Interaction Magazine

Interaction Magazine Interaction Design - Autumn 2011 - October 11th

Rejsekort put to the test Does it work?

Users observed

Can they figure it out?

Experts verdict

Applying Heuristics

This issue is edited and published by Meiken Hansen s050031 Martin Løkkegaard s072049 Maja Hyveled Jakobsen s071768 Michael Mansdal Larsen s082510 Kamilla Grove Sørensen s072013 Christopher Holm-Hansen s072023

Contents Introduction

- Method - Structure

Observed users

- Bus and Train - Rejsekort vending machine

System Purchase of the card

- Heuristic evaluation

Applying Credit

- User observations - Heuristic evaluation

Check-in

- User obersvations

- Heursitic evaluation - Compairson

Change of check-in settings

- User obersvations

- Heursitic evaluation - Compairson

Storing the rejsekort

- User obersvations

- Heursitic evaluation - Compairson

Check-out

- User obersvations

- Heursitic evaluation - Compairson

Discussion & Conclusion

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Introduction The objective of this assignment is to perform a detailed usability study on first time users of the Rejsekort system together with a heuristic evaluation of the system.

The Heuristic evaluation was performed by members of group 2 on the basis of chapter 10.2 p 228 - 229 in the book Designing Interactive Systems. [Benyon]

The Rejsekort is a new electronic ticket system for public transport which currently is being implementation in Denmark. At the moment the system is fully implemented in some areas outside of Copenhagen.

Currently it is possible to buy tree types of Rejsekort: Rejsekort Private, Rejsekort Flex and Rejsekort Anonymous. The Rejsekort used for this assignment was a Flex card. The study of the system was done in Copenhagen at a time where it was only implemented in a few bus and train stretches. [Rejsekort.dk]

The usability study and heuristic evaluation will be presented in sections based on the sequence of actions in the use of the Rejsekort. Each sections will contain user observations followed by our heuristic evaluation. The observations and heuristic evaluation will be compared and commented on in the comparison within each section.

Finally an overall discussion of the system and a conclusion will be conducted.

Structure

The majority of the observations were done during a weekend where rush with daily commuters was not witnessed. This might have revealed other interaction scenarios with bigger groups of people having to check in and out at the same time.

Method

The knowledge and data obtained during the usability study was gathered through first person user observations, video recording, photos and post use interviews. Only a few basic instructions (e.g. destination and number of people travelling) were given prior to the interaction with the system in order to get as unbiased reactions from the user as possible. There were no communication with the user during the interaction with the system to avoid any distraction. Instead, post use interviews on the users experience with the system were used to extract extra information. Users ranging in age from 20-75 were approached in both bus and train check-in/out situations to give broader and more holistic results to better substantiate the observations.

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Observed users All the observed users had never been introduced to the system before

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October Issue The observed users traveling with train or bus, describing demographics, transport method and destination

USER 1 Age: 20 Status: Student Residence: Lithuania

USER 2 Age: 43 Status: Businessman Residence: Sæby, Jutland

USER 3 Age: 76 Status: Senior citizen Residence: Copenhagen

USER 4 Age: 65 Status: Senior citizen Residence: Copenhagen

USER 5 Age: 25 Status: Student Residence: Copenhagen

USER 6 Age: 25 Status: Student Residence: Copenhagen

Østerport

Central station

Østerport

Central station

Nordhavn

Trianglen

Trianglen

Skt. Hans Torv

Skt. Hans Torv

Nordhavn

Skt. Hans Torv

Nordhavn

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Interaction Magazine The observed users interacting with the Rejsekort vending machine.

USER 7 Age: 26 Status: Waitress Residence: Hørsholm

Rejsekort vending machine

USER 8 Age: 29 Status: Hair dresser Residence: Copenhagen

Rejsekort vending machine

USER 9 Age: 24 Status: Student Residence: Copenhagen

Rejsekort vending machine

USER 10 Age: 39 Status: Finance consultant Residence: Copenhagen

Rejsekort vending machine

USER 11 Age: 21 Status: Student Residence: Copenhagen

Rejsekort vending machine

USER 12

8

Age: 31 Status: It support Residence: Copenhagen

Rejsekort vending machine

Users observed Observed users

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Can they figure it out?

