? HUMAN SCALE ? ?
NAVIGATION
Rebalancing our relationship with technology in navigation Lawrence Richards 2016 MDes Service Design Innovation London College of Communication
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Human Scale Navigation
Acknowledgements I would like to thank all my tutors for guidance and encouragement on this project; Phillippa Rose, Hena Ali, Cordula Friedlander, as well as other teaching and assistant staff. To my classmates for their input into group sessions and coworking sessions I am thankful for their enthusiasm, opinions and knowledge. I am grateful for all the opportunities and experiences I managed to be involved with over the course of the project; Geovation, UCL, numerous site visits to transport authorities and to the knowledge school. Without the input and help of many many volunteers; friends, friends of friends and even complete strangers, in the stages of user research, development and especially prototyping, this project wouldn’t have been half as successful as it was. To all involved – I thank you and I owe you a drink.
Introduction
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Contents Abstract 4 Introduction 6 Gap 12 Opportunity 13 Modern technology in navigation
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Traditional navigation
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Rebalancing our approach to navigational technology
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Harnessing the need to navigate ourselves
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Health benefits
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Value proposition
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Design approach
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Discover 26 Research spheres
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Test of interest
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User Research: Bus driver interviews
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User Research: Taxi drivers/knowledge school
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User Research: Commute maps
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User Research: Experience maps
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User Research: Focus groups
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User Research: Co-insight user journeys
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Research experiences
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Define 46 Survey 48
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Survey insights
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Pen personas
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Persona defining
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Persona workshop
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Persona 1
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Persona 2
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Persona 3
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Using personas to define
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Human Scale Navigation
Develop 68 User motivations for development
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Prototype 1
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Prototype 2a
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Prototype 2b
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Prototype 3
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Prototype 4
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Prototype 5
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Prototype 6
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Prototype 7
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Benchmarks 88 Co-design workshop
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Pre-delivery specification
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Deliver 98 Service proposal
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Service stages
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User journey
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App user experience
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Service blueprint
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Additional features
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Benefits to 3rd party stakeholders
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SWOT analysis
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Categories of user
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Conclusion 116 Bibliography 118 Appendices A-F
Introduction
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Abstract “I think people have an inner navigation system… and when it goes wrong, the most amazing things happen” (Jonsson) This project was born out of the belief that although modern tools for navigation were becoming increasingly comprehensive, technical and accurate, they lacked certain human centred functions that reflect how the majority of users both conceive of navigation, through mapping and planning journeys, through to actual movement and navigation in the physical world. The hypothesis is; as technology becomes more integral to modern urban navigation, our innate human spatial memory decreases. “The more we rely on technology to find our way, the less we build up our cognitive maps. Life becomes a series of strip maps: we see the way from A to Z, but we don’t see the landmarks along the way” (Milner, p132) There is also a growing consensus that the better navigation technology becomes, the more universally users rely on it to find their way, and in turn the more they forget traditional skills of self direction, orientation and navigation. As a result there might be a decline in remembering where you have been and how you have got there. This report will explore these ideas through a service design methodology.
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Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
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Introduction “We have come to depend on a technology that, in theory, makes it impossible to get lost. But not only are we still getting lost, we may actually be losing a part of ourselves.” (Death by gps; The Guardian)”
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Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
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Introduction
Navigation technology has reduced the concept of being ‘lost’ because of always having a device that will tell us the way, yet in the absence of it we become more lost than ever (Milner, 115). By not practising how to navigate and remember where we are in the city, we expose ourselves to the potential for being let down by technology. It is time to question how useful technology really is in navigating, and removing elements that aren’t so useful, whilst maintaining the benefit. One user interviewed said “If my phone isn’t working, then I can’t go to a place I haven’t been before” because they hadn’t the ability to navigate without a phone. In the absence of our phones we are actually more stuck than ever. Equally some users felt that if they had to use their phones they would almost certainly be lost already, highlighting the variance in opinion. These points highlight the ability for good technology to be actually unuseful, building a sense of fear either in its absence or in it’s presence. We have become both lost without the technology, and lost when we have it. Whilst there are little downsides to modern mapping technology, the absence of it alone forces users to instantly panic, and the unreliability of technology can undermine the benefit of mapping apps on mobile devices. Situations where devices run out of battery are common (The Guardian; iPhone 7 review) and there is always the possibility of losing you device, or being without reception/data. Apps and websites that we now rely on to navigate aren’t completely foolproof; although infrequent there are numerous occasions where navigation softwares have oversimplified or made short cuts in journeys. There is even a term used when a driver uses gps that misinterprets a geographic map called ‘death by gps’ (The Guardian, Pinpoint) due to overzealous technology reliance in unfamiliar places. Modern navigation technology seeks to make safe the environment by offering a universal mapping ecosystem, to provide a easy to use and standardised system for users to be a part of. But in doing this it can easily oversimplify what can be just plain complicated roads, paths or terrains. In fact it is “often too right, taking you on paths that aren’t still open, ignoring new changes or things that could only be garnered by local knowledge” (Milner, p113). In trying to make it easier and simpler for the user – such that they need not any practical map reading or orienteering skills – it can make it far more complicated and even dangerous.
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Human Scale Navigation
Users of GPS technology now take it for granted. It is important that users are critical of their environment, and notice things that might tell them that things are off, that something is wrong, that they have gone the wrong way (Milner, p114). These are the times when checking in with technology is a good thing, because we aren’t relying on technology to get us somewhere, but allowing it to inform our decision making. It is times when we rely on it unwaveringly that it becomes problematic and even dangerous, with a number of cases of ‘death by GPS’ situations where people adhere to the commands of a GPS which results in them getting into difficulties (Milner, p113). Technology therefore allows users to be lazy, and rely on it, being aware of what you are doing however clearly has many advantages. I have been for a long time interested in examples when human navigation goes wrong. Instances where we get lost, lose our sense of direction, become confused or misinterpret signs or maps due to either lack of skill or experience in using the tools to navigate, or by cognitive confusion occurs at the interpretation of these maps.
Introduction
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Introduction
These are examples of 2 separate incidents where Uber drivers have sent friends on entirely long winded journeys around London and New York. This shows one of the problems with GPS that it can take you on paths that aren’t still open, ignoring new changes or things that could only be garnered by local knowledge (Milner, p113). Examples like this prove at least somewhat that gps hasn’t removed our ability to get lost, and might even made it easier to get lost in newly conceived ways. “We have come to depend on GPS, a technology that, in theory, makes it impossible to get lost. But not only are we still getting lost, we may actually be losing a part of ourselves.” (Milner, p115)
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Human Scale Navigation
The accuracy of mapping applications can also act as a way of limiting potential exploration or personal freedom in finding your way. Tourist maps, whilst limited and clichĂŠ, did at least allow the user to wander their own way. With apps now allowing quick place to place travel Tourists are loosing any unique experience by travelling the exact same routes as each other.
Here a friend is forced to go home after his phone dies, resulting in complete confusion as to where he is and what was happening. Like so many modern journeys technology was relied on and in it’s absence there was no back up plan.
Introduction
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Gap
There are few if any navigation apps that allow users to even part rely on their own innate sense of direction, or ability to self navigate. Therefore there is a distinct gap in the market to provide tools that offer a certain amount of freedom to explore rather than being simply told where to go and being forced to take the information word for word for fear of getting it wrong. This gap can harness ideas of self navigation, challenge, fitness and urban discovery to encourage users to step out of their comfort zone and try a new experience.
Technology reliant/linear
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Human Scale Navigation
Opportunity
The opportunity for such a service is clearly in rebalancing our exposure to technology in regards to navigation. It has become to an extent oversaturated, and the benefit of self navigation has been lost. The following sections will explore the main concepts and opportunities of the project. There is also a trend in technology of providing less rather than more, with simplified devices, services and tools to provide the same outcome with less distraction, and less unnecessary information. Devices from punkt (www. punkt.ch/en/) actively make ‘dumb’ devices, that are simplified to allow less distraction. Intrusive applications and services are shunned, and a sense of self reliance is now more desirable. Harnessing this minimal aesthetic, and DIY mentality will allow user buy in to a service that offers an entirely new perspective on navigation.
Self reliant/personal
Introduction
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Modern Technology in Navigation The rise of applications that seek to provide the most efficient route sets a somewhat dangerous precedent. Without challenging our ability to know where we are “We lack reference points, stable spots that anchor our position in the world.” (Milner, p132) Local commutes are becoming more boring compounded by the fact their commute is decided upon factors of speed and efficiency, removing any chance for an interesting or alternate route being offered by the software because it would be 5 mins too slow. We are now obsessed not with the quality or experience of the journey; but simply with the time it takes to get there. It becomes a case of how much our time is worth to us as Kevin Lynch explains “..we might say that almost everyone can, if attentive, learn to navigate [for example] in Jersey City, but only at the cost of some effort and uncertainty” (Image of the City, p5). Often we don’t care that much for learning the city, we just care about getting to where we need to be next, without experiencing the part in between. But without being observant to the world around us we are at risk of forgetting where we have been and how to get back to places we have been before. “my sonalways has the navigation system on in the car and the map app keeps directing him. It’s interesting to see that even when we’ve been to the place before, he can’t recollect the route because he was only following the voice and wasn’t really paying attention.” (guardian science journal) There is a behavioural change also with using phones constantly to check our direction is correct, we are on the right path or bus. Constantly checking poses risk to phones getting stolen, it makes you a target, it makes you bump into other people. You also are also less likely to see potential danger coming. In terms of experiencing a place, using your phone to navigate means you not see as much of your environment, you don’t learn where you are, or the important features or landmarks of your environment. There is an element of mystery or serendity that is lost if applying a very utilitarian approach to navigation, where you are always looking for efficient safe routes, leading to potentially missing interesting things or subjective opportunities.
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Traditional Navigation “I’ve got a calculator on my phone, doesn’t make me an accountant, having a sat nav doesn’t make you a taxi driver” – A London cabbie Getting around before technology meant actively preparing and plotting your route, and to know somewhere you had to physically go there and experience it. Even the A-Z had to be methodically walked to understand the visual look of the streets and to be able to plot that experience of walking those streets onto a flat map (Telegraph). People might write directions, or draw a simplified map to remind them. A bus driver that was interviewed explained how no gps is provided on bus routes so he would have to refer to his notebook for maps that he had drawn to help negotiate complicated intersections. Actions such as these reinforce our awareness of our location and direction. Using home made maps offer stability to users “they aggregate information [Spatial, experience] about the environment into one reference frame, and organise multiple navigational experiences into one reliable structure” (Death by Gps; The Guardian). This can be remembered and referred to, as a back up, or as a means of reference, a mental map, that scientists have said “support the popular belief that people have access to something like a map in their heads”. (Milner, p131) As most modern users neglect to do this, there is a risk of losing our stable reference points in the world. This could lead to feeling more lost than ever when removed from our navigation tools. There are 2 types of map in cognitive geography, they are: Strip maps; is a visual map that depicts only the spacial relationship between two points: an unbroken line surrounded by blank space on the paper (Milner, p116 / Tolman). This is analogous with how for example city-mapper shows a journey as a simple line of intention, reducing the map to an abstract concept. Cognitive maps; are mental map, it has depth not only of a simple line, but many lines, and a number of waypoints, landmarks and visual cues that are dependant on context. It “becomes a comprehensive map, so that the organism can now visualise the orientation of point A to point B, point B to point C, and so on” (Milner, p116). This allows a user to truly ‘know’ an area, and navigate independently to different points in a place without relying on outside sources.
