opposite) are relatively common in the
UK, they may not be for foreign visitors or those with
learning difficulties.
MI2 - Content should be optimised for mobile
devices - Severity: None
It is quite clear that the MobiTime service has been
created and therefore optimised to support standard
mobile devices. As shown in Figure 17, the structure
of the webpage and the links suggest it has been
designed for use by the arrow keys found on all
traditional mobile phones
MI3 - If accessing on a smartphone, the
system should display richer content -
Severity: Moderate
While the content is optimised for mobile
devices, and therefore passes the MI2 heuristic,
MobiTime fails to display richer content when
accessed from a smartphone such as the
iPhone. As the iPhone is a touchscreen, merely
replicating the exact same mobile website on
Apple’s device will not be successful as the
interaction methods are significantly different.
As shown in Figure 18, the text field and Find
Stops button are very small, and will be difficult
to select when using a touchscreen. After
entering location data, the service will show you
the nearest bus stops as shown in Figure 17.
Once again, the links are very small targets, and
highlight how this service was supposed to be
used with standard mobile phones where the arrow keys would be used to navigate through the webpage.
As the two lines under each link provide more details about the bus stops, why can they not become links
as well to increase the target size?
PE10 - Time taken to personalise the system for the user’s preference - Severity: Moderate
No matter how many times you use the MobiTime service, it will not remember your favourite or most
commonly used bus stops. To find your location, the service asks for data such as a post code, then
recommends several bus stops near by, requiring you to select the bus stop you need. By remembering the
most commonly used bus stops by that user, the system can avoid the second step, allowing the system to
be significantly faster.
1
2
1 Small link target size. Could incorporate the detailed
information below as a link.
2 Poor use of abbreviations.
Figure 17 Results View
1
1 Rather small text field and button. Could be larger
as the screen size is rather big.
Figure 18 Introduction View
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 20
Observations
Pushchair & Wheelchair access
Even though all modern buses have a section reserved for both pushchair and wheelchair users, there are
some occasions where all available sections are full or the bus operator is required to place an old bus into
service due to certain circumstances such as repairs on the newer buses. However, any pushchair or
wheelchair users will be unaware of these issues until the bus arrives at the bus station.
The situation of all the available areas being full took place on my second observation on the 7th December.
It was rather busy due to many school children catching the buses and while waiting for the 16:17 bus
service, ‘3 mothers with pushchairs’ begin ‘waiting to catch the 36.’ (Observation 07/12 2009). As the 16:17
bus arrived two minutes late, it was even busier than normal, meaning that one of the mothers had ‘to wait
till the 16:28 or find other means of transport.’ (Observation 07/12 2009). If she was aware of the situation
earlier - before the bus had arrived - she could have decided whether to wait for the bus after, choose
another bus service or find another transportation method, instead of waiting.
Missing the bus by 1 minute
During all three of my observations, some people arrived at Stand G less than a minute after the previous
bus had departed. That is rather annoying as they can have to wait around for 10 - 15 minutes during peak
times, and even have to wait an hour during off-peak times. On Tuesday, 1st December, the bus began to
leave Stand G as ‘a lady runs and tries to open the sliding door’ (2009) in an attempt to catch that bus. She
failed, and the bus carried on its journey. At 14:18 on my third observation, the bus departed from Pool
Meadow Bus Station, but once again a few people were ‘already queuing at 14:19. They had missed the
bus by one minute.’ (Observation 10/12 2009).
Poor Signage
During my third observation, I noticed that the VDU at Stand G was only displaying a blue screen with white
text saying 'The Number 13 bus service now departs from Stand D'. Seeing as this usually displays the
timetable for the 36, it mean’t it was impossible for passengers to find out when the next bus would arrive.
Late buses and VDUs
I expected at least that the VDUs would display late messages concerning buses that have real-time
tracking support, however this was not the case. If the bus is late, it gets removed from the VDU one minute
after it was supposed to arrive at the bus station. This gives the passengers no information and they will be
left worrying and thinking ‘Is the 16:17 is cancelled? Is it just disappeared because it has passed the time
16:17?’ (Observation 07/12 2009). I believe that the VDU should also display when non real-time tracked
buses are late as well via other means of technology.
Secondary Research
Digital Signage
Research from Passenger Focus’ Bus Mystery Traveller report suggests that while printed timetable data is
available at the majority of bus stops, only 23% have digital signage, of which only 87% actually work
correctly (Passenger Focus 2009).