Testing the vending machine

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The System This is a short graphical run-through of the Rejsekort system. Showing elements and termonology that will be refered to throughout this issue of Interaction Magazine

1. Become part of the system

Buy the card at the Rejskort vending machines (available from nov. 2011), online or find a shop selling it.

e

in h c a M g n i d n e V Rejsekort

4. Remember to check out

5. Refill credit

Ple

ase

10

Ple

rem

emb

er!!

ase

rem

em

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2. Get the card

If ordered online, you wait for a couple of days before you get your card. Purchaseing in a machine or shop and you are ready to go right away.

The Check in at the blue spots at the stations or use the Rejsekort vending machines.

Present the card just infron of the spot and await a “bling� and you are good to go.

Tra

y

3. Find the Blue Spot

mb

Using the vending machines, you need to place your Rejsekort in the tray positioned the middle of the blue spot.

er!

There is no need to worry about how far or for how long you travel, as long as you make sure to check in.

4. Take a ride

d n a St

Blue Point

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Purchase of card

Interaction Magazine

Purchase of card In order to use the Rejsekort system, a Rejsekort is needed. There are currently four ways to purchase a Rejsekort; either through www.rejsekort.dk, by calling the Rejsekort support center, in shops offering Rejsekort or at the Rejsekort vending machines positioned on S-train stations where the system is implemented. [Rejsekort.dk] Since the system is not fully implemented, purchasing the Rejsekort at the vending machine has proven difficult or not possible.

The card used to test the Rejsekort system was purchased online at www.rejsekort.dk. The project team member had no trouble ordering and buying the card. The card was received 5 days after the order was placed. A user did as well attempt to buy a card at the Rejsekort vending machine. It quickly showed not yet to be possible and the user was messaged to call the support center or return to a shop where Rejsekort were being sold.

Heuristic evaluation

This section contains a heuristic evaluation of the purchase of the Rejsekort.

Familiarity

Ordering the Rejsekort online might prove problematic for elderly people as it demands knowledge and experience with purchasing commodities over the Internet. You also need to have an email address to be able to buy the Rejsekort, which can be an obstacle for people with little or no computer experience.

Further more, the aspect of giving your credit card information to an online service is not fully domisticated in all age groups, again with focus on the elderly. If the option of ordering the card online is not possible or accessible for a user then the other options are either to call the Rejsekort support center, using the Rejsekort vending machines or go to a shop offering Rejsekort.

The Rejsekort vending machine present the user with an interface not far from what the user will see at their personal computer. However in the case of elderly people, this option might be associated with an ATM offering some degree of familiarity. Calling the support center might also help people with little or no computer skills to become part of the Rejsekort system. To find a shop that sells Rejsekort you need to go to www.rejsekort.dk and locate the shop nearest you. Again the dependency of the Internet might hinder some users in finding the right shops.

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Applying credits

Interaction Magazine

Applying credits At the moment refilling the Rejsekort with credit can be done in two different ways. Either on the Internet or at the vending machines specially made for the Rejsekort. The card itself costs 50 DKK no matter where you purchase it and you initially need to fill the card with a minimum amount of 100 DKK at startup. In addition to refilling the rejsekort at the vending machines you need a creditcard since there are no recipient of cash. When using the vending machine to refill the card, it is possible to choose different amounts according to the user needs with a minimum of 100 DKK. If the user on the other hand chooses to refill the rejsekort by going to www.rejsekort.dk, the user can either refill the card manually, or set up a subscription which automatically refills the card every time the card runs out of credit. The amount of credit covered by the subscription spans from a minimum of 100 DKK to a maximum of 2042 DKK for every refill. The user can change the settings of the subscription on the website at any time if the needs should change over time.