Introduction
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Traditional Navigation When talking to taxi drivers learning the knowledge, time and again they would talk about having to “go out on the road and learn the streets”, no matter how much time was spent in the classroom looking at 2d maps of London; an actual physical experience of being there and seeing what it was like had to happen. This is the creation of memories of places, called cognitive maps, that are different from person to person and record their experience of a place. Jonsson explains,“when we first explore an area, we make a cognitive map of it, a map that guides us on later visits. Most of it takes place automatically in the unconscious part of our mind: we are not truly aware of what’s going on.” (Jonsson, p21). These experience maps of going somewhere then work in unison with our knowledge of the geographical map of those places. In an article from the Science Direct journal, it was found that GPS users travelled more slowly, made larger errors in direction, sketched maps with poorer topological accuracy and rated navigation tasks as more difficult compared with those using paper maps, when tasked with following a route. (Science Direct journal) Having to look at maps that show ‘landmarks’ in relation to other places, helps to prepare the foundation for the cognitive map when it develops during the journey. The alternative of looking at phones for this information can easily “impact how much we are attending to and encoding environmental information, such as landmarks, which might lead to poorer memory useful for navigation” (The national). A study in Japan tested three groups of their ability to recall information about a route using different tools. One group already had walked the route, the second used gps solely, the third used a paper map to find their way. The results showed the gps users to be the slowest, most steps taken and poorest recall of memory of the configuration and topology of the route. “GPS was less effective than maps and direct experience as support for smooth navigation” (Milner, p129) A similar test with drivers using gps found they had less environmental engagement, concluding that “GPS eliminated much of the need to pay attention” (Milner, p129). This evidence shows that traditional navigation might be a lot slower, and require more planning and effort, but the result was a more lasting memory of the journey taken.
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Rebalancing our approach to navigational technology At every instant there is more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear, a setting or a view waiting to be explored. Nothing is experienced by itself, but always in relation to its surrounding, the sequences of events leading up to it, the memory of past experiences” (Lynch, p1) There is worry, that without considering the basic skill of orientation, we risk forgetting completely the ability to find our way, losing our freedom to wander, to explore and roam (Milner, p115). This research seeks to bring people back in touch with an innate need to orient oneself in the environment, perhaps in conjunction with technology, but never relying on it, so that they might imagine they are actually exploring, on the edge of the unknown or experiencing something afresh. But what is lost in modern navigation? The innovation of navigation and transit has pushed for efficiency and for speed, neglecting the ability to appreciate or understand the journey along the way. From better clothing that allowed us to move direct through swamps (Jonsson, p78), to apps that allow us to move direct through streets, each improvement has sought to make the process more linear, for the purposes of removing downtime, and removing fear of getting lost. “Creating a spatial map in your mind allows you to find new routes and identify shortcuts, whereas a step-by-step navigation strategy, relying on external cues, doesn’t necessarily allow for flexibility or learning the environment.” (The National) So there is potentially a downside to efficiency. We have become spoilt by the amount of innovation in navigation. From topographical maps, to compasses, to gps systems, we now no longer believe we have the basic navigation practices that our predecessors had, an believe instinctive navigation to be impossible (Jonsson, p157). We have potentially gained some time, but lost a lot of skill. The more we rely on technology to find our way, the less we build up our cognitive maps. Life becomes a series of strip maps: “we see the way from A to Z, but we don’t see the landmarks along the way” (Milner, p132). The limitation of efficiency then, is the lack of detail in the experience in between point A and point B. Without this, it becomes difficult for people to remember and self navigate.
Introduction
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Rebalancing our approach to navigational technology cont. In remote situations people just say ‘they know’ when asked how they navigate from place to place with no technology, not even a map or compass, and with very little landmarks (Jonsson, p132). The process is mythical, but it is certainly learnt. It can be improved and perhaps in remote locations uses natural inputs, the sun, wind and shape of the land to tell direction (Jonsson, p117). Jonsson makes the observation that even when there are few if any indications of direction or location, there is always something to guide us, if only we are attuned to it, for example if we are native to that environment (Jonsson, p121). Similarly, if one is native to an urban environment, there must be ways of tuning our innate awareness to actually work for us, and be able to navigate without over thinking, or relying on technology. A city dweller might might notice differences in building facades, pavement patterns or window styles (Jonsson, p85) for example, similar to how a woodsman notices differences in trees, and land formations (Jonsson, p83) or an Inuit might derive awareness of location based on weather effects on the snow (Jonsson, p86). But for urban residents – where technology is most prevalent and used – it will require relearning, because we have for so long relied on external means of practicing it. In the book Inner Navigation, cerebral vs intuitive navigation is discussed. Jonsson makes the point that there are two types of navigation, cerebral vs intuitive, and usually technology plays a role in the cerebral form (Jonsson, p67). Intuition is used in more remote areas, and cerebral in developed areas, and intuitive is generally seen as inaccurate, imprecise and mythical. But intuition to some extent could potentially improve our ability to self navigate, and work in conjunction with modern technology. Cerebral (tech based) and intuition (innate sense of direction) are potentially not mutually exclusive. In fact they could be multipliers of each other, improving each attribute exponentially. These points show the ability to utilise technology not as the sole input for navigation, but as part of a wider gamut of tools, including our own intuition. This shifting away from technological reliance is the crux of the rebalancing of technology, not to remove it entirely but to complement it with more traditional elements. Hugo Spiers at UCL’s spatial unit has done much research into the benefits of cab drivers in London (Youtube). His research proves that it is not the remembering of maps that improves our navigation ability, but the day to day travelling around London, which builds on that knowledge of the physical map with real world experience that truly develops our navigational skills. This evidence suggests a requirement for the user to be actively involved in the navigation process, rather than being passively watching or taking commands from a device.
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Harnessing the need to navigate ourselves “Even the most comprehensive cognitive map is not the world, which is always mediated by our perceptions of it.” (Milner, p118). We must seek out as much information as possible to learn our surroundings. Technology is fine, but it is not enough to rely solely on that. A culture of curious navigators must be encouraged, through approaches that appeal to modern trends and situations. Despite the trend towards simplifying navigation, there is a growing number of services and schemes that seem to be harnessing the our need to navigate ourselves. These activities create challenges from the necessity to be skilled in locating oneself in the environment. In Scotland there is an urban navigation race that combines technology with traditional orientation skills in a challenging race around the urban centre (St Andrews Urban Orientation Race 2012.) Here the aims of fitness, wayfinding and general challenge of sporting competition combine to create a difficult but attractive pursuit. The race features waypoints that are referenced in navigational language, and then have to be found physically. Another physical to real world application is geocaching (https://www.geocaching.com/play) , where ‘caches’ (small cartons containing meaningful contents) are described using orientational language, ie the latitude, and longitude, the location in regards to waypoints and unique descriptors, but then are hidden in the landscape, to encourage a sort of hide and seek element. Making these pursuits hidden gives the players a special feeling of locating otherwise hidden or rare finds, in a city that is universally documented. Challenge can be used as a spark of imagination when marketing such pursuits. There needs to be a certain level of challenge that is both plausible, but not easily undertaken, and the ability to record it is important. Noelle Poulson walked the entire length of streets in central London (Londonist, 2016) and in doing so discovered not only the myriad contents of the streets but how they all connect up. “I hung maps in my room and marked off streets as I walked them. This helped me keep track of where I’d been, but also helped me map out the city in my head and see how it connected.”
Introduction
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Harnessing the need to navigate ourselves cont. With the challenge to walk all the streets to get to find new things, we also connect the dots of our cognitive map. So to do the runners in the urban races, and explorers looking for geocaches. These activities form the instigators of embarking on improved navigational self awareness, and often result in broad benefits. When speaking to taxi drivers there was a sense of pride in not only knowing roads, but locations of things, points of interest, historical sites, and in generally knowing trivia about the city. This is useful not only as a reward to know more things, but as a instigator of desire for knowing more about the environment you live in. In knowing our environment we can also strive to get lost in it. Or even getting lost to experience it as if from fresh eyes once again. Drift app aims to give us the opportunity to see everyday places from the perspective of a newcomer, allowing us to “get lost in familiar places” (http://www.brokencitylab.org/ drift/). This presents the desire of getting lost, perhaps for recreational or well being purposes as a driver for getting to know your environment. Similar to this is the ‘street wisdom’ workshop which uses the streets of London as a sort of canvas for opportunity (https://www.streetwisdom.org/). At the workshop you are guided by a facilitator to explore areas that you might already know very well, and often touristic areas, but with alternate intentions such as ‘looking out for patterns’ or ‘slowing yourself right down’ which either mentally or physically alter your perception of the environment.
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Health Benefits There are both physical health and mental health benefits that can be garnered from self navigation. Beat the street, run an empire, map my run/walk (see benchmarks), all aim at improving fitness but involve an element of planning routes, remembering locations and improving the experience of such endeavours. These services encourage healthy activities through either exploration or gamification to challenge users into knowing an area better. Typically, making your own way might mean walking more, and using walking or cycling to build up an observed map of London rather than a knowledge only of how to get to certain places, and reliant on maps or apps. Exercising our navigational ability is just the same as exercising other abilities both physical and mental. In turn, not utilising it, might lead to a decrease of that ability and that portion of the brain as Hugo spiers talks about the reliance on GPS alone for navigation could mean a “minimizing the brain’s use for navigation – you’d actually get a reduction in that area [the hippocampus]” (Milner, p133 / Dr Hugo Spiers) which might impact other areas involved with the hippocampus, such as long term memory, learning ability and emotions. There is also a mental health perspective. Where navigational services could be used in diagnosing rare neurological conditions, including developmental topographic disorientation (DTD), which “seems to prevent sufferers from forming even simple cognitive maps, so that they require years to master routes as repetitive as daily commutes” (Milner, p118). Or the decline of navigational ability has been linked to the onset of dementia, from scientists working on ‘Sea Hero Quest’ developed to notice how navigation is linked to dementia as being the first cognitive ability to diminish with the disease’s onset. These health benefits will become an attractive part of the appeal of this new navigation system.
Introduction
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Value Proposition There is a magic to navigating that can be exciting and self empowering. This is lost through relying on technology, and with it many potential experiences, opportunities and alternate possibilities are lost with it too. With modern navigational apps there is little room for deviation from the most efficient route. These apps and services make no effort to give the user even a small amount of control of their journey, and the entire experience is calculated, predictable and perfunctory. Make Your Way, is an alternate navigational experience that can offer a unique experience, a personalised experience, and a challenge to compete with the user and their friends.
User City
Transport provider
User wants to get better memory of places they have been City seeks better functionality Transport provider seeks to improve journey experience
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Human Scale Navigation
Offering
Self empowering navigation tool that rebalances the human/ technology scale in navigation
Better experience of journeys through self empowerment, more natural and challenging navigation
Efficient, repetitive and predictable navigation services that reduce users navigational awareness
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Make Your Way
Introduction
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Design Approach
Discover
Define
Persona development
User interviews Background research
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Focus groups
Human Scale Navigation
This project was conducted using the research structure of the double diamond as explained in the design council website (designcouncil.org.uk). This involves stages of divergent thinking (discover; develop) including wide ranging research then stages of focus (Define; Deliver), where analysis and questioning help to narrow down solutions and directions. The key parts of the process used in this project are indicated on the double diamond below.