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 21
Concessionary Bus Travel
Since early 2008, people over the age of 60 have been entitled to ‘free off-peak bus travel anywhere in
England.’ (Passenger Focus 2009). While research from their Concessionary Bus Travel report suggests that
the new initiative has ‘encouraged great use by pass-holders, particularly in their local area’, only 13% of
these passengers have actually made journeys outside of their local area. The report concludes this is due
to three main reasons as shown in Table 19.
No. Reason
1 General anxiety about travelling on unfamiliar bus services
2 Perceived lack of information on bus timetables, service frequencies and stops
3 Longer journey times by bus in comparison to car
Table 3 Reasons for non-use (Passenger Focus 2009)
Figure 19 Reasons for bus usage out of the local area (Passenger Focus 2009)
Issues with bus services
In 2007, the Department for Transport released the Health-Related Travel Difficulties document that
provided an insight into the difficulties faced by the general public. Of those who had issues with public
transport stated the reasons shown in Figure 20. The final two issues is what this assignment focuses on.
Figure 20 Issues with bus services (Department for Transport 2007)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Friends & FamilyShopping
RecreationHoliday
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%Getting to bus stop
Getting on or off bus
Standing waiting
Getting to and from seatIdentifying destinationFinding timetable info
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 22
RedesignVisual Display Unit
Stand G 13:25
Service Destination Arrival Time
36 Keresley Village 3 mins
13 Prologis Park 4 mins
36 Keresley Village 10 mins
13 Prologis Park 14 mins
1 The next arrival for each bus service at a stand will be significantly
larger than other ones to make it easier for passengers to see the
next bus.
2 Later buses appear in smaller font as when passengers check the
VDU, they check to see when the next bus is, not the bus that will
arrive after three others.
1
2
VDU Redesign
Colour contrast has been kept because research has proven it to be a good contrast.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 23
Interactive Journey Planner
Introduction & Main Screens
1In
tro
du
ctio
n s
cre
en
to
th
e in
tera
ctive
men
u s
cre
en
.
2P
ass
en
ger
pla
ces
Bu
s P
ass
on
th
e s
cre
en
to
activa
te it
an
d lo
ad
an
y
pre
fere
nces.
Th
ese
inclu
de c
on
trast
ch
an
ge f
or
dis
ab
led
use
rs.
Pla
ce B
us P
ass
Her
e
Get
Sta
rted
1
Intr
oduc
tion
Scre
en to
Jou
rney
Pla
nner
Sys
tem
Use
Jou
rney
Pla
nner
w
ithou
t a b
us p
ass
2
3
3A
llow
s p
ass
en
gers
with
ou
t a b
us
pass
- o
r th
ose
wh
o d
on
't w
an
t
pers
on
al d
ata
to
be u
sed
- t
o u
se t
he J
ou
rney
Pla
nn
er
syst
em
.
1L
oo
ks
at
all
you
r re
cen
t jo
urn
eys
an
d
inclu
des
them
h
ere
fo
r
tim
eta
blin
g in
form
atio
n a
nd
oth
er
deta
ils.
2A
llow
s p
ass
en
ger
to p
lan
a n
ew
jo
urn
ey
that
they
have
neve
r ta
ken
befo
re.
Exit
Your
usu
al jo
urne
ys
Plan
a n
ew jo
urne
y
Purc
hase
a b
us p
ass
Welc
om
e b
ack T
ho
mas
36 -
13:2
5O
n Ti
me
36 -
13:3
55
min
del
ay
1 2 3
3M
akes
it e
asi
er
for
pass
en
gers
to
pu
rch
ase
bu
s p
ass
es
an
d r
en
ew
old
on
es.
4
4P
rovi
des
qu
ick a
ccess
to
tim
eta
blin
g i
nfo
rmatio
n a
bo
ut
the b
use
s
the s
yste
m p
red
icts
th
e u
ser
will
be t
akin
g.
5E
xits
an
d lo
gs
ou
t o
f th
eir a
cco
un
t. A
fter
30
seco
nd
s o
f n
on
-use
th
e
syst
em
au
tom
atically
clo
ses
the p
revi
ou
s u
ser'
s p
rofile
.
Poss
ible
sec
urity
an
d tr
ust i
ssue
.
Pred
icts
bas
ed o
n tim
e, d
ate
and
curr
ent l
ocat
ion.
Mai
n Sc
reen
to J
ourn
ey P
lann
er S
yste
m
5
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 24
Usual Journeys & New Journey Screens
1Lo
oks
at
the
curr
ent
day
and
p
rovi
des
the
bus
route
s th
at
the
pass
eng
er
usu
ally
use
s o
n t
hat
day.