User observations

User 7 was told to refill the card with a specific amount before using the card to check in to start the travel. The user 7 positioned the card in the vending machine as scripted. She read the info on the display and navigated easily through the menus. When asked for a credit card she pulled out her wallet and payed the 100 DKK of credit. After the cash was withdrawn from the credit card, she pulled out the credit card followed by the Rejsekort, left the machine and headed for the platform to catch the train.

Video (Press botton): Applying credit

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Heuristic evaluation

This section contains a heuristic evaluation of the Rejsekort vending machine during deposit of credit.

Visibility, control, navigation, feedback and recovery

When positioning the card in the tray of the vending machine, a clear and simple menu appears on the screen. The menu does what it is supposed to.

It provides the user with a simple overview of the basic functions the system can perform. By entering the “Tank op” button on the interface, the system redirects the user to a submenu with different refilling amount options. Simple and easy to understand. The user is at all time aware of what the system is doing regarding the refilling process thanks to the information on the screen. If pressing a button unintentionally, the system provides a return option with the “tilbage/ start forfra” button for easy recovery. Pressing the “tilbage/start forfra” button redirects the user to the start menu or one step backwards which makes the system easy to navigate.

Familiarity

The menus on the interface are quite similar to the ones found in ATM machines. The only noticeable difference is the touchscreen buttons which are physical on many ATM machines. This is however replaced by the pressure-sensitive buttons displayed on the touchscreen.

Consistency

The physical consistency is kept throughout the system when it comes to use of colours on the machine interface. All buttons are blue on a white background.

A minor matter is the “tilbage/start forfra” button which has the same function. The button differs in

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text depending on the current step of the sequence.

The button states “start forfra” if the user has the opportunity to go one step backwards. If the user can navigate more than one step backward the button instead states “tilbage”. Some users could find this misleading but as they get to know the system they will probably look past it.

The conceptual consistency is present in the touchscreen as more people tend to own touchscreen devices.

Another constraint present in the system is the setup of a subscription with the “tank-op-aftale”, where the minimum amount withdrawn from the credit card is set even higher, 300 DKK to be exact.

Some users like the fact that a “2-zoners klippekort” only cost 140 DKK. When setting the minimum at 300 DKK it withholds some users from subscribing due to the psychological barrier the raised amount could cause. This forces the users to refill manually on the vending machine which as well could be considered annoying to some.

On the Rejsekort vending machines the card tray is surrounded by a blue pulsating circle similar to the blue point logo of the Rejsekort system. This allows users to locate the machines from a distance or identify them among other ticket machines. The blue point is the only recognisable aspect though, together with the screen that shows a picture of the blue point. The rest of the machine is metal and for new users it can, even if it tries not to, blend in with other machines at the stations.

Constraints vs flexibility

The system constrains users when manually applying credit at the vending machine by setting a minimum of 100 DKK of credit. By constraining the users choice of amount, the flexibility is reduced, which could cause annoyance to some users. This could be caused by the fact that you have to apply more credit than intended to use in one travel which leaves unused credit in the system. This is however probably only an issue to users travelling rarely. A refund option is a function to be considered. When buying a “klippekort” you have the opportunity of returning excessive “klip” to regain cash where there are no such solution in the Rejsekort-system. This service would especially be relevant for tourists, who would prefer the possibility to hand in the card in order to get back e.g. the 50 DKK of unspented credit.

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Check-in

Interaction Magazine

Check-in When checking in at the bus entrance or at the train platform the card must be held in front of the the blue glowing area on the stand.

The check in may also be performed on a Rejsekort vending machine found on train and bus stations.

When checking in using the Rejsekort vending machine, the card is placed in the tray while the passenger navigates on a touchscreen The user must have minimum 50 DKK on the card to be able to check in. If not, the stand will tell the user that the action is denied. This is because the system withdraws 50 DKK at the start of every travel. When checking out the system returns excessive money. If 22

the user forgets to check out, the fee is 50 DKK.

User observation of check-in

User 1 experienced some difficulties at the check-in stands on the journey from Valby Station to Copenhagen Central Station. This was mainly due to the fact that information on the check-in stands only occurs in Danish. Since user 1 did not speak Danish he could not interpret the information given by the system. The project team informed user 1 that he should check in prior to the journey using the stands on the platform.