Develop
Deliver
Weekly sprints
Prototyping
Service Blueprint
Co-design workshop
Introduction
Service testing
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1. Discover
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Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
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Research spheres Before active desk and user research began, each research sphere was planned for the areas which wanted needed more information.
Bus Drivers
Postal workers
Taxi Drivers
Memory reliant workers Sailors
Groups that require memory of directions/locations for their work
Courriers
Tour guides
Explorers
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Human Scale Navigation
Locals Commuters
Tourists
Potential improvers Frequent users or potential users of new service
City improvement funds
Tourist boards
Transports providers
Potential Partners Navigational apps and services
Introduction
Funding possibilities or research collaboration
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Test of interest
Before the main research bulk of research took place a test of interest took place to make sure there was reasonable interest in the subject area. The feedback was positive, the results mixed, but the interest was good; everyone seems to have an anecdote relating to self navigation, travelling or getting lost that they like to share and enjoy comparing their stories with others. Participants seemed keen to learn more about each others foibles and difficulties when self navigating or the humour of getting lost. From the experiement there seems to be good potential in this subject.
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Discover
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User Research Bus Drivers
The intention of the questions was to find out how they would build a memory of a bus route, and whether the experience of learning routes had changed the perception of themselves in any way. For example does learning bus routes improve your sense of direction? And how hard did they find it, especially if they don’t consider themselves expert navigators. Also any issues or frustrations in learning their bearings and and potential improvements that could be made, given that they know their job best. The questions were broad and wide ranging to allow for the guidance of the user, and what they seemed most interested in discussing. In reflection it was a valid investigation to how memory reliance in bus driving works. The general level of knowledge wasn’t as high as predicted, as most drivers only had a few routes (around 4) and they were generally straightforward runs. The level of navigation skill varied, but was probably quite high, but not exceptional, and there was the distinct feeling they weren’t entirely keen on pushing their navigational prowess, just in doing their job. There are examples of limited exposure to route information being given in the training; to increase the focus the driver has to learn the routes quickly. Given they only have 1 chance to learn it there is pressure to quickly learn the route. This confirms one of the points raised earlier (The National) that if it is a one off chance to learn something it is more likely retained.
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Human Scale Navigation
Successes came when users felt they could speak their mind and express themselves. Most took the questions literally and aimed to answer them as quickly as possible which resulted in simple answers that amounted to statistics. The best answers came when they could tell their own story and express their opinion. For example one person explained how they find driving in London complicated and therefore must make intersection maps – not a question that was planned but perhaps allowed to happen through curating the interview questions. This led to further questioning including a broader group of questions and less pressure on specific directions, as better insights come when people feel able to talk freely without limitation.
Discover
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User Research Taxi drivers / knowledge school
3 Visits were made to the knowledge point in Caledonian Road. This is one of few schools in London that teach the knowledge – the official test of black cab drivers. The test involves learning 320 ‘runs’ which cover a 30 mile radius of London; 25,000 street names and 20,000 landmarks (youtube; Speirs, Hugo). In addition to this a 1.5mile radius areas around the start and end points of runs are memorised, including turnaround points, local landmarks and venues, road impediments and potential hazards. The visits involved one lesson in the basics of learning the knowledge, a lesson on learning and improving landmarks and directions (points test lesson) and a session where students were interviewed about their experience learning the knowledge and some worksheets were utilised. The purpose of these visits was to understand what it is like to learn by memory a cities geography and to find out how it is done, and what the advantages are. The results were that taxi drivers have a love of navigating, they love to know where they are. They also take pride and enthusiasm in learning places, points of interest, and everything that goes with navigating from memory. It is a holistic map that they develop, and it is about as comprehensive a cognitive map as can be created.
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Human Scale Navigation
Amongst the many anecdotes, the common theme was that it takes a lot of time to learn every part of London, but that it is do-able by building up small sections of knowledge, and piecing together those areas, connecting the circles of knowledge until it is complete (images above). They also emphasized the need to physically go out on the streets and drive around, learning by doing, seeing and experiencing as a way of remembering rather than just looking at flat maps. It was a very useful insight into a memory reliant workers experience of cognitive geography. The insights can be used to help non map memorisers improve their navigation skills, essentially learning the way experts do it. There was a tendency for the interviewees to go off on tangents, exploring their experience and their past, which was at times unnecessary, but overall worthwhile as some of the insights were crucial for progression. Also, to experience the environment where they study provided an interesting experience that can be referenced in the prototyping stage.
Discover
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User Research Commute maps
These paper based tools were designed to get users to think about visualising their commute, to see how well they could remember their directions as well as how they would visualise the journey. It was designed to be open ended and interpretable, with the ability to write or draw what they liked. It was first tested out on friends to make sure it was feasible before being trialled on members of the public through guerilla interviewing. Most participants enjoyed the experience of recollecting their commute. Generally, those that thought they had a better sense of direction would take longer to complete the task, and applied more detail, either because they could remember more, or were trying to prove themselves. The style drawing was completely random, and each person interpreted the task differently. However vehicle of travel probably influenced the way in which it was visualised. Using the tool was also successful in allowing the participant to focus on a simple task and give some time to ask other questions, so was a useful interview tool.
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Human Scale Navigation
The enthusiasm of most of the participants shows that there is an opportunity to use this kind of data – a mapping of commutes – in new ways, that would be interesting to users who seek a visualised form of their journeys.
Discover
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User Research Experience maps
Alongside navigational routes, there is a need to build more complex and connected visual maps for individuals, that can be used to improve the user’s cognitive map. This investigation sought to visualise the parts of London participants knew well, had visited before, and wanted to visit, in a visual experiment to see both how ‘experienced’ users were, how keen they were too explore more, and how they went about recollecting where they had been. There is no real service out there that catalogues this information, although many apps already use location data when they work. What came out of the worksheet was an idea of the level of experience most users have for London, which is actually quite high, although the amount of the city they say they ‘know well’ is a lot less. It asks the question, why can’t they remember so much about where they have been before, only that they have been there.
40
Human Scale Navigation
The tools also allowed further discussion about why they know places (e.g living there, friend or partner living there, workplace), what gives them a reason to visit new places (e.g friends, exploration, specific need) and whether they are interested in building up the map further. Most were keen to continue to develop the map, but some said their desire to explore had waned after being in London for 5+ years. The maps weren’t highly insightful, but were useful tools to gather visual data and get participants involved and drawing, which allows further questions and discussions to happen. It could perhaps have been improved by having them mark key waypoints, or important places to them, thus making the maps more personal.
Discover
41
Focus groups
2 Focus groups took place, to gather ideas and perspectives on navigation with technology and have discussions between participants. Large A1 worksheets were provided to document the ideas. These sheets had concepts written in different areas with prompts to get participants in the frame of mind to answer them. Questions were; • Words or drawings to describe how you navigate • Tips or tricks that help you navigate • Frustrations you have about current navigation tools These topics could then be added to with post its, and in turn discussion curated between participants. The first section allowed silent writing, the next section more involved conversation could take place, giving users time to think about the topics. The responses were varied, some useful, others confirming data already known, for example most people have similar frustrations and all use the same apps and services when getting around. But there were occasions
42
Human Scale Navigation
and opportunities for new ideas to come through, it was just somewhat arbitrary, depending on who attended. It would have perhaps been better utilised nearer the beginning of the project, where less data had already been covered, and wouldn’t have felt like covering old ground.
Discover
43
Co-insight user journey
This activity was for teams of 2 to think about an user scenario of a single journey. The contexts were as follows; Group 1: Everyday user. Scenario; planning an airport connection in a city/ country you’ve never been to before. Group 2: Extreme user. Scenario; night out, lost phone, in area not accustomed to. Then the groups had to work on the user journey of these 2 users, considering planning the journey, during and leaving. The exercise was designed to notice overlapping features between users, and also any potential extreme scenarios that have special requirements. The task got participants to think about journeys taken by others users, using their own experience or empathy. The more specific extreme scenarios were designed to notice possible issues with more specific journeys.
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Human Scale Navigation
Because of the interesting scenarios some new ideas and thoughts were made that wouldn’t have been using normal scenarios. The results were a bit limited to the task itself, which weren’t that useful, but some of the ideas raised were beneficial to furthering the project.
Discover
45
Research experiences
Numerous other research experiences were investigated into the field of technology and navigation.
GeoMob Meet up This meetup was attended to find out about current innovation in mapping, and provided some great ideas and alternate directions. Although very definitely technology focused, the topics were in very unique areas. For example using technology to navigate when there is no phone reception (top right); which essentially makes conventional technology redundant. Also a way of visualising geographic information that isn’t visible due to a skyline (top left) which could be useful in helping people orient themselves knowing what is behind the visible skyline (top left).
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Human Scale Navigation
Street Wisdom workshop Street Wisdom is an interactive, non digital experience that gets users to explore physical space without technology, and without pressure to be anywhere at any time. This actually led directly to thinking about deviation cards and for a way of allowing users to make their own way around a city, without need to be directed by technology. There was good feedback from the large group attending, who most had been before. This shows there is an interest in alternate navigation/ exploration services.
Discover
47
2. Define
48
Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
49
Survey A survey was used at this point to start to narrow down the scope and focus the direction of the project. With a survey a large amount of people could harnessed to get valuable quantitative data, that could be used to clarify the project. It was used successfully to create clusters of user groups, that informed the persona generation. Using 10 pen personas and questions that were linked to the character attributes the questionnaire helped to narrow down the 10 personas into 3 groups of 2, which would be merged to create the final 3 personas. Feedback from participants was good – it was a fast, and actually fun (one user commented ‘this is best questionnaire I’ve ever done’) which allowed users to get in the mindspace quickly and think about how they navigate. There was also questions that allowed for more insight and personal anecdote. These insights are on the next page spread. The full feedback from the questionnaire can be found in the Appendix.
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Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
51
Survey insights Having to check my phone or looking lost
I don’t like discrepancies between maps and real life - streets that are named on google maps but in real life have no sign, for example.
I always find my self walking in one direction and then walking back to starting point because of inaccurate GPRS tracking
The compass function should be improved in standard mapping / navigational apps such as: Google Maps, Apple maps even City mapper.
I don’t like to walk around with a phone in my hand navigating
The compass function should be improved in standard mapping / navigational apps such as: Google Maps, Apple maps even City mapper.
Each route is different in regards to how it is learnt
I cannot read a map they just get me lost, my memory is okay but if that fails I’m buggered.
When my phone runs out of battery, when it starts to rain and I’m not prepared for it
Fears of technology Problems navigating Frustration of current methods
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Human Scale Navigation
If my battery dies I kind of panic
I have a poor sense of direction so rely on phones / maps to help me get around however I would like to be more self-reliant and not need to constantly be checking my phone
I have a visual memory so I can move only in the places I have been before without getting lost. If my app or phone isn’t working for places I dont know where to go then I would have to look at physical signs or ask people around.
Loosing signal, Google maps not locating where I am, getting lost in an area I have been to before.
Define
I feel that my sense of orientation is better when I don’t use my phone but I tend to want precision and speed when I’m traveling. This means that I reply on apps like citymapper or google maps and end up getting lost on the way because I have to remember where to turn. However, when i use my orientation I roughly know in which direction to go and might even get there faster
A combination of different street views might help. Ending up in the wrong direction.
I feel vulnerable holding my phone in front of my while navigating
When I can not see where I’m going , for example, sometimes in the google maps I can’t see the compass and then I have no directions reference to keep going.