2Lo
oks
for
oth
er
bus
route
s th
at
the p
ass
eng
er
reg
ula
rly
takes
and
pro
vid
es
quic
k a
ccess
to
tho
se.
<< B
ack
36 P
ool M
eado
w -
08:3
5
3Ta
kes
the u
ser
back t
o t
he m
ain
scre
en.
Usua
l Jou
rney
s Sc
reen
to J
ourn
ey P
lann
er S
yste
m
On
a M
ond
ay y
ou
usua
lly t
ake
...
36 K
eres
ley
Villa
ge -
17:4
5
On
oth
er d
ays
you
usua
lly t
ake
...
13 P
rolo
gis
Park
- Va
rious
Tim
es
1 2
3
1A
llow
s th
e u
ser
to s
earc
h b
y lo
catio
n v
ia p
ost
co
de,
city
nam
e,
or
a
map
vie
w.
2S
ho
ws
the p
ass
eng
er
all
the a
ttra
ctio
ns
and
go
od
outing
s in
the
local a
rea.
<< B
ack
Loca
tion
Sear
ch
3P
rovi
des
easy
access
to
all
the r
est
aura
nts
and
pub
s in
the l
ocal
are
a.Ne
w J
ourn
eys
Scre
en to
Jou
rney
Pla
nner
Sys
tem
Whe
re d
o y
ou
wan
t to
go
to
day
?
Loca
l Attr
actio
ns
Hun
gry?
5
Shop
ahol
ic?
1
4S
ho
ws
the p
ass
eng
er
where
all
the lo
cal s
ho
pp
ing
are
as
are
.
2
34
5Ta
kes
the u
ser
back t
o t
he m
ain
scre
en.
This
sec
tion
was
des
igne
d fo
r vis
itors
to th
e lo
cal a
rea
and
for t
he
OAP
s w
ho g
et a
free
bus
pas
s an
d w
ant t
o try
and
vis
it ne
w a
reas
. Th
is n
ot o
nly
info
rms
the
pass
enge
r of t
he lo
catio
n an
d th
e bu
s se
rvic
e to
use
, but
als
o pr
ovid
es id
eas
for v
isits
.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 25
Local Attractions Screen
1 Provides a list of possible attraction types in a menu form. Allows
the user to drill down in options
2 Takes the user back a level.
<< Back
Local Attractions Screen to Journey Planner System
Local Attractions
Sports Museums
Cinemas Bars & Pubs
Places of Worship Art Galleries
21
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 26
Detailed New Journey Screen
1S
om
e
basi
c
info
rmatio
n
ab
ou
t th
e
locatio
n
the
pass
en
ger
is
inte
rest
ed
in.
2In
form
s th
e u
ser
of
all
the b
use
s re
quired
to
vis
it t
he lo
catio
n.
<< B
ack
3A
llow
s th
e u
ser
to p
rint
off
the r
eq
uired
buse
s, t
he d
ep
art
ure
tim
es
and
where
they
dep
art
fro
m.
Det
aile
d N
ew J
ourn
eys
Scre
en to
Jou
rney
Pla
nner
Sys
tem
Ric
oh
Are
na
4A
llow
s th
e u
ser
to t
ext
them
selv
es
the i
nfo
rmatio
n f
or
the r
eq
uired
buse
s, t
he d
ep
art
ure
tim
es
and
where
they
dep
art
fro
m.
Wo
uld
allo
w
use
r to
ente
r th
eir o
wn n
um
ber
or
use
a s
ave
d n
um
ber
fro
m B
us
Pass
info
rmatio
n.
5Ta
kes
the u
ser
back a
leve
l.
Hos
ting
the
Sky
Blu
es, t
he
Ric
oh A
rena
is a
32,
000
seat
er
stad
ium
with
a s
hop
pin
g ce
ntre
and
a c
asin
o at
tach
ed
to it
. Op
ened
for
seve
ral y
ears
, it
has
host
ed m
any
grea
t p
erfo
rmin
g ar
tists
suc
h as
Ta
ke T
hat.
Bus
es R
equi
red
Prin
tSe
nd to
M
obile
!
5
14
- 14:
15O
n Ti
me
13 -
13:3
5O
n Ti
me
2
34
May
nee
d to
mak
e it
mor
e ob
viou
s th
at it
requ
ires
two
buse
s to
get
ther
e. C
ould
lo
ok li
ke it
requ
ires
eith
er o
f th
e bu
ses
and
not b
oth.
