Evaluation of a Mobile and Seamless Travel Companionship in Smart Public Transport

Abstract: Introduction:In the SmartMMI (https://smartmmi.de/project/) project we combine a smart public transport data platform, a mobile application and a SmartWindow implemented in a public transport enabling the use of contextaware passenger information. Prior we evaluated the prototypes of our mobile application based on the method of paper prototypes using a multi-device evaluation approach introduced in [1]. In the current work, we go one step further and evaluate the high fidelity and fully developed SmartMMI mobile application through an online survey and interview in which 24 persons participated. We conducted two different questionnaires that were used to evaluate user interface satisfaction (QUIS) and user experience (UEQ) and personal interviews.Through the development process, several evaluation phases resulted in gradually improved prototype. The iterative evaluation procedure is shown in [2]. However, how would be the user interaction with such companion technology in case of access to both the SmartWindow and mobile app interface? Would they be satisfied with this ability? This matter would be the focus of this research to evaluate the travel companion during their journey.Conducted Analysis: UEQ Analysis, QUIS and Our Questions Analysis: From quality aspects point of view, hedonic quality items (simulation and originality) assess the lowest mean, among others. Benchmark analysis show that SmartMMI app scores high compared to the products in the benchmark which this can indicate that users generally found the product’s user experience (UX) satisfactory except the Novelty and Simulation, which are indicated again as the weakness of the app by participants.Results:Many positive comments were made on the prototype in general. It was simply structured, minimalistic designed and quickly to learn. In addition, they acknowledged the door-to-door routing, the icon-based choice of transportation mode, the integrated map, and the systematic support during the journey. Some liked the simplification, and many stated it was better to be sufficient and useful for maintaining orientation during the trip. Marking icons was intuitively usable. However, some participants felt confused with the 4-digit number and green numerical sign in the left side of each transition which the latter means the delay in fact. Finally, suggestions for more recognizable map icon received. Participants also liked the idea of having mobility restriction filter in the setting and bookmark option of the routes. Overall, it is interesting to note that SmartMMI app was one of the simplest and easiest applications among other tracking apps which its main role is assisting the passenger through the journey. This was the main result of our evaluation.Outlook:In the full paper, we will describe our analysis and evaluation approaches that we used conducting the studies in more detail. We report on our experiences, the results and the designs of studies implemented, as well as give insights into lessons learned while developing and evaluating Seamless Travel Companionship in Smart Public Transport.References:[1] Titov, W., Tran, H., Keller, C., & Schlegel, T. (2020, July). A Multi-device EvaluationApproach of Passenger Information Systems in Smart Public Transport. InInternational Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 340-358). Springer,Cham.[2] Keller, C., Titov, W., Sawilla, S., & Schlegel, T. (2019). Evaluation of a smart publicdisplay in public transport. Mensch und Computer 2019-Workshopband.

Keywords: Methodological Evaluation, Seamless Travel Companionship, Smart Public Transport

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002753

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