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Pen Personas
Brandon
Esmerelda
Ashley
Map memoriser
Everyday Roamer
Directional Detective
Uses physical maps, google maps, and other apps to plan, view and commit to memory the route he needs to take.
6.6
Each perona has a ‘navigation’ value, which is calculated from the mean value each perticipant gave themselves in each persona. The N/A personas weren’t chosen by any survey user and so don’t have a value and were taken out of the group.
Free spirit that likes to actively spend time walking or biking whenever the opportunity arrises,
7.7
8
Gavin
Peter
Opportunist Cyclist
Perfect Planner
Utilises a combination of memory, local hints, other reference points and signage to get to location in an organic manner.
6
54
Challenges herself to find the route through minimal information – quick glance of a map, and her intuition.
Looks at map, plots route, uses streetview and meticulously plans route, so that phone doesn’t need to be used.
N.A
Human Scale Navigation
Jacqueline
Faye
Christina
Occasional Wanderer
Ad-Hoc Wayfinder
Escapist
Takes opportunities like ‘waiting for a friend’ or ‘time to burn’ to explore surrounding areas.
Uses a combination of methods as an when approriate but has no overarching technique or method.
6
N.A
Kathleen
Urban Explorer
Relies solely on technology, usually her own, to get to the location. Without technology new places aren’t reachable.
Uses necessary journeys as opportunities to explore. Spends free time seeking out new places and exploring for culture.
Define
3
Jason
Tech Dependant
5.9
Actively seeks to find alternate routes, locations for exploration, possibly even attempting to purposely get lost.
Each pen persona was taken from user interviews and personalities, creating 10 individual navigation personality types.
6.8
55
56
Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
57
Personas defining Attitude towards memory of navigation
Yes, It’s good to slowly build an understanding of a city
Less interested
Yes, It would be a shame to never remember where I’ve been
More interested in developing cognitive map
Yes and no, for most things no, but in certain situations it’s necessary
No, you can just use apps on phone
Attitude towards exploration
All the time! I’m very curious
More a target seeker
Sometimes — when I have time to waste
More an explorer
When there is a reason to
Rarely, I only see places when I have to
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Human Scale Navigation
Kathleen
Brandon
Ashley
Map memoriser
Directional Detective
Opportunist Cyclist
Ad-Hoc Wayfinder
Challenges herself to find the route through minimal information – quick glance of a map, and her intuition.
Utilises a combination of memory, local hints, other reference points and signage to get to location in an organic manner.
Uses a combination of methods as an when approriate but has no overarching technique or method.
Uses physical maps, google maps, and other apps to plan, view and commit to memory the route he needs to take.
6.6
7.7
Yes, It’s good to slowly build an understanding of a city
All the time! I’m very curious
Gavin
Faye
6
6
Sometimes — when I have time to waste
When there is a reason to
Contextual Persona 2
Contextual Persona 3
Local in London
UK born recently moved to London
Commutes everyday, same route
Wants to quickly learn orientation of their part of London
Seeking a unique experience of London
Likes to explore but no time
Ad hoc wayfinder
Keen to walk and explore urban spaces
Good with maps, can remember routes well
Bike user
Language may be an issue
Uses their knowledge of London to guess directions
8
6.8
Rarely, I only see places when I have to
Contextual Persona 1
5
Define
Urban Explorer Uses necessary journeys as opportunities to explore. Spends free time seeking out new places and exploring for culture.
No, you can just use apps on phone
Tourist visiting London Tech reliant
Tech Dependant Relies solely on technology, usually her own, to get to the location. Without technology new places aren’t reachable.
5.9
Yes and no, for most things no, but in certain situations it’s necessary
Yes, It would be a shame to never remember where I’ve been
Jason
7
Persona 1
Persona 2
Persona 3
Tech reliant urban explorer
Map Memoriser detective
Ad-hoc navigator
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Personas Workshop
A co-design session, using the 3 personas, that were created using data from surveys and user research interviews, were then fleshed out by the participants at the workshop. This was because the personas created were fairly statistical, based on data from the survey and also anecdotal evidence from interviews, and could be bettered by getting outside perspectives. It was a good opportunity for others to comment on them, whether they seemed realistic and then to add to them. The participants were asked to contribute the fears; hopes; desires and frustrations the users might have when trying to learn new routes in London, given their specific backgrounds. The process was successful as most of the participants found themselves empathising and even mentioning they felt an affinity with their persona, and could therefore comment easily on their issues. A few times some of the elements from the persona worksheets were questioned, with it being unlikely a specific persona would say or act in that way. This promoted discussion and helped to massage the personas to be more rounded and ultimately realistic. The following 3 personas therefore were created through a combination of interviews, surveys and co-design workshops
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Human Scale Navigation
Define
61
Gabriel, 27
Background details
Tech reliant urban explorer 5
Navigation skill rating out of 10
When trying to use my own sense of direction and take short/ more interesting cuts through side streets off main roads, and then I need to consult an app for an actual route.”
It’s too tempting to turn down an interesting street and forget where I was going!”
“When I’m out of data, or haven’t prepared, or if its just something casual, I might rely on texting someone for directions”
If I don’t have my phone I can’t travel to a place unless I know where it is
Gabriel is visiting London on a work photo shoot for his job as a fashion design assistant. He has a few days off after the shoot to explore the city, but doesn’t want to do many tourist activities. He’s visited London before, and done most of the sights when he was younger, now he isn’t particualrly interested in the. He wants to see hes own perspective, and not really have any itinery to the trip. Inspiration in the form of fashion, general design, architecture and photogenic scenes motivate him to explore. He likes to actively seek out a unique experience, even at home in Lisbon. Despite being a explorer, he reliaes a lot on his smart phone and digital technology to find his way, and rarely uses memory or guesses where he needs to go.
• On holiday in London, visiting from Lisbon. Travels reguarly for work and leisure. • Often travels alone, but friendly and easily makes friends. Outgoing and extroverted. • Driven by detail, always looking for inspiration. • Good language skills, but sometimes gets confused with complicated directions • Technology power user – adopts new technology easily and is intrested in new applications.
Map reading Direction intuition Devices/hardware Software/Applications
62
Human Scale Navigation
Gabriel, 27
Tech reliant urban explorer
Fears regarding navigation
• Not any obvious landmarks to reference on his journey • Worried if he strays too far away from tourist friendly areas and may find it difficult to navigate his way back • Worried that in the pursuit of non touristic places and off beaten path routes he will have to rely on his language skills which aren’t great.
Motivations regarding navigation
• Wants to improve his sense of direction by travelling around alone, trying to understand patterns in the layout • Will hopefully avoid the crowed tourist routes which he dislikes (for the crowds and for the uninteresting experiences)
Hopes regarding navigation
• He wants to find unusual routes that aren’t obvious tourist routes but still have obscure local interests • Pass on this new obscure routes to future travellers and friends. Share his story at a later date (physically and digitally)
Frustrations regarding navigation
• Phone only gives the most direct route to his destination with little room to explore • Not enough tourist infer about the local, obscure, non-tourist locations
• There is a value in finding the alternative route. it is like a currency. It can be used in later anecdote between friends or as a mark of knowing the city proper, and a special group knowing about certain rare finds.
Define
63
Bethany, 38
Background details
Map memorising detective 8.5
Navigation skill rating out of 10
Look on a map before going, probably google maps and then remember the address.
Always walk as much as possible to learn where things are in relation to other places.
I have got lost when I do not have my phone to use an app or I dont recognize anything visual from the place...
I remember the places I’ve been to before on holidays a long time ago Bethany works as a manager at a Bank in Fitzrovia. She commutes to work usually on the tube and bus coming from her home in Crouch End. She has been working at the same job with reasonable enjoyment for three and a half years. Because the commute is quite long, she takes the quickest and easiest journey, which is also very busy. She was born in London, in Enfield, and has family and friends all over the city.
• Enjoys knowing where she is going, proud local, sees using technology as cheating, or something that isn’t necessary if you were born here • Challenges herself to find new ways when she has the chance. • Traditional, not tech averse, but prefers looking at maps over relying on apps • Driven by pramatism, sees navigation as a skill you need to get around, a necessity • From London, has a lot of friends, connections and understanding about the city.
Map reading Direction intuition Devices/hardware Software/Applications
64
Human Scale Navigation
Bethany, 38
Map memorising detective
Fears regarding navigation
• Going somewhere and not remembering the route • Feeling less of a local because she doesn’t use technlogy as much (sees it as an unfair advantage to those that do) • Worries about omnipotence of technology, and having to eventually keep up
Motivations regarding navigation
• Fitness - walk as much as possible • Discover new places • Saving time • Building a better understanding of an area
Define
Hopes regarding navigation
• Finding short cuts quicker routes between family and friends all over the city. Easiest journey. • To be an official guide, to be seen as a proper local, which she is, but feels it necessary to prove herself.
Frustrations regarding navigation
• Commute taking longer due to delays – they take the quickest/busiest route to work • Not remembering somewhere she has been before • Further involvement of technology in navigation that she isn’t interested so much in
65
Esmeralda, 23
Background details
Ad-hoc opportunist navigator 7
Navigation skill rating out of 10
“Walk in the direction that seems busiest and will usually find a train station or bus stop that will take me somewhere familiar”
“I look out for landmarks to know my general direction at all times.”
“Before my smart phone I used to make a series of post it notes but now with my iPhone I use google maps”
“If I feel lost, usually I’m in the right area so I keep on walking and quickly end up somewhere that I recognise”
I like to have an idea of where I’m going but some of it us up to chance Esmerelda was born in Nottingham and recently completed a degree in Anthropology at Sheffield University. She has moved to London to start working for a not for profit charity in Central London. She lives in Canonbury, and commutes variously with bike, walking and bus. She hasn’t yet got a routine of sorts and is quite inclined to trying new options out. She would like to learn more about the area she lives in and also the central London in general, and get to know the city so she can better appreciate her time in the capital.
Map reading Direction intuition Devices/hardware Software/Applications
66
• Recently moved to London from Sheffield University where she lived in the centre of town. • Moved from her home town of Nottingham where she predominantly lived at home with her family in a resisdential suburb of the city. • Has worked as various roles but looking to move into community work through charity jobs. • New in London – is looking to quickly establish an understanding with the areas she needs to know ie. where she lives and works. • Would like to know about interesting places of culture, leisure, food and drink, and in general the feel of the city compared to where she grew up. • Quite open minded about getting around, will try any transport type and experimental in getting around. • Gregarious and outgoing but currently knows only a few people in London, so will be travelling and navigating alone.
Human Scale Navigation
Esmeralda, 23
Ad-hoc opportunist navigator
Fears regarding navigation
• Taking wrong directions on tube or bus • Safety of the places she travels to and the dodgy areas that she will want to avoid • Appearing slapdash or unprepared (or looking unprofessional in a job capacity)
Motivations regarding navigation
• Finding somewhere things in her interest in culture, travel, food. Meet people she already knows. • Become a local (or at least keep up with local knowledge • Not be so unpredictable when travelling
Hopes regarding navigation
• Come across place of interest on the way to find the targeted point • Quickly learn the places that are useful and that are interesting to hang out in
Frustrations regarding navigation
• Get lost and miss the appointments (be too careless with her planning and her execution of travel, be too ad-hoc, be too whimsical and therefore miss important things when she needs to get there) • Take the tube or train in the wrong direction because of not concentrating or thinking.
• Take opportunities to not use phone when not in a rush, enjoy the journey.