User 1 tried to check in by waving the card in front of the blue area. The stand did however not register the card. User 1 assumed that he now was checked in correctly. The project team informed him that he was not checked in properly and he began searching for other check-in stands to complete the task. He then went to a check-out stand and placed the card in front of the blue area. The stand informed him in Danish that he was not checked in yet and therefore could not check out. User 1 interpreted the message as if the check was completed.

User 1 and 4 failed at checking in in their first attempt.

They swiped the card past the blue area instead of just holding the card in front of it. In one occasion user 4 tried to check in in the bus two times without success.

The bus driver told her to try one more time but once again she failed. The bus driver did not notice it, and told the lady to enter the bus. Observing the incident, the project team had to point out the mistake.

All users were reading the display while checking in instead of only reacting on the sound.

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Heuristic evaluation of check-in

This section contains a heuristic evaluation of the Rejsekort check in.

Visibility

The check-in/out stands look very much alike. It is not very clear that there is one stand intended for check-in and one for check-out. To distinguish the stands from each other they are marked with a small text in the top right corner of the stand: blue on check-in, red on check-out. Stands, with the same purpose, are all facing the same direction. There is a red marked area on the platform floor in front of the check-out stand reminding people to check out.

It is possible that first time users will be confused about the similarity and mix up the stands. When the floor is not visible due to large crowds or objects, the users will have to read on the stand to see if it is the correct one. For people with impaired vision it might be a challenge to identify the correct stand. Therefore the stands have a built in voice explaining its purpose when a user places their hand on top of the stand (e.g. ‘check-in’). The voice only announces in Danish. For elderly this might not be enough since they are likely to suffer from both reduced eyesight and hearing.

Consistency

Other travel systems have similar stands that requires check-in before entering the train. This might entail acceptance of the system. The “klippekort system” has a stand which people “check in” through prior to bus or train travel, much like the Rejsekort stand, but this system does not need checking out.

The blue spot on the stand is what physically connects the stand with the rest of the system. Besides this there are no clear resemblances or attributes that connects the stand with the system.

Familiarity

When using the check-in stand it communicates with the user through sound (voice speaking, jingle) and text. The text and voice is in Danish which non-Danish speaking users will not understand.

The display shows ‘OK’ when check-in/out are accepted, which is the only universally understood information. Use of more universal terminology could prevent or reduce failures related to foreigners

Affordance

The blue spot is supposed to afford presentation of the Rejsekort. A user that has previous experience with similar systems (e.g. lift card system from skiing) are expected to recognise this affordance without major difficulties. For users with no previous experiences it might be slightly more confusing. The fact that the user is in possession of a physical card increases the chances of understanding the affordance of the blue spot. It is suspected that interpretations on methods of card presentations will arise for example swiping the card in front of the spot. From the display the user will expect to get information about the system status when interacting with the check-in stand.

Control

The stands are the ones controlling the check-in. If these do not work, there is only one thing that the user can do which is to alert maintenance.

Feedback

The system provides an ascending sound when check-in is done successfully. The sound is descending when the check-in is unsuccessful. The difference between the sounds are not big and the sound for unsuccessful check-in does not appear 23

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“alarming”. The sound shall probably function as a help for everyday use, since the user can listen when checking in instead of reading on the screen.

An “alarming” sound could create an undesired stressful environment around the stands or it could teach the user to do it correctly. A new user needs to learn the meaning of the sounds before being able to act on them. The stand sometimes give a feedback that says “error” without elaboration.

Such feedback is not very informative if the cause of the error is not known.

Recovery

When the error messages were received from the stand it quickly went back to initial state.

Constraints

There are constraints in system at the check-in stand. Users can not by mistake check in more than once and pay a lot of money for journeys they did not take. When checking in twice on the stand a warning message will appear.

Flexibility

The stands are performing a very clear task, which does not allow many alterations. If the user has impaired vision, the possibility to hover their hand over the stand will activate a voice, which will inform what stand the user is at instead of having to read on the screen.