Mes
sage
s
You
need
to c
atch
the
13 @
13
:15
from
Sta
nd D
, and
th
en c
atch
the
4 @
14:
15 b
y th
e Ke
resl
ey P
ub.
Mis
sed
a bu
s? T
ext u
s ba
ck.
I hav
e m
isse
d th
e 4
@
14:1
5
Stay
at t
he s
ame
bus
stop
. Th
e ne
xt 4
arri
ves
at 1
4:25
.
Exam
ple
Text
Mes
sage
Sce
nario
6
7
8
6A
n e
xam
ple
text
mess
ag
e t
hat
the s
erv
ice w
ould
send
.
7A
natu
ral l
ang
uag
e q
uery
sent
by
the p
ass
eng
er.
8A
re
spo
nse
to
th
e
query
, p
rovi
din
g
ass
ista
nce
by
info
rmin
g
the
pass
eng
er
of
ano
ther
arr
ival t
ime.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 27
Busy Bus Mobile Device
BusTracker
The next 36 bus looks very busy. What would you like to do?
Catch the bus anyway
Show time for next bus
Busy Bus Indicator
Uses CCTV footage for a good public purpose 1
2
3
1 Shows a slightly delayed image from the CCTV cameras to
show how busy it is. Uses AI to work out whether a lot of
people are waiting for the bus.
2 Tells the system that the passenger will get the bus.
3 Provides the passenger with the arrival time of the next 36
bus service.
This was designed for passengers who arrive for the very busy buses. The system predicts what buses that the
passenger is likely to get on. For example, if at 17:00 a user is always in Pool Meadow and catches the next available 36, the system will inform the passenger of buses around that time
period.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 28
Bus Stopper Mobile Device
BusTracker
At your current pact you will reach the bus stop in 1 minute.
Ask the bus driver to wait?
Bus Stopper
Uses the GPS on modern smartphones
and on the bus1
1 A map showing the current location of the passenger, the
bus stop and the bus itself.
2 The user's location using GPS.
3 The bus' location using GPS.
2
4 The bus stop location.
5 Will tell the bus driver to wait 1 minute for the passenger.
34
Bus Stop
Wait Ignore
6 The system will ignore the request and not inform the bus
driver.
5 6
Uses a built-in pedometer to track how fast the user is walking and how long it will take for them to reach the stop. Will not wait for
more than 1 minute.
BusTracker
7 Informs the passenger how long they have left before the
bus leaves.
8 Allows the user to cancel the request, letting the bus
depart.
9 Allows the user to view the timetable for that bus service.
You have
20seconds
before the bus leaves
Cancel Request
View Timetable
7
The system predicts what buses that the passenger is likely to get on. For example, if at 17:00 a user is always in Pool Meadow and catches the next available 36, the system will
inform the passenger of buses around that time period.
This system was designed for the passengers who just miss the bus by a minute. Allowing them to ask the bus to wait will improve customer satisfaction, and will not add huge delays to the bus service. The bus driver will only be asked to stay for 1 minute, and no longer.
8
9
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 29
Text Message Solution
Messages
The next 36 at Sandpits Lane will arrive in 4 minutes time (14:26).
Waiting for the 36 into town at Sandpits Lane
2
1
1 Instead of providing a random code, the passenger can send a
natural language query to the service.
2 The service will then send a response informing the passenger how
long they will have to wait.
While this may not always work, it will improve the usability of the system as they passenger does not have to remember a random
code. By parsing the text message for key information such as the number 36, Sandpits Lane and the fact it is going into town tells the
service all it needs to know.
Text Message Scenario
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 30
ConclusionReport
Throughout this assignment, I discovered that there were several issues affecting the general public when it
comes to public transport usage. Even though the VDUs at Pool Meadow Bus Station needed a minor
revision to its design, I find it quite poor that it needed any redesign in the first place. The VDUs at the bus
station are the only method of finding out information concerning bus arrival times, and should therefore be
throughly tested to ensure they are usable.
While natural language queries are not perfect, I feel they are a significantly better option than asking the
passenger to enter a random code when trying to find out timetable information. Removing the random
code with natural language also makes it easier when the user is approaching the bus stop as they do not
need to see the printed timetable to remember the random code.
The two mobile designs I created (Busy Bus Indicator & Bus Stopper) were to show what was possible
when incorporating different technologies. While these would probably never be utilised by bus operators, I
believe they are a good way to improve customer satisfaction.