Define
67
Using personas to define Using the 3 personas, a common goal of improved experience of navigation was decided upon as a middle ground for each persona to work towards. There was also a significant shift in project focus which occured late in the define stage/early develop stage. Initially the plan was to reimagine navigation in a non digital way, but during the project it was realised, mainly from user research interviews, that there was no getting away from modern technology, it was omnipotent, and only likely to become more widespread. Instead the rebalancing of technology meant harnessing it as well. And this makes sense, in a way, because most users are now very used to the way they navigate being curated by technology. But even if this service makes a subtle change in this modern behaviour it will have succeeded, and in doing so raised at least personal awareness of our reliance on technology.
New to London persona
Londoner/ Commuter
68
Improving experience of navigation
Tourist in London
Human Scale Navigation
How can we rebalance the interaction with technology in navigation so that users can begin to experience once again their own ability to self navigate and find their own way?
Define
69
3. Develop
70
Human Scale Navigation
Introduction
71
User motivations for development Using the collected user research data, insight and survey results that have synthesized the direction of the project into these categories. With these, prototype features will be designed and tested with users.
Challenge Users expressed a desire to challenge themselves to find their way, often avoiding using a easy service for the sake of challenging themselves.
Learn a new area
Explore Most users wanted to explore more, but would lack either the opportunity or motivation to be able to do it. If it could be managed better into a person’s itinerary, then higher uptake would occur.
72
Users would tend to use technology less when wanting to learn a new area, which would be a good opportunity to test a service that tests geographic memory.
Human Scale Navigation
Become a local In user interviews the idea of being a local was linked to knowing an area well. If someone wishes to be local, and be knowledgeable about an area, they will be motivated to spend time learning it’s geography
Improve health Users who walked more tended to use technology less. This coincided with the conscious belief that doing so would improve their health. Health benefits and daily exercise is an important motivator especially for people living in urban places.
Use phone less
Improve memory
Some users expressed a mental dichotomy between needing technology and also wishing to not have to use it as much. They wanted a way in which they could enjoy the journey more and not be distracted by their phones or devices.
By using technology less, there was a perception in users that they would improve their memory of places, and that it was important thing to achieve for them. This is therefore a motivation to designing a prototype with the user in mind.
Develop
73
Prototype 1 Memory maps
Really fun to challenge your memory to have to think what you have seen!
A prototype memory based activity was designed to see firstly how good participants were at remembering where they had been (a route they had taken) and then remembering details about that route, in terms of landmarks or observations. This method involved taking participants on a route which was winding and designed to confuse users even if they were used to the area. Therefore it could be seen some deviation between users in the results. Then 3 task sheets were given. Firstly a line map to visualise the route taken from memory. Then using a map of London to mark the route they had taken (which sould be more accurate). Then the last sheet was the actualy route, where users had to draw what they remember from the routes. What was interesting was the level of detail users were able to remember and draw. A variety of landmarks details and descriptions were used including sounds, people, temporary items as well as patterns walls, buildings including descriptions of places similar and personalised descriptions of the landmarks. Users commented that it was fun to do, and that it felt like a test of their observational skill that they wanted to do well at. The breadth of landmarks listed hints at the breadth of ways people navigate and will help influence the final design. This was good at confirming the application of challenge in navigating, where there is a competitive element to remembering correctly the route taken. This is something worth harnessing in the final outcome.
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Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Introduction
75
Prototype 2a Remember your route A quick prototype to test the accuracy of user’s navigation when relying on memory. Rationale for test: From the survey the main technology used unsurprisingly was mobile phone and internet in relation to navigation. Whilst it would be good to aim to design for non phones, it must be taken into account how embedded phones are in our lives and particularly in navigation. So this test sought to utilise phones but with the lens of ‘rebalancing our reliance’ on it. The importance of using memory is to encourage the best ‘ cognitive map’ to be made each trip so that “when we first explore an area, we make a cognitive map of it, a map that guides us on later visits” (Jonsson, p21). This prototype proved that having to remember a route made it more necessary to focus on finding your way, because not having something to rely on means you only have your memory to guide you. It is also quite liberating to not have to check the phone, and to just trust in your senses, your memory and intuition. In this example, there are some deviations from the planned route, but they are minor roads. This could then be used as a task, to get the most accurate result would need to correctly remember or guess the correct roads. This element of self challenge proved an important motivation for the final outcome.
It’s better and easier for me to be on a bike looking at real buildings and waypoints.
76
Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Introduction
77
Prototype 2b Map overlays Using the same principles of remember you route, this time users were given the mock up of the amount they were off from the planned route. This quick mock up will be another feature of the final service offering a visually appealing record of a personas navigational accuracy. Users said they found the results exciting, because they weren’t using the phone it was presented at the end like a surprise, and made the journey worth taking to get that little reward at the end. This kind of risk then reward seems to be a valid feature I.e the user risks not using a more reliable navigation service, in the hope that they can do as well if not better in getting there, and the reward at the end is a kind of mini certificate of accuracy.
It was exciting to recieve the final overlaid map of accuracy it was like a prize.
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Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Before 1 Southwark
After 1
Overlay
Overlay Before 2 Old Street
After 2
Overlay Before 3 Waterloo
Introduction
After 3
79
Prototype 3: Visual directions
From many sources the need for visual cues for navigation, rather than written or map based were described. For example taxi drivers learning london must get the images in their head of the places they need to learn. Jonsson talks about making the cognitive map not with lines and drawings but with the experience of being there. Therefore these turn by turn visuals provide a compromise from phone based mapping services to allow the user to see (albeit limitedly) where it is they will be turning, getting an idea of the place before they get there. The turning arrows locate the user in relation to the visual. The idea became confusing for some users who found the orientation of the visual cues (the images from streetview) difficult to orient in regards to where they were. It often involved them turning around to try and see the right angle, which in turn made them lose their directional vector towards the goal. It also generally confused them and their idea of where North was, which is a big problem. There is a need to keep the direction frame facing the target (destination) whilst being able to see visual waypoints without becoming distracted or confused, and this prototype didn’t quite work.
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Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Introduction
81
Prototype 4 Watch map
Utilising the visual style of the turn by turn visual cues this iteration provides location based prompts of where to turn next. Here if you are lost you will get send a prompt to help you get back on track. So instead of relying on the directions, you are relying on yourself first, and the directions act as a safety net. Iterating this prototype was to use it on a watch, to thereby remove the need to have to get your phone out, which was another thing mentioned by interviewees (that having to get your phone out ruins the experience) and that having to look at your phone puts you at greater risk of crime or accidental damage. Of course it does give more attention to the watch itself, which could then be a target. Some users said that the fact the images from street view were taken at a specific angle, and that it was important to recognise the buildings, it became sometimes difficult to identify accuracy whether the visual waypoint was accurate.
82
Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Introduction
83
Prototype 5 NavPal
Once you go off track it reroutes you, which means the map you are memorising doesn’t make sense anymore
Iterating further from the watch idea, this was a wearable device that could be programmed to guide you subtly towards your destination. The test here was for the user to memorise quickly a journey drawn on a map, and then attempt to remember that journey. The reason for focusing on memory was to test the assumption that “the problem with GPS systems is, in my eyes, that we are not forced to remember or process the information – as it is permanently ‘at hand’, we need not think or decide ourselves” (Milner, p132). This is why having the information constantly available (the map and our location on our phones) makes us remember less of the information needed to make the journey, because we know it’s always available (at-hand). This iteration focused on making the travel as distraction free, and if you make a mistake in the journey the NavPal bracelet would attempt to correct the journey through lights, rather than words or commands. If it were green then you would be going the right way. If it went red you had a chance to correct your route, otherwise it would flash white on either the left or right side, meaning to take the next turning. This was mocked up using a find my friends app on the user’s phone pinging the location, and then sending text messages to simulate the light affects. The participant said that it was better when mistakes were made to turn back and join up onto the correct route rather than reroute (as would be done with a sat nav for example) as then the user could understand where they were, otherwise they would be lost. The NavPal also sought to provide a safety net for users wishing to try and self navigate in case they became disorientated.
84
Human Scale Navigation
Better to backtrack to the point where you went wrong and start again
Traditional Navigation
I did notice more things, and see things I hadn’t seen before. As there was no need to look at my phone except when lost Introduction
85
Prototype 6 Deviation cards
Are the subjects the things I would have noticed anyway, or did the cards effect me?
Another problem with navigation apps is the mathematical certainty of efficient and regulated routes. An app will always give you the most efficient route, which means taking the same route again and again. Users complained about not having the option of taking different routes, or having ‘scenic routes’. In the co-design session also participants made ideas of additional nearby routes or places to give more route options. Here cards are used to encourage deviation, through a series of commands or challenges, similar to the purposefully disorienting protocols used in the drift app. This feature was born out of the fact there were some users interviewed that expressed interest in actively getting lost, or feeling a new experience with the places they knew well. They sought an alternate experience that wasn’t banal and expected as explained in Image of the City “It must be granted that there is some value in mystification, Labyrinth, or surprise in the environment. Many of us enjoy the house of mirrors, and there is a certain charm in the crooked streets of Boston.” (Lynch, Kevin. page 5) There is potential for benefit from something that is purposefully inefficient, and seeks to allow serendipitous occasions. The outcome of this was that the users found themselves attracted to, or navigating how they might normally, and working within the conditions of the cards. Therefore as a feature it lacked the ability to disrupt someone’s preconceived personality inclinations, rendering it more trivial than innovative.
86
Human Scale Navigation
Traditional Navigation
Sound could be a good alternate to cards, that might be less obtrusive and so more natural
Introduction
87
Prototype 7: Location based landmarks Utilising the visual style of the turn by turn visual cues this iteration provides location based prompts of where to turn next. Here if you are lost you will get send a prompt to help you get back on track. So instead of relying on the directions, you are relying on yourself first, and the directions act as a safety net. This was done to provide a safety net in case misdirection occurred. It also helps users think of waypoints as visual cues to make a directional change, something that in theory people need to have strong cognitive maps, and in the survey users referred to buildings as the most relevant directional guide. Users reported an improvement in the ability to rectify mistakes, find their bearings and get back on track. The visual cues can be used as waypoints, that reassure users that they are on the right path. However the necessity to refer to digital devices means there isn’t a great deal of difference from using existing mapping apps, aside from less information being given.
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reminders
Traditional Navigation
Visuals of the buildings are simple enought to remember but easier to think of rather than relying on directions alone
Introduction
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Benchmarks Whilst these following services and products aren’t specifically what is being achieved in Make Your Way, they offer some relevant concepts and features that might be useful to consider in the prototyping stage.
Flyover country app Flyover country gives you information about the place you are below when flying. You can also use in on trains or in cars, to get more information and facts about the places you pass by, making you more aware of the contexts you are in. This extra information could provide another layer of awareness about the place you are moving through, which could prove useful if you ever visit again.
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Drift app This app is designed to allow you to get lost in familiar places, with the intention of making the user notice new details, spaces or patterns to help them feel like they are exploring their own area. In turn this would improve your cognitive map by experiencing places from a variety of angles and directions, and by observing the surroundings with more curiosity.
Street Wisdom A physical experience where you walk the street to answer questions, street wisdom is run by facilitators who guide your perception through different stages to encourage mindfulness, exploration, observation and deep thinking. It is predominantly portrayed as a wellbeing experience, but could also help improve cognitive mapping skills by encouraging awareness and visual memory.