The stand can not recognise the Rejsekort if it is presented to the check-in stand together with other credit cards. This is interesting because the Rejsekort is the same size as regular plastic credit cards and therefore are likely to be stored with these in e.g. a wallet, making it handy if the user could simply present the wallet in front of the check-in stand at check-in. However, this is not possible. Instead, the user will have to keep the Rejsekort separate 24

from all other cards or always take out their wallets whenever they have to use public transportation. At this point the system is not very flexible and does not give freedom for efficient ways to store the card during check-in and check-out.

Style

The stands have a very distinct appearance with the glowing blue area as a theme. This makes them easy to recognize as being part of the Rejsekort system.

The stands have a very simple shape with a futuristic appeal due to the blue glowing area.

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Comparison It is evident that the system does not make it visible for non-Danish speaking users what stand to use when checking in or out. User 1 could not interpret what was the check-in and -out stand. If user 1 had been travelling on his own he probably would have checked in incorrectly and travelled without a valid ticket. This would increase the possibility of him getting a fine which could lead to a bad experience making him choose another ticket or transport form altogether. Lack of easy identifiable symbols/visualisations/colours on the stand interface does not support communication. Since both the user study and heuristic evaluation showed problems in this area it might be an area taken up for further investigation by the company responsible for the implementation of the Rejsekort.

The reason why the users read the text on the display instead of reacting to the sound, might be caused by the fact that they are first time users and do not know the system yet. They will probably react on the sound rather than using the display, when they are more familiar with the system.

Even though user 1 had trouble checking in, the following interview revealed that the user thought the Rejsekort-system was easy and intuitive to use. This does not correspond to the difficulties he had to begin with - nevertheless he had no trouble checking out. This is consistent with user 2 who had tried to use a similar travel system abroad, and had no problem what so ever when using the Rejsekort. This could indicate that the check-in and -out function of the Rejsekort system might not take much practise to get familiar with.

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Change of check-in settings

Interaction Magazine

Change of check-in settings It is possible to check two passengers in at the same Rejsekort or to check your child or bike in with you.

This task was tested both at the train station and in the bus. The major difference between train and bus is that, at the train station the traveller himself has to check in an extra person. In the bus the bus driver has to perform the task.

Observations of changing settings

When a user has to check in two passengers on one Rejsekort travelling by train the user must use the Rejsekort vending machines at the train station to change the regular check-in settings. Several users were asked to try to check themselves in together with another person through the vending machine.

The majority of these users had difficulties placing the Rejsekort in the tray of the machine. Those who had trouble placed the card in the tray followed by immediate removal when the machine had registered the card. The removal of the card caused the machine to go back to initial state: “Please insert your card� This confused the users, not understanding why the machine did not behave as anticipated.

The majority of the users repeated this mistake several times before figuring out the correct behaviour which is to leave the card in the tray while using the machine. User 12 placed the card in the tray without letting go of it during the entire session. User 8 gave up. Most of the users figured out how to place the card after a while.

Videos (Press botton): Misunderstanding check-in Holding on to card throughout check-in

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When traveling multiple passengers on one card by bus, the bus driver performs the task of checking in.

The chosen test-person therefore was a bus driver.

Even though the bus driver just recently had attended a course in the usage of the Rejsekort, the driver clearly experienced difficulties. The bus driver told the users just to try to repeat the check-in action for several check-ins. However this did not work. As it failed, the driver tried to correct the mistake through the bus interface. Again without luck. Finally the two users were let in the bus with only one being checked in. In case of a ticket control they were told just to refer to the bus driver.

Heuristic evaluation of changing check in settings

This section contains a heuristic evaluation of the Rejsekort feature: changing check in settings.

Visibility

It is not obviously visible to the user that the option to check in two passengers with the same card is possible. The user has to visit www.rejsekort.dk, go to the Q&A section and then find the answer between many other topics. Another option is to explore the Rejsekort vending machines or ask the staff to figure out that it is possible. The lacking visibility of the function makes the process of checking in two passengers unnecessarily difficult as the user has to actively acquire information about the system prior to the travel.