Issues
The main issue I had when compiling this report was being unable to ask questions to passengers during
the observation stage. This would have allowed me to fully understand their motives, rather than attempting
to guess what they were trying to do.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 31
Appendix AResearch E-mails
Email sent to Theresa Villiers
From: "Thomas Davies" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 18:43:08 GMT
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Bus Service Statistics
Dear Theresa Villiers,
I am a second year Coventry University student and am currently researching how the general public uses
public transport. My main focus is how they can select the correct bus to catch and have up to date
information on arrival times. Following research and analysis I will recommend possible implementations
that could aid the general public in these daily tasks.
I have contacted National Express - the organisation behind Coventry's bus services - and received replies
stating they are unable to provide specific information and pointed me to their Annual Reports. While their
Annual Reports have been helpful, they haven't provided the specific information I am looking for. Following
this, I started searching through the Government's National Statistics website and found some helpful
information, but once again none of their documents have answered my queries. Recently, I have emailed
Lord Andrew Adonis, but am yet to receive a reply from his department. Therefore I was wondering whether
you could assist me in answering these questions if you have any relevant statistics.
1. How many people use your bus services in a year? (Your Annual Report says 320 million for your entire
network)
2. What percentage of travellers have a disability that could affect their travel?
3. What percentage of travellers don't class English as their first language?
4. What percentage of travellers use your bus stops or stations who are visitors to that particular city.
I appreciate your time and effort in assisting my studies.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 32
Email sent to Lord Andrew Adonis
From: "Thomas Davies" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 18:38:50 GMT
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Bus Service Statistics
Dear Rt Hon Lord Andrew Adonis,
I am a second year Coventry University student and am currently researching how the general public uses
public transport. My main focus is how they can select the correct bus to catch and have up to date
information on arrival times. Following research and analysis I will recommend possible implementations
that could aid the general public in these daily tasks.
I have contacted National Express - the organisation behind Coventry's bus services - and received replies
stating they are unable to provide specific information and pointed me to their Annual Reports. While their
Annual Reports have been helpful, they haven't provided the specific information I am looking for. Following
this, I started searching through the Government's National Statistics website and found some helpful
information, but once again none of their documents have answered my queries. Therefore I was wondering
whether you could assist me in answering these questions if you have any relevant statistics.
1. How many people use your bus services in a year? (Your Annual Report says 320 million for your entire
network)
2. What percentage of travellers have a disability that could affect their travel?
3. What percentage of travellers don't class English as their first language?
4. What percentage of travellers use your bus stops or stations who are visitors to that particular city.
I appreciate your time and effort in assisting my studies.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 33
Email sent to Passenger Focus
From: "Thomas Davies" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 18:19:05 GMT
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Bus Service Statistics
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a second year Coventry University student and am currently researching how the general public uses
public transport. My main focus is how they can select the correct bus to catch and have up to date
information on arrival times. Following research and analysis I will recommend possible implementations
that could aid the general public in these daily tasks.
I have contacted National Express - the organisation behind Coventry's bus services - and received replies
stating they are unable to provide specific information and pointed me to their Annual Reports. While their
Annual Reports have been helpful, they haven't provided the specific information I am looking for. Following
this, I started searching through the Government's National Statistics website and found some helpful
information, but once again none of their documents have answered my queries. Therefore I was wondering
whether you could assist me in answering these questions if you have any relevant statistics.
Your website contains several great pieces of documentation that will be used in my project, however I am
yet to come across any data that can answer my questions.
1. How many people use your bus services in a year? (Your Annual Report says 320 million for your entire
network)
2. What percentage of travellers have a disability that could affect their travel?
3. What percentage of travellers don't class English as their first language?
4. What percentage of travellers use your bus stops or stations who are visitors to that particular city.
I appreciate your time and effort in assisting my studies.
Yours faithfully,
Thomas
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 34
Email sent to National Express
From: "Thomas Davies" <[email protected]>
Date: 17 November 2009 22:06:36 GMT
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Coventry Service Statistics
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a second year Coventry University student and am currently researching how the general public uses
public transport. My main focus is how they can select the correct bus to catch and have up to date
information on arrival times. Following research and analysis I will recommend possible implementations
that could aid the general public in these daily tasks.
Therefore, I was wondering whether you could answer a few questions of mine. I would prefer if these could
be Coventry specific, but would be fine with general National Express bus statistics.
1. How many people use your bus services in a year? (Your Annual Report says 320 million for your entire
network)
2. What percentage of travellers have a disability that could affect their travel?
3. What percentage of travellers don't class English as their first language?
4. What percentage of travellers use your bus stops or stations who are visitors to that particular city.
I appreciate your time and effort in assisting my studies.