Develop
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Benchmarks The great game London This is a physical treasure hunt in the city of London that uses clues and vectors to guide you around to find an end location where you get a prize. Compared to other examples it is very traditional, you are provided with a map, instruction sheet and a compass, which you have to utilise to get to the next waypoint. It is a novel way of introduction orienteering tools like compasses and vectors (usually used in the countryside) to urban city dwellers with fun objectives and prize incentives.
Geoguessr This is a website that uses google street view to dump the participant into a random location. Then using their intuition, observational skills and deduction skills they must work out where they are. It may involve distant locations, but it could help users become more aware of the surroundings and encourage a investigative approach to navigation.
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Geocaching This is a digital to physical service, which uses a treasure hunt paradigm to hide ‘caches’ - containers with a prize of some sort in them, with given location coordinates or clues about the location around the cache, so hunting for a geocache usually requires digital navigation skills, visual clues, word games and a sense of curiosity which are all good skills to improve cognitive mapping skills.
Map my walk Whilst map my walk is generally used for health quantification, it can also be used to map popular walks, plot cognitive maps against physical maps and generally improve the connection of the user between a flat map and a mental map.
Develop
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Benchmarks Cucalu This app uses fun photographic challenges to encourage exploration. Uses must take pictures according to the rules of the round, and thus find objects or landscapes that conform to that objective.
Sea Hero Quest Other apps have health benefits, but this app seeks to test and challenge your navigation skills within the game environment (map reading, tracking position, dead reckoning ability)
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Beat the street This inner city game was developed by health care
Run an Empire PAN studios’ run an empire is a strategy running game that encourages you to ‘capture’ land in the digital space based on the route you do on your run. Therefore if you want to capture more space, you have to explore more areas and run around new parts of the city. Also being a running app (although you can walk) it means you are less likely to use a map, perhaps relying on intuition until or unless you become lost.
Develop
95
Co-design workshop There was now a fixed service goal, and a list of features that could be added or improved on. It was a good opportunity for a co-design workshop to offer divergent thoughts on a specific problem. Also, it was possible to design with specific personas in mind. Touchpoint cards were used to elicit responses from the participants, which were from a mixture of design based and non design based backgrounds. A brief was provided to clarify and direct the workshop so that it wouldn’t be too divergent at this stage, and would focus in on navigational memory using the 3 personas. The workshop produced ideas and drawings for additional features. Participants drew and sketched on the touchpoint cards, and then at the end presented back their ideas to the group, so that it could be discussed. As the workshop was designed to be easy to use, for the purposes of the non design participants, there were few rules, and this resulted in some elaborate and perhaps non relevant ideas, but this is expected, and was worth doing for the more applicable ideas. Having the participants present back made a conversation, and allowed further discussions to take place, and to modify the raw ideas. The touchpoint cards were really successful, users commenting that they were easy to understand, fun to use and didn’t require that much skill to use, as each touchpoint provided the background for an idea, only a quick sketch on top was needed. This accessibility especially for non designers is something worth repeating in the future. The timing of the workshop could have been earlier, and perhaps the participants could have informed the design at an earlier stage, but this was the only opportunity to arrange it and so there was no chance to alter the date.
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Ideas created at co-design: • Visual cues for directions and turn points • Smart directions – use places you already know to buid up experience of where you have been • Reusing traditional wayfinding boards with scannable personalised technology • Bus stops as social hubs • Map directions featuring local information and landmarks
Introduction
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Pre-delivery specifications: results of prototyping
Point 1: Orientation There is a need to orient the user in their environment, to make solid their position, orientation, awareness of north and awareness of destination. This needs to be made sure from the beginning to build confidence. The stronger the feeling is made at the beginning the least likely it is to slip during the trip, and result in disorientation.
Point 2: Phone based Throughout the user research stages and through the survey, users have made it clear that phones play a large part in the way they navigate. Instead of designing an alternate to phones, the service will be complementary, and seek to reduce reliance on the phone, but not completely removing it. This subtle change will allow the greatest amount of uptake whilst aiming to reduce overall reliance on technology through a motivation of competitive challenge, navigational prowess, and health benefits.
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Point 3: Competitive element There is a potential for a competitive edge, an idea to make the task challenging, to give users something to look forward to at the end, and a case for risk and reward. There should be limitations at the beginning that allow for reward and opportunity at the end of the journey.
Point 4: Visual support Users need visual support as well as map support, this is something that is lacking in modern navigation technology and can be implemented here.
Point 5: feedback of results Users like to see the results of their actions. There will be very visual records of how the user navigates, and a graphic feedback of their efforts. This will not only reward the user, but provide them with a reference point with which to improve in subsequent journeys.
Develop
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4. Deliver
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Introduction
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Service proposal The final service proposal uses a combination of insights and ideas curated in the develop stage through prototyping to create a new service to challenge our current reliance with technology when navigating. Utilising all the evidence discovered through secondary research, user research, expert interviews and co-design workshops a full service plan could be developed. The service is designed with elements that allow the user to take control of their navigation in subtle ways; utilising technology but not being reliant on it. First the user inputs their destination. They are first asked to align their position with North. The reason for this, is that we perceive all maps, even our mental maps of places, within the normal map construct of having North at the top, after a study found participants attempting to locate unseen landmarks were “linking their perceived location to its position on city maps that they retrieved from memory – which, like most maps were oriented to the North” (Milner, p130/131), Next, the user must turn their phone to the direction of the intended target, this will visually align them with the direction they are heading in overall (and with reference to the direction of North). Once the user does this, they app allows the map to be seen. The screens are step by step, allowing the user to see only what information is necessary, and preventing the user skipping and missing important stages that will help them to better remember the route. The map shows a very simplified waypoint that the user must memorise. At key waypoints, where the user must turn, images of the area via streetview are included. The user can click on the waypoints and get a visual cue as to where to turn. The simplifying of directions came from user research and prototyping where it was discovered few users could memorise a large amount of directions. Once the user starts moving towards the first destination the map view will slowly disappear, to prevent the user relying on the map itself, and relying on their memory of the route, their memory of the turning points and their intuition of the overall sense of direction they are going in. The idea of this is to improve self reliance on individual self navigation. The map being removed is based on a scientific study that found participants that knew they could rely on a map source were less likely to remember important information on direction needed (The National/ Milner, p132). This was further explored in the first prototype and in user interviews with cyclists that can’t for reasons of safety check their phone or map during a journey and must rely on their memory.
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From this point the user must rely on memory, intuition, and landmarks they have either previous memory of or have seen from the directions. Perhaps past experience will be rekindled by the process of observing the environment, seeing distant landmarks, being more aware of the direction we are heading, or using natural indicators of direction such as the sun or wind. It could be a combination of memory, intuition and subconscious awareness, but importantly it is not reliant on technology and involves a small amount of risk, for the benefit of a better experience and a better development of a cognitive map. The tools will be in place to help the user, but there will be the risk of them losing their way and veering off course. The user will be allowed to deviate from the route taken, but if they start heading in a completely different direction they will be offered help from the app, with a recalculated direction. Once they reach within a few blocks of their destination the map within the app will become active again, and they can see the map for specific directions to the destination. Upon arrival they can see how much they deviated from the planned route, and which street they took. This feature will allow the user to overlay their visual memory of their journey – their cognitive map – over the actual journey taken on a geographic map. This practice should improve the user’s ability to recall information about the route, and be able to remember the route in the future. There are secondary benefits which include the opportunity to see an alternate route of London, serendipitous exploration of the city, chance to find shops, parks, buildings sites that previously wouldn’t have been seen. After using the service the user can rate the journey, which can be used to plan future journeys. They can also see a personalised map of routes taken, which will over time be built up giving a sense of achievement, and could be utilised to create self challenges like the example made by Noelle Poulson. Users could also challenge themselves to achieving the most accurate adherence to the planned route, and thus rating themselves as better navigators. Social features such as challenging friends will be incorperated giving a competitive reason for the user to improve themselves.
Deliver
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Service stages
Set up
Pre journey
Before commencing the journey users are forced to locate North as this was found to be important to users to orient themselves, as well as being important in how we think about cognitive maps (Jonsson).
Once oriented the user is provided a map. This allows them to memorise the turns required. Also there will be waypoint on the map that will be street view images designed to allow the user to familiarise themselves with the key points in the journey when they must turn or make a direction change.
Next the user is made to find the correct bearing towards the destination, with the North bearing still in mind. This helps the user to visualise the direction they need to head in and more likely aim towards.
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Once they start moving the map dissapears and they are forced to memorise the route.
Human Scale Navigation
Mid Journey
Post journey
Develop/continue
If users go off course they will be given help to get back on track. Rather than telling them which way to go, they will get a compass to allow them to follow their own path.
At the end of the journey users can see how accurate they were, and see the route they actually took.
The competitive element can be developed further with the creation of an in app profile, which will detail past routes, accuracy levels, time on routes, and show how you have improved week on week. This will provide a visual feedback of how you are improving that can be an incentive to practice more.
This provides a safety net for anyone going too far off track.
This provides visual reference which will help build a personal cognitive map.
Also, challenges can be undertaken, to compete with friends, for example try and be the most accurate in the next week.
Also it adds a competitive element that can be a motivation.
Deliver
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User journey
1
Make your way is a service that gives you all the tools to self navigate. Using the compass you orient yourself to North then the direction of the destination. Then a route is calculated indicating waypoints along the way.
The aim is to challenge yourself. At the end you can see how close to the route you were, and get an accuracy score. Rate the route and it will be added to your personal map. Start building a knowledge of London.
START
Once you begin moving the map will fade away. Now you are on your own! Use your memory of the route, the waypoints and your intuition to get you there.
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Human Scale Navigation
Set personal goals and use a profile to compete with others. Build you score over time, improve your navigation skills and then challenge your friends to become the best navigator!
5
END
Images from streetview are used as waypoints in the app, encouraging users to look for visual cues such as buildings, shop names, street signs etc as key points to turn or to make sure you are on the right track.
4
3 But don’t worry. If you start heading off in the wrong direction the app will buzz you with a recalculated compass to get you back on track.
Introduction
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Profile Page
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Pre-trip
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Profile
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Now align to your destination
Overall accuracy 65% Sense of direction
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Internal compass
Speed of travel
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Ef ficiency of travel
Challenge a friend
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Mid-trip
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Align to North First the user must align to the North, using the on screen compass. Once aligned the compass will flash.
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Accuracy
Over time using the app a personalised map of London is built and can be used as a memory aid, or for basis for challenge and exploration.
Here daily trips taken can be seen in detail, offering incidents of travel to be used as memory reference points.
If the user goes off track, the app will vibrate, and show a new compass direction to re-orient towards.
Within 200m of destination app will vibrate and allow the user to see the map to find the specific address,
The user is shown the route they took, vs the route planned, and their overall accuracy.
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App user experience
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Trip stats Planned time: 18m 20s
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Waypoints User can scroll through to see the waypoints in order of appearance to memorise.
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The user is given a route map of the journey. Dots indicate visual waypoints that can be tappedto show images.
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Align to Destination
Next the user aligns to the direction of the destination.
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Align to Destination
First the user must align to the North, using the on screen compass. Once aligned the compass will flash.
MAP
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You’re starting your journey, the map will now dissapear. Good luck!
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Calories burnt: 80kj
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Near destination
Accuracy
Trip Details
Within 200m of destination app will vibrate and allow the user to see the map to find the specific address,
The user is shown the route they took, vs the route planned, and their overall accuracy.