Consistency

Since the task of checking in multiple passengers on one card differs from the bus to the train, the system is not physically consistent. The user has to know in advance that he/she should not check in in the bus

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before informing the bus driver about the amount of passengers traveling on the same card. This is a problem, as the knowledge about the different situations, has to be held by the user.

Feedback

The Rejsekort vending machine responds quickly to user inputs (when pressing the buttons the screen changes immediately). The error messages that were witnessed were written in a simple and easy language.

The feedback from the machine is however strictly visual and is therefore required that people actually read the messages if they are to understand what the machine tells them. It is doubtful that every user reads these messages (not all are even capable of reading/ seeing the messages) which could cause failure during interaction with the machine. If the visual feedback was accompanied by auditory feedback, the number of user errors would probably be lessened.

Comparison The heuristic evaluation of the task showed that there is a lack of information on the possibility of travelling two passengers on one card. The observed users were incited to perform this task, and therefore were aware of the possibility of checking multiple passengers in using only one card. If the user test had been conducted differently where this information was not given the result might have been different.

Recovery

It is possible to recover from a mistake, however it can prove difficult. If the user makes the mistake of checking in before addressing the driver, he/she has to check out before the bus driver is capable of checking in the user correctly. This means that the user is obliged to go to the back of the bus to check out, and then go to the front again where the bus driver now is capable of performing the check-in correctly.

This can result in delays and become a source of frustration in e.g. a rush-hour scenario where the checkout stand might not be easily accessible due to large crowds in the bus.

Flexibility

There are no alternative ways of changing the checkin settings than through the Rejsekort machine when travelling with train. The flexibility is therefore rather limited when having to change check-in settings.

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Storing the Rejsekort

Interaction Magazine

Storage of the Rejsekort during travel As the user is not suppose to use the Rejsekort during travel, only at check-in and -out, the card should be stored somewhere.

Observations of storage

All the users held the card in their hand during the whole travel. One of the project team members tried the Rejsekort in a bus. He automatically tucked the card in his wallet. During the travel he realised that the card should be ready for checkout later. He found the card again and held it in his hand.

Heuristic evaluation of the travel and storing of the card This section contains a heuristic evaluation of “storing of the card�.

Flexibility

The user has total freedom when choosing a convenient storage during the travel. But as the card should be used for check-out it should preferably be stored easily accessible.

For a user who has adapted to the system it is assumable that the card would be stored in the wallet, purse or pocket as this is the current storage space for other cards and tickets. The storage in a wallet does not go along with the fact that the card cannot be recognized at the stand when accompanied with other cards.

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Comparison As the card did not belong to the users themselves this might have influenced the storage of the card during the travel. The fact that they were first time users of the Rejsekort might also have influenced their behaviour. Holding the card in their hands would in this case remind them to give back the card at the end of the travel. As a first time user you can be concerned about how to do, and try to be prepared for all kinds of situations. Holding the card in your hand would ensure readiness at all time. This could on the other hand cause lose of card if users experience unexpected situations.

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How do you carry your Rejsekort?

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Check-out

Interaction Magazine

Check-out By the end of the travel the user should check out.

The procedure for checking out is almost the same as for checking in. In the bus, the checkout point is placed inside, just next to the exits. At the train station there are 2 - 4 check out stands on each platform.

User observations of check out

Neither user 1 nor 2 had trouble with the actual check-out at the train station. The issue when checking out of the train was to remember to check out and to find the check-out stand on the train station. User 2 almost forgot to check out before leaving the platform, but remembered it himself anyway.

User 1 had trouble finding the check-out stand at Copenhagen Central Station as not all check-out stands and check-in stands were placed together.

After a while he found it by the end of the platform with a red mark on the floor and he checked out without further problems.

In the process of checking out of the bus it was interesting to observe, that both user 3 and 4 tended to wait until the doors were completely open before they did the actual check-out.

This led to the bus driver closing the doors before user 4 finished the check-out process.