Yours faithfully,
Thomas
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 35
Response from National Express
From: "Info" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 10:06:29 GMT
To: "'Thomas Davies'" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Coventry Service Statistics
Dear Thomas
Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately, we cannot bespoke questionnaires to the high number of requests we receive on a weekly
basis.
All details of our operations are available in our Annual and Corporate Responsibility reports. Both
documents can be viewed or downloaded from our website at:
http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com
Regards
NOTICE
This message and any files transmitted with it is intended for the addressee only and may contain
information that is confidential or privileged. Unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you are not the
addressee, you should not read, copy, disclose or otherwise use this message, except for the purpose of
delivery to the addressee.
Any views or opinions expressed within this e-mail are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
those of Coventry University.
****************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that all National
Express company email addresses are now of the format
[email protected]. If necessary,
please update your records accordingly.
****************************************************
Think Green!!! Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
****************************************************
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 36
Response from Travel Care
From: "Travel Care" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 13:03:11 GMT
To: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Message (General) from Thomas Davies via the NEWM contact form
Thank you for your email received at Travel Care.
Unfortunately we receive many hundreds of enquiries from students every month and are unable to respond
to individual requests.
However, for further details about our companies please visit www.nationalexpressgroup.com and feel free
to use any information.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact us.
Travel Care Team.
THANK YOU.
travelwm.co.uk automated mailer.
****************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that all National
Express company email addresses are now of the format
[email protected]. If necessary,
please update your records accordingly.
****************************************************
Think Green!!! Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
****************************************************
This e-mail contains proprietary information some or all of which may be legally privileged. It is for the
intended recipient only. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, please notify the
author by replying to this e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute,
copy, print, or rely on this e-mail. Whilst reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that this
message and any attachments are free from viruses or other malicious code, no guarantee is implied or
given. The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by National
Express Group PLC.
National Express Group PLC. Registered in England No 2590560. Registered Office: 7 Triton Square,
London, NW1 3HG.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 37
Response from Passenger Focus
From: "Advice" <[email protected]>
Date: 20 November 2009 09:35:10 GMT
To: "Thomas Davies" <[email protected]>
Subject: Bus Service Statistics(our ref: PF0-39533-4RH1)
Dear Mr Davies
Thank you for your email.
Passenger Focus is the statutory watchdog protecting and promoting the interests of rail, bus and coach
passengers.
The Secretary of State for Transport announced on 8 April 2008 that Passenger Focus will widen its role to
become the bus passenger champion in England. The Local Transport Act which gained Royal Assent on
26th November 2008 enables the Secretary of State to extend the remit of Passenger Focus through
secondary legislation. We are currently working towards our formal launch in April 2010.
From your enquiry the Department for Transport (DfT) statistics you have are the best source of
independent data. We unfortunately do not hold the data that you are seeking. We would recommend
though to keep an eye on our website at www.passengerfocus.org.uk for future research material when we
publish in the Spring 2010.
For further information towards what you are seeking we would recommend contacting the DfT to see if
they have any further information that they have not already published to the Government’s National
Statistics website.
Thank you for contacting Passenger Focus.
Kind regards
Steve Rhodes
Passenger Adviser
Passenger Focus
The independent passenger watchdog
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 38
Response from Theresa Villiers
From: "Theresa Villiers" <[email protected]>
Date: 18 November 2009 18:43:10 GMT
Subject: Re: Bus Service Statistics
Thank you for your email. This is an automatically generated response sent to all emails to this address.
If you are resident in the Chipping Barnet constituency, it is very important that you include your name and
address in your email. Unless I receive these details, I will not be able to respond fully to your concerns.
If you are a constituent and have provided your postal address, I will aim to ensure that you receive a
response as quickly as possible.
If your email relates to my front bench duties as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, I appreciate your
taking the trouble to set out your views and will send you a fuller response in due course, if I feel this to be
appropriate.
Many thanks for taking the time to contact me.
Best regards,
Theresa Villiers MP
--
Office of Theresa Villiers MP
Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet and Shadow Secretary of State
for Transport
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Tel 020 8449 7345
Fax 020 8449 7346
www.theresavilliers.co.uk
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 39
Appendix BQuestionnaire
Example
QuestionnaireIntroduction
Thank you for taking part in this questionnaire. By signing this form, you are allowing the results of this
questionnaire to be included - anonymously - in an academic report.
........................................! ! ....................Name! ! ! ! ! Date
What gender are you?
