Assignment: Global User Research study
The theme of World Usability day 2008 was ‘Transportation’. To contribute to this theme, User Intelligence and the partners of the UXalliance conducted a global study on parking meters. We were interested in discovering patterns in the design of parking meters all over the world. In addition, we wanted to generate attention on usability, as