Time and distance data, calories burnt, and also user rating are shown here. The rating of each trip is used to inform future route generation.
Introduction
109
Service blueprint Stage
Aware
Join
Download app
Interactions with user
Hear about Make Your Way
Make profile
Find friends
Advertised
Front stage
Sent invite from a friend Challenged by a friend
Make profile with existing accounts
Business promotion to find somewhre
Advertisement campaign
Back stage
App feature to invite friends App feature to send challenge Business promotes usage
110
Monitor adverisement campaign
In app messages
Business sends email of events
Human Scale Navigation
Use
Continue
Improve your score Travel using Make Your Way
See your score
Affect your profile Compete with friends
Leave
More awareness of area Reduced reliance on phone
Delete or suspend account Rewards for using app
Rewards for high scores
Leaderboard feature Encrypt location data
Rewards for accuracy
Profile database
Monthly navigation challenges
Deliver
More business footfall
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Additional features These features could potentially be developed or added to the service as secondary features: • At start up, will be tips for better navigation • When calculating the route, it will give you the average amount of time people are slower than the correct route, that way you can factor in delays. (it will be slower at the improvement of cognitive ability). • Can sync it with smart watches to provide quick access to any route tips. • Take pictures along the route of things you see or find interesting, and they can be uploaded as new waypoints. • Watch could have a compass feature guiding you to destination but you make the choice which way you go. • Access to a database of anonymous user data – mapping where people deviate to
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Human Scale Navigation
Benefits to 3rd party stakeholders Data could be used for town planning; for example pedestrian flow, for working out where to develop next, where to open a coffee shop, where footfall is best, where people are avoiding and why. Could provide fairly live data of what’s affecting the routes of people for example road works or flooding etc. • Benefit to London tourism (city as a destination) • Tfl use it to improve transport practices and access in London • Safety of users (potentially the police will find it useful for diminishing crimes on persons using phones
Deliver
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SWOT Analysis
S Strengths
• No other navigation app is designing features or services along the lines of Make Your Way. • The service provides an entirely new and novel feature that isn’t present in current navigation tools. • The app has been designed by users for users, at every stage, making it as attractive as possible as a potential new service for a wide audience. • The is a high amount of public awareness of emerging technology being used in location based services that could benefit the service. • The user research collected throughout the project is very detailed and specific and can provide a strong evidence base for the project and also future developments within the project field. • The identified personas are also valuable assets to the project and to other potential navigation based services (both internal and external). • There are strong health and mental health benefits associated with using the service.
O Opportunities
• This gamefication that has been popular in other applications could harness the popularity of public awareness to make a successful and widely known service. • There is ample room to collaborate with other existing apps, providing additional features, co-designing, or implementing part or all of the Make Your Way service into another navigational provider. • Data about where people travel to, about which direction they take would be hugely useful for both public and private sector entities. Town planners, councils, transport designers as well as business owners would be interested in harnessing this data.
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W Weaknesses
• There may be a latency period between users starting out and getting to fully understand the purpose of the app. • There is a possibility of users getting lost or confused if directions offered in app malfunction (this is present in all navigational services however). • There needs to be a considered media campaign or effort to make users aware of the service. • There is a risk that public opinion will side with efficient travel rather than more experiential travel.
T
Threats
• Other navigational service providers could provide competitive offers at some point in the near future. • If location data is collected from users, it is at risk of being used immorally or held against users. It will need to be anonymous and data will need to be selectively utilised as an asset. • Transport providers could see it as a threat to their business, resulting in an intervention.
Deliver
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Categories of user: Memory reliant to self reliant Stage 1: Technology reliant User nearly always has to use phone to make a journey, even one made before many times such as a commute, or when in a familiar part of the city. Only on very short trips in local areas does the user not use their phone to navigate.
?
Stage 2: Tech reliant but with curiosity This is where the ‘Make Your Way’ app really excels. Once a tech reliant user is sufficiently intrigued by the idea of navigating under their own capacity, they can utilise services and products that seek to expand their cognitive map and help them learn their way around, with a safety net in case they are nervous.
Stage 3: Using memory for recreation Considering most people rely on being timely for work, the first area of impact for using memory should be leisure time. Opportunies include weekends, weekday evenings, lunchtime, and involve exploring your local area, exploring on lunch, waiting for a friend, wanders etc.
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! Stage 5: Phone for extreme usage At this stage the user nearly always uses memory for navigation, only in times of extreme necessity will they use their phones, for example when severely lost in leisure time or desperately needing to get somewhere on time. This person may have adjusted their lifestyle to fit with these necessities for example leaving earlier for important events and generally appreciating the journey rather than seeking it over as soon as possible.
Stage 4: A mixed user At this point the user has adopted the style of being a memory reliant navigator, and although they still use their phone and various navigation apps from time to time without worry, they often actively seek to use their memory when they know they should be able to find their way. This indicates awareness of there own capabilities and is probably the ideal stage to be at.
Deliver
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Conclusion Throughout this project I have sought to challenge and explore the assumptions raised from the beginning, that the increase in technology has decreased the ability for people to navigate. Through secondary sources, books, articles and papers there many instances of tests made to confirm that using certain technology actually reduced users ability to remember routes taken, places they had been and points along the way (waypoints or scenery in general)(Milner, The National). There was also evidence that some technology could be beneficial. For example using gps generally removed the need to remember important points, but the use of google maps, which essentially allows a person to map their own experience map onto a geographic map, could actually help improve the connection between mental map and physical reality. During user research and testing, there was a wide gamut of exposure to people with contrasting experiences in navigation. However, the overwhelming feedback was that people primarily used technology in some way when navigating, and that smartphones were almost universally omnipotent when deciding how to get somewhere (see appendix: survey). This shift led me from designing an alternate service to a technology based one, to rethinking how we approach navigating itself. Instead of promoting a non technology based solution (or even one that used a different technology) it became clear that it would be unrealistic for users to take up this new service given their inclination to rely on their smartphones (and also the universal availability making it more attractive to use this medium). Therefore a rebalancing of user navigation was proposed, utilising the smartphone, but not relying on it. Some of the main successes can from 1 to 1 user interviews, because of the ability to get a wide and unpredictable selection of opinions. Using accompanying paper based worksheets was very successful, both the commute map and experience map, as well as the touchpoint cards in the co-design workshop. It is testament to the public interest in how we navigate and how we explore places that some of the user interviews ran into hour or more interviews, due to the participants (usually strangers) wanting to both know more about my ideas and contribute to something they saw as worthwhile and interesting. Keeping the questions and direction of the project very open at the beginning I think best allowed this public eagerness to be appropriated, as users didn’t need to feel like expects to take part – anyone with experience of making a journey or commuting could add their story. In this way great qualitative data, anecdotes, stories, frustrations and improvements were shared by interviewees, that shaped the product and also cross pollinated my own ideas and thoughts about where it should go.
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Throughout the active primary research there was a really good response from the questions asked, tools used and prototypes tested. It felt like there was ample enthusiasm in a wide variety of users to want to be involved in a service that looked at alternate navigation platforms. Particularly the codesign session where the design outcomes produced by participants were coveted and even asked to be involved in any developments. The survey proved a very useful and efficient way of getting both quantitative data; statistics, as well as detailed anecdotal qualitative evidence, in a way that was easily filled in, both a win win for user and researcher, and could be quickly distributed, rather than face to face interviews. Both user research stages and prototyping stages proved strong sections, perhaps even too strong, so that the define stage was quite difficult to manage due to so much information and insights making it difficult and laborious to make progress and narrow down the outcome. Through rigorous persona generation the process became easier to process, but took much longer than expected. During prototyping the results of each feature test were hit or miss, and although it would have been easier to not test each individual element and just release the final solution, each test resulted in a feedback and a streamlining of the final service; portions were taken out or changed, and though laborious a final service was made that can be argued for strongly. The service could not exist without funding or partnership, and therefore the next steps would be to seek appropriate collaboration, perhaps with one of the parties already in contact – geovation, TfL, Citymapper, Future Cities Catapult – or through crowdfunding. Through collaboration between many users, experts, scientists as well as anecdotal and everyday experience of navigation, the result is a service that not only appeals to intuitive navigators, but seeks to improve user navigation on a scientific and behavioural level. The result is something that could be used not only for fun; but also the data could be used to further research on human orientation, pedestrian flow, cognitive studies, city design, dementia research and business footfall. In the meantime I believe, the appeal of improving our spatial awareness as a concept through challenge based gamification will continue to grow, and services such as Make Your Way will become more commonplace. If used in conjunction with current technology they will additionally provide much needed user satisfaction as well as efficiency when navigating in London.
Deliver
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Bibliography Books Image of the City. Lynch, Kevin. MIT Press: 1960. Inner Navigation. Jonsson, Erik. Simon and Schuster: 2008. Pinpoint. Milner, Greg. Granta books: 2016. A Philosophy of Walking. Gros, Frederic: Harper, Clifford. Verso Books; 2015. The Vintage Book of Walking. Minshull, Duncan. Vintage, 2000. Psychogeography. Coverley, Merlin. POCKET ESSENTIALS: 2010 You are Here. Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination. Harmon, Katherine. Princeton Architectural Press: 2003 From Here to There. A Curious Collection from the Hand Drawn Map Association. Harzinski, Kris. Princeton Architectural Press. 2010 Walking and Mapping. Artists as Cartographers. O`rourke, Karen. MIT Press. 2016 Places of the Heart. The Psychogeography of Everyday Life. Ellard, Colin. Bellevue Literary Press. 2015 Maps in Minds. Reflections on Cognitive Mapping. Downs, Roger; Dr Stea, David. Harper and Row. 1977. Mapping It Out: An Alternative Atlas of Contemporary Cartographies. Ulrich Obrist, Hans; McCarthy, Tom. Thames and Hudson. 2014 Les explorations et les voyages des Fourmis. Cornetz, Victor. Cornell University Library. 1914 Human Navigation and the Sixth Sense. Baker, Robin. Simon & Schuster. 1981 Wayfinding in Architecture. Passini, Romedi. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. 1984
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Bibliography Cont. How to be an Explorer of the World. Smith, Keri. Penguin. 2011. London A to Z. Geographers A-Z Map Company Ltd (Pearsall, Phyllis). 2015. This is Service Design Thinking. Stickdorn, Marc; Schneider, Jakob. BIS; 2014. Facilitation made day. Esther, Cameron. Kogan Page, 2001.