Male � Female �
Which age range do you fit into?
Under 20 � 20 - 29 � 30 - 39 � 40 - 49 � 50 - 59 � 60 or above �
Public Transport
How regularly do you use buses?
Less than one a week � 2 / 3 times a week � 4 times a week � Everyday �
Do you use any of the printed timetable data at the bus stops?
Yes � No � Don’t know �
! If you selected Yes for the above question
! ! How useful is it? Is it always up to date and correct?
! ! ✎! If you selected No for the above question
! ! Why do you not use the printed timetable data?
! ! ✎Do any of the bus stops or bus stations you use have digital bus
arrival signage?
Yes � No � Don’t know �
! If you selected Yes for the above question
! ! How useful is it? Does it inform you of late
! ! buses?
" " ✎
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 40
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 41
Have you used their SMS (texting) service or mobile internet services to see what time the next bus
will arrive at?
Yes � No � Don’t know �
! If you selected Yes for the above question
! ! How useful is it? Is it easy to use?
! ! ✎! If you selected No for the above question
! ! Why have you not used these services?
! ! ✎
Subject A Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 42
Subject B Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 43
Subject C Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 44
Subject D Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 45
Subject E Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 46
Subject F Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 47
Subject G Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 48
Subject H Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 49
Subject I Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 50
Subject J Answers
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 51
Appendix CObservations
LocationLocation Date Time
Stand G Bus 36 Thursday, 10th December 2009 14:10
• Last week, Stand G housed both the 36 and the 13. But a few days ago the 13 switched to Stand D. The
digital signage at Stand G shows a blue screen with white text stating 'The Number 13 bus service now
departs from Stand D'. It does not change to show the next, expected bus, so users don't know when
the next 36 will arrive.
• Not many people are waiting, currently only 5 waiting for the 14:17 bus. A lady with a wheelchair is also
waiting. She has no indication whether the next bus accommodates wheelchairs or whether there are
enough wheelchair space on the next bus.
• 14:17 bus arrived one minute early. Bus departs at 14:18. Two minute period to catch the bus.
• Next bus expected at 14:29. 4 people already queuing at 14:19. Missed the bus by one minute. 1
teenager, 1 middle-aged woman, 2 OAPs.
• Two ladies decide to catch another service instead of waiting, but depending on where they want to go
they might have to walk part of the way.
• The majority of people coming to Stand G check the VDU, but are not shown any timetabling information.
• A young lady joins the small queue at 14:25. She does not check the signage. Maybe she is a common
traveller on the service?
• The 14:29 bus arrives at 14:26. All people queuing easily get on the bus. Another woman walks onto the
bus. A teenager and his dog also goes on the bus. The bus leaves the station at 14:29.
• 4 people are confused at what stand the 13 bus service leaves the station. Poorly signed?
• At 14:30, a young girl approaches Stand G. She has just missed the 36 by one minute. She is joined by a
middle-aged man at 14:31.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 52
LocationLocation Date Time
Stand G Bus 36 Monday, 7th December 2009 16:10
• While approaching Stand G, the 16:05 bus leaves the bus station. The bus appears to be very busy.
• 16:17 is the next bus. By 16:07, a line begins to build up. 10 people are waiting for the next bus. Missed
the 16:05 bus by two minutes. The queue consists of 6 secondary school students, 2 middle-aged men
and 2 OAPs.
• The scene at Stand G is rather congested by 16:10. There is no formal queue anymore, as dozens of
students await their bus. Unable to confirm whether they are waiting for the 16:17 Number 36 bus.
• Positioned near the doors of Stand G, 3 mothers with wheelchairs are waiting to catch the 36.
• Some of those joining one of the two queues forming for the 36 attempt to check the VDU to see when
the next bus will arrive. Because the station is very busy, many people are unable to view the VDU and
are therefore unaware of when it will arrive.
• At 16:16, I estimate around 50 people, mainly students are around the Stand G area. Still unable to
confirm whether they are waiting for the 16:17 bus.
• The bus is not here as it becomes 16:17. According to the VDU, the 16:17 bus does not have real-time
tracking available as it only shows the time the bus is expected to arrive. Doesn’t state the bus is late.
• By 16:18 the 16:17 bus disappears from the VDU, to be replaced by the 16:28 as the next available arrival
time. Is the 16:17 is cancelled? Is it just disappeared because it has passed the time 16:17? The VDU
does not inform travellers of this.
• At 16:19 the bus arrives, two minutes late. Everyone waiting manages to get onto the bus apart from one
of the mothers. All available wheelchair spaces have been taken up. She has to wait till the 16:28 or find
other means of transport.