When user 3 was checking out, the change in the flow of going off the bus, led to people rushing into the Rejsekort user. User 4 in bus had trouble with the actual check-out. She “swiped“ the card in front of the scanner, as she was doing when checking in, and the system had difficulties sensing the card.

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Heuristic evaluation of check-out This section contains a heuristic evaluation of the Rejsekort check-out.

Visibility

To prevent the error of ‘forgetting to check out’, the system visually tries to remind the user to check out by putting stickers on the bus doors, panting on the floor and the use of other signs. These do not draw very much attention and could easily be overlooked by e.g. a commuter who is in a hurry. The stickers on the bus door are only visible when the doors are closed. The system only uses visualization to prevent the check-out error instead of also addressing other human senses as e.g. hearing. (billeder af skilte - busdør og gulv)

Consistency

The procedure of checking out one or more travellers are the same and the stands are alike. The user recognises the stand and assume that the same process are needed as for check in.

Navigation

The system does not inform the user when it is legal to check out of the bus.

Feedback

The user gets feedback on whether the check-out is successful or not through the text on the display and the sound. The display also informs the user about price of the travel and remaining amount of credits on the card.

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Constraints

As mentioned earlier there are signs reminding the user of checking out. However the user is never forced to check out, which could be characterised as a weakness in the system. If a person forgets to check out and leaves the station or bus stop, he/she will not receive any notifications or the like that they have not checked out. This is because the system does not know where the user wants to terminate their travel and therefore cannot tell if the user is still travelling or long done.

When checking in the user automatically deposits 50 DKK for the travel. If the user forgets to check out the cost of the travel will be the 50 DKK. To prevent that some users will exploit this when traveling distances valued at more than 50 DKK, it is only accepted to forget to check out two times within 12 months.

Should it happen three times the card will be blocked and the user will not be allowed to buy any new cards.

For users who do not have the intention to abuse the system this is a severely and unfair punishment when the system does not urge the users to check out in any other ways than using signs.

Flexibility

The system does not give much flexibility on when to or how to check out. You have to check out right after the destination is reached and you have to check out by using the stands. At the time of study the amount of check out stands were limited to two in each end of the train platforms. During rush hour traffic, main transport hubs gets flooded with daily public transport commuters. If these commuters begin using the Rejsekort (which probably is the intention) there will be an intense pressure on the system. Especially in the check out situation where an entire trainload need to present their card in front of one of the check out stands which causes a irregular stress on the check out stand. It can easily be imagined that this will lead to

people queueing up to be able to check out and in the progress get frustrated as most people supposedly are in a hurry to get to work in the morning.

The stress on the check in stands is a smaller problem as people arrive at the station continuously so the use of the check in stand is more evenly distributed.

Comparison Even though there are signs reminding the user to check out, it might prove difficult to remember to check out after every travel, even when the users have adapted to the system. A bus driver informed the project team, that the organisation behind the Rejsekort anticipated that a lot of people would forget to check out. Therefore they contemplated placing check-out stand around the city. This might indicate that there are lacks and difficulties within the system that are to be dealt with.

The reason why less of the users had trouble with checking out than with checking in might be that they recall the check-in and have learned from this experience. The errors occurring in the bus during check-out might be start-up errors. The other non-Rejsekort users bumped into user 3 as they were not aware of this new procedure when leaving the bus. The same explanation might be valid for the bus driver closing the door when user 4 was checking out. The use of the Rejsekort entails new procedures which need a change in the users habits and behaviours.

The fact that the users in the bus tends to postpone check-out until the doors are completely open might have something to do with them not wanting cheat by checking out too early or that they do not know if the system is ready.

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Discussion & Conclusion

Interaction Magazine

Discussion Various physical considerations of the system

The Rejsekort system requires the user to handle the card in different ways. When using the stands the card is briefly placed on a blue area and removed again. Whereas using the Rejsekort vending machine the card has to be left in the pocket during the whole session. These two different sequences gives an impression of a system lacking physical consistency.