Articles Tristan Gooley; Urban Navigation tips. http://www.naturalnavigator.com/the-library/urban-natural-navigation Death by gps – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/25/gpshorror-stories-driving-satnav-greg-milner What if gps fails? http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/what-happens-ifgps fails/486824/ Meet The Lady Who’s Walked Every Street In Central London, Londonist. http://londonist.com/2014/07/meet-the-lady-whos-walked-every-streetin-central-london?utm_content=buffer79f5f&utm_medium=social&utm_ source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Is over reliance on gps technology affecting more than our navigational skills? http://www.thenational.ae/arts-life/travel/is-over-reliance-on-gpstechnology-affecting-more-than-our-navigational-skills Stretching your cognitive map http://www.literarytraveler.net/blog/2010/07/cognitive-mapping-expandyour-home-grid/ Directionless? Scientists Offer Some Clues http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/22/science/directionless-scientistsoffer-some-clues.html
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Iphone 7 review – Poor battery life https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/23/iphone-7-reviewpoor-battery-life The wealthy commute later, get to take more direct routes http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/10/the-rich-can-sleep-in-thanks-tobetter-transit/ Guardian speculative science https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-58770,00. html Frédéric Gros: why going for a walk is the best way to free your mind https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/20/frederic-gros-walknietzsche-kant?CMP=share_btn_tw The First GPS: High-Tech navigation in 1909 http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/02/04/history/postperspective/gps-1909.html
Websites Punkt products – https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/ Geocaching – https://www.geocaching.com Street Wisdom workshop – https://www.streetwisdom.org/ Drift app – http://www.brokencitylab.org/drift/ Geoguesser – https://geoguessr.com/ Flyover Country app – http://fc.umn.edu/ Beat the Street – https://www.beatthestreet.me/UserPortal/Default Run an Empire – http://www.runanempire.com/ Sea Hero Quest – http://www.seaheroquest.com/en/ Map my walk – http://www.mapmywalk.com/gb/london-eng/
Bibliography
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Bibliography Cont. Research papers Wayfinding with a GPS-based mobile navigation system: A comparison with maps and direct experience. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494407000734 Illusions of Direction Orientation. Peterson, Joseph. (The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods). Journal of Philosopher, Inc. 1916. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2013795?seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents Cognitive maps in rats and man. Tolman, Edward. http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Tolman/Maps/maps.htm
Video St Andrews Urban Orientation Race 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O53IO_vX9kY What goes on in the mind of London cabbie. (Dr Hugo Spiers) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4keunVx6hs
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Appendices Appendix A: Commute maps Appendix B: Experience Maps Appendix C: Journey Maps Appendix D: Survey and results Appendix E: Sample memory map prototype completed Appendix F: Co-design worksheets completed 1-3
Bibliography
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Appendix A: Commute map sample
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Introduction
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Appendix B: Experience Map sample
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Appendix C: Journey Map sample
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Appendix D: Surveys and results
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11/25/2016
General report - Navigation Questionnaire
How would you describe your sense of direction? 47 out of 48 people answered this question
aA A aA aA aA aA aaaaa
6.04 Average rating 1
a a a a a a a
11 / 23%
2
a a a a a a a a
11 / 23%
3
a a a
6 / 13%
4
a a a a a a a a a
5 / 11%
5
a a a a
4 / 9%
6
a a a a a a
4 / 9%
7
a
2 / 4%
8
a a
2 / 4%
9
a a a a a
2 / 4%
Is it important to be able to navigate from memory? 47 out of 48 people answered this question
1
Yes, It's good to slowly build an understanding of a city
24 / 51%
2
Yes, It would be a shame to never remember where I've been
11 / 23%
3
Yes and no, for most things no, but in certain situations it's necessary
4
No, you can just use apps on phone
3 / 6%
5
Other
1 / 2%
6
No, I like to not know where I am
0 / 0%
8 / 17%
Which picture best describes how you navigate? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
2
3
4
Phone
30 / 63%
Street sign
23 / 48%
Memory
18 / 38%
A to B
10 / 21%
https://lawrence55.typeform.com/report/LmWOvP/Cts8?typeform-print=1&typeform-cache=0
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11/25/2016 5
6
General report - Navigation Questionnaire
Sun
9 / 19%
Compass
5 / 10%
What kind of environment did you grow up in? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
Small city/town
20 / 42%
2
Major city
15 / 31%
3
Suburbs
4
Rural countryside
4 / 8%
5
Completely middle of nowhere
2 / 4%
7 / 15%
Which quote do you associate most with? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
"I use a combination physical and digital navigation tools"
27 / 56%
2
"I always want to know where I am"
14 / 29%
3
"I like to plan ahead and rarely check anything unless I get lost"
14 / 29%
4
"If my phone dies, I cannot possibly go to a new place"
11 / 23%
5
"If I have to use my phone to navigate it means I am already lost"
6
"I'm always trying to get lost"
7 / 15% 3 / 6%
Who do you think is responsible for navigation in urban places? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
local government
32 / 67%
2
The individual (you)
27 / 56%
3
Central government
18 / 38%
4
App developers (citymapper)
17 / 35%
5
Private landowners
9 / 19%
6
Private institutions
8 / 17%
Which is your most used transport method? https://lawrence55.typeform.com/report/LmWOvP/Cts8?typeform-print=1&typeform-cache=0
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11/25/2016
General report - Navigation Questionnaire
47 out of 48 people answered this question
1
Tube
15 / 32%
2
Walk
12 / 26%
3
Bus
9 / 19%
4
Bike
6 / 13%
5
Other
5 / 11%
6
Boat
0 / 0%
7
Taxi
0 / 0%
Which of these physical things do you use as landmarks to navigate 47 out of 48 people answered this question
1
2
3
4
5
Famous building
35 / 74%
Unique buildings (pubs etc)
34 / 72%
Tall buildings/skyline
28 / 60%
Nature/park
25 / 53%
Street art/grafitti
12 / 26%
Strangely named shops
6
Statues
7
9 / 19% 4 / 9%
Which persona best describes you? 47 out of 48 people answered this question
10 / 21%
1
Urban explorer
2
Ad hoc wayfinder
8 / 17%
3
Tech dependant
7 / 15%
4
Map memoriser
5 / 11%
5
Occasional wanderer
5 / 11%
6
Directional detective
4 / 9%
7
Everyday Roamer
3 / 6%
8
Opportunist cyclist
3 / 6%
https://lawrence55.typeform.com/report/LmWOvP/Cts8?typeform-print=1&typeform-cache=0
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11/25/2016
General report - Navigation Questionnaire
9
Escapist
2 / 4%
10
Other
0 / 0%
11
Perfect planner
0 / 0%
How often do you explore parts of London you've never been to before? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
Sometimes, when I have time to waste
17 / 35%
2
All the time, I'm very curious
16 / 33%
3
When theres a reason to
10 / 21%
4
Rarely, I only see new places when I have to
5
Never, I stick only to places I've already been to
5 / 10% 0 / 0%
Which of these technologies are you most likely to interact with in regards to navigation or exploration? 48 out of 48 people answered this question
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Smart phone
47 / 98%
Internet
34 / 71%
Phone
6 / 13%
Augmented reality
5 / 10%
SMS
4 / 8%
Virtual reality
3 / 6%
Wearables
2 / 4%
https://lawrence55.typeform.com/report/LmWOvP/Cts8?typeform-print=1&typeform-cache=0
4/4
When my phone runs out of battery, when it starts to rain and I'm not prepared for it I never get lost positioning the map in the correct direction I feel vulnerable holding my phone in front of my while navigating Out of date/erroneous maps Not being able to visualise where I am from a map If my battery dies I kind of panic When my gps sends me off road when I'm on my road bike... I'm not doing cycle cross! I followed GPS and still got wrong direction. I find it very t to give directions, and I also find it very hard to follow verbal directions App Waste time Ending up in the wrong direction. Lack of clear signage. Like road signs, house numbers, etc Loosing signal, Google maps not locating where I am, getting lost in an area I have been to before. I don't know my left and right. Im good at using buildings and landmarks as a source of wayfinding. I cannot read a map they just get me lost, my memory is okay but if that fails I'm buggered. discrepancies between maps and real life - streets that are named on google maps but in real life have no sign, for example. If going by memory, I might think that I need to turn left at the red shop, or something like that, which worked well in a small infrequently changing town, but is impractical in london when softer landmarks come and go Sign posts facing the wrong way, only remembering the next two or three turns then needing to be check again, not knowing a local language when navigating abroad, slow internet when I need to check i have a visual memory so I can move only in the places I have been before without getting lost. If my app or phone isnt working for places I dont know where to go then I would have to look at physical signs or ask people around. It's usually time pressured it doesn't come easy to me Having to switch between wifi and data on my phone. The post code taking me to the wrong door. Going down the wrong parallel street, and it curves round and takes you much further away rather than just being exactly parallel to the right street. My frustration is when I can not see where I'm going. For example, sometimes in the google maps I can't see the compass and then I have no directions reference to keep going. I feel that my sense of orientation is better when I don't use my phone but I tend to want precision and speed when I'm traveling. This means that I reply on apps like citymapper or google maps and end up getting lost on the way because I have to remember where to turn. However, when i use my orientation I roughly know in which direction to go and might even get there faster I can guess which direction I need to take to get to the right place. Example with navigation apps if I am supposed to go left I got right and then when its points out, I turn in the right direction. Location accuracy - I always find my self walking in one direction and then walking back to starting point because of inaccurate GPRS tracking or perhaps my inability to effectively transcribe what is on my navigation screen to a real life sitatuion. The compass function should be improved in standard mapping / navigational apps such as: Google Maps, Apple maps even City mapper. A combination of different street views might help. My phone battery die.
or google maps and end up getting lost on the way because I have to remember where to turn. However, when i use my orientation I roughly know in which direction to go and might even get there faster I can guess which direction I need to take to get to the right place. Example with navigation apps if I am supposed to go left I got right and then when its points out, I turn in the right direction. Location accuracy - I always find my self walking in one direction and then walking back to starting point because of inaccurate GPRS tracking or perhaps my inability to effectively transcribe what is on my navigation screen to a real life sitatuion. The compass function should be improved in standard mapping / navigational apps such as: Google Maps, Apple maps even City mapper. A combination of different street views might help. My phone battery die. Don't like to walk around with a phone in my hand navigating; landmarks aren't consistent on apps; loading times if not on wi-fi When the google maps arrow is not centred so facing the wrong way and I am having to interpret it the wrong way round. With a map u can turn it round... Technology - reliant on a good GPS connection and mobile data I've used printed out google maps before to help plan my journey but when I get off at a certain place I find it difficult to find the right road or starting point. However sometimes this has been solved by completing a virtual version of journey using google street view. If its something important such as getting to an interview, using this combination of technology and memory, as well as a map on my phone, gives me a pretty accurate idea of how to get to complete my journey on time. sometimes the signal disappearedďźŒthe navigating cannot follow me on time Unclear and confusing signsďź›no signal
Lack of signage Don't like it when streets don't have the road name on the corner - maybe it's been built over or not replaced. I have a poor sense of direction so rely on phones / maps to help me get around however I would like to be more self-reliant and not need to constantly be checking my phone, for example as this shows that you are not local to the area. in unfamiliar places, limited battery life Signs aren't clear enough, phone battery dying. Having to check my phone or looking lost Technology: Helps with general direction, but current location and facing direction not always accurate enough for nearer destinations. knowing whether you can walk easily or require public transport GPS that isn't accurate enough in busy cities
Appendix D: Survey and results
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Appendix E: Sample memory map prototype completed
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Appendix F: Co-develop workshop brief and sample completed worksheets
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Co-design workshop
Project brief Think of a journey your persona might take; it could be a work commute, meeting a friend, going to a location or just exploring. Using your persona, design solutions for either the main or secondary objectives. Think of situations where the persona would come into contact with the solutions, This could be in the physical world or digital. Use the touchpoint cards to write, draw, or make 3d prototypes of your ideas. Feel free to make things that aren’t on the cards as well! Be creative, be crazy and have fun.
Main objective Better memorise the experience of taking the journey; this could be understanding the route, knowing the direction travelled, noticing small details or knowing landmarks along the way.
Secondary objectives: 1. To Rebalance the need for technology by limiting the user from checking their phone. If a phone is needed it should be minimised to as few checks as possible 2. to provide a safety net if the user gets lost or disorientated. this is to encourage more self reliant behaviour whilst navigating.
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