• The bus departs at 16:21. I’m on my way home!
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 53
LocationLocation Date Time
Stand G Bus 36 Tuesday, 1st December 2009 08:45
• Nobody is currently waiting for the 08:53 bus. The 08:43 departed just before I arrived.
• At 8:50, no one has yet to wait for the next bus. Early morning, more people entering the city centre than
leaving?
• A young man sits down at Stand G at 8:51. He checks the VDU to see that in two minutes, the next bus
will arrive.
• The 8:53 arrives on time and several people get off the bus before the man enters. At 8:54 the bus starts
to pull off from Stand G. A lady runs and tries to open the sliding door to try and get onto the 8:53 bus.
Bus driver does not stop. There was only a one minute period to catch the bus.
• She sits down but doesn’t check what time the next bus will arrive.
• The next bus will enter bus station at 09:07. The lady has 13 minutes to wait.
• An old gentleman stands next to the lady at 09:01. He checks the VDU.
• They are joined by two secondary school children. Late for school! Do they have to catch two buses and
the first was late?
• The 09:07 bus arrives at 09:05. 4 OAPs leave the bus. The 4 people waiting get on.
• The bus leaves at 09:06. 1 minute earlier than it should have done. Why?
• No one arrives between that 1 minute gap.
• Next bus is 10 minutes away.
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 54
ReferencesApple Inc., 2008. iPhone Human Interface Guidelines. 3rd ed. Cupertino, California: Apple Inc.
Benyon, D., Turner, P., Turner, S., 2005. Designing Interactive Systems. 1st ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Ltd.
Davies, T., 2009. Observation 10/12. [Observation]
Davies, T., 2009. Observation 01/12. [Observation]
Davies, T., 2009. Observation 07/12. [Observation]
Department for Transport, 2007. Health-Related Travel Difficulties. [Research]
Friedman, B., Kahn, P. H., Borning, A., 2003. Value Sensitive Design: Theory and Methods. University of Washington
ITS UK, 2009. February 2009 Newsletter. [PDF Newsletter] Available from: http://www.its-uk.org.uk/filelibrary/ITS-_UK_-NL-Feb09.pdf[accessed 12 December 2009]
National Express Group PLC, 2009. National Express Coventry. [Webpage] A v a i l a b l e f r o m : h t t p : / /www.nationalexpressgroup.co.uk/nx1/companies/co_uk/coventry/[accessed 17 November 2009]
National Express Group PLC, 2008. National Express Group PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2008.
Network West Midlands, 2009. Network West Midlands - Real Time. [Webpage] A v a i l a b l e f r o m : h t t p : / /www.networkwestmid lands.com/rea l t ime/indexrealtime.aspx[accessed 12 December 2009]
Nielsen, J., Mack, R., 1994. Usability Inspection Methods. 1st ed. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Nokia, 2006. Mobile Game Playability Heuristics. 1st ed. Finland: Nokia
Passenger Focus, 2009. Concessionary Bus Travel. [Research] Available from: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/bus-and-coach/content.asp?dsid=2628[accessed 17 December 2009]
Passenger Focus, [email protected], Bus Service Statistics. [Email]. Message to Davies, T.. Sent on 20 November 2009. [accessed 23 November 2009]
Passenger Focus, 2009. Bus Mystery Traveller Research. [Research] Available from: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/bus-and-coach/content.asp?dsid=2648[accessed 17 December 2009]
RTIG, 2006. Meeting the Needs of Disabled Travellers. Department for Transport
Saffer, D., 2007. Designing for Interaction. 1st ed. Berkeley, CA: Pearson Education Ltd.
Scharff, L., 1996. Color Test. [Webpage] Available from: http://www.laurenscharff.com/research/survreslts.html[accessed 13 December 2009]
Scholtz, J., Consolvo, S., 2004. Towards a Discipline for Evaluating Ubiquitous Computing Applications. Intel Research
Sharp, H., Rogers, Y., Preece, J., 2007. Interaction Design. 2nd ed. England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
S u b j e c t A , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t A A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t C , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t C A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t D , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t D A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t E , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t E A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t F, 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t F A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t G , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t G A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
S u b j e c t J , 2 0 0 9 . S u b j e c t J A n s w e r s . [Questionnaire]
T r a v e l C a r e T e a m , [email protected], Coventry Service Statistics. [Email]. Message to Davies, T.. Sent on 17 November 2009. [accessed 18 November 2009]
Redesigning Pervasive Computing 55