At the train station, the test persons using the Rejsekort vending machine did not seem to comprehend the illustrations on the screen appearing when prematurely removing the card. The screen illustrates the card in the machine, but does not show how the card should be placed in the tray and left there during a whole sequence. The vending machine does not clearly communicate exactly what is expected of the user.

The sound coming from the check-in stands is not very loud. The speakers are placed on the backside of the stand, which due to the placement of the check-in and check-out stand (back to back) means that they both more or less blocking the sound. The purpose of the sound is to assist the feedback coming from the machine upon user interaction. It is more than likely that this sound will drown during rush hour. This means that the user will only get half of the intended feedback resulting in bigger risks of failure. It could be discussed whether or not suitability for alternative situations have been considered during the design of the feedback.

The distinct sound coming from the check-in stand in the bus during the usability study ap40

peared quite loud and piercing. It was a lot louder then the sounds from other devises and might in the long run have a stressful influence on the bus driver. It could be discussed whether or not the way the check-in stand communicates is thoughtful of the environment in which it is placed, or if the designers only had the users in mind while creating the means of communication.

The main reason for the blue spot on the stands and on the vending machine seems to be to bind together the different parts of the Rejsekort system and make the design consistent. The spot does not have an obvious function or purpose apart for being a logo. The Rejsekort system could choose to lower their degree of consistency, so that the blue spot e.g. turned red/ green when checking in/out to additionally give the spot a function (in this case extra feedback) that might assist the users.

Older generations may have difficulties adapting to new technology.Ergo the fact that the entire system builds and relies on fairly up-to-date technology (RFID, touchscreens, online registration/support etc.) will be a challenge for many elderly users. If the system is to totally replace the current system it is questionable how many users will be disregarded and intimidated and therefor refrain from using the public transportation network.

The Rejsekort compared to some current travel methods

Currently, most passengers using public transportation in Copenhagen on an every day basis use a “period card� which is a personal card that is renewed once a month. The card is valid for a certain amount of zones that the user can choose. The price is according to the amount of zones to be traveled in. The

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user can travel as much as he/she desires within these zones without extra cost. [movia] If the user needs to travel beyond the zone area on his/her period card they have to buy additional zones.

The Rejsekort has a personal variant of the card.

Using the Personal Rejsekort the user pays for each travel. The price is thereby dependant on the amount of traveling. The user has to check in and out using the personal Rejsekort. Using the period card the user does not have to take card out of the wallet travelling by trains in the Copenhagen area unless a checker asks for it. When travelling by bus the user must present the card to the driver when entering the bus. If a user only travels in certain patterns he/she might save time by not having to check in and out compared to the Rejsekort. If the user travels in different zones of the city he/she might save time using the Rejsekort due to time spent buying additional zones.

It is not easy to comprehend the monthly travelling cost using the Rejsekort. The user may use a calculator on The Rejsekort website to estimate the price.

The user needs to type in all the traveling which is expected for a whole month to be able to compare the price with the period card. For some people, the elderly for example, this might be difficult to do and a period card may seem like a good solution since the price is fixed no matter how much travelling is done within a certain amount of zones. For users with a lot of unforeseen travelling wanting to be rid of buying extra zones the Rejsekort might seem like a good solution.

If a lot of the users that are currently using a period card start using the Rejsekort, extra check-in and check-out actions will be accomplished on the train platforms. On the bus extra check-out traffic must be taken into consideration.

Conclusion

While observing first time users of the Rejsekort several challenges were revealed. The challenges are all of different character and found in different aspects of the Rejsekort system. What can be concluded for many of these challenges (e.g. when to check out when travelling with bus, remembering to check out all together) is that the users will need to adapt and learn new actions in order to harvest the intended advantages of the system. This means that an undefined start-up period with a lot of minor user errors is inevitable. Concluding, the willingness of people to adapt and take in the new system is what defines the success of the system. The chance of success could be seriously increased if the challenges stated throughout the study are reevaluated and altered to better fit the the system. Less user errors means shorter start-up period and easier acceptance of the Rejsekort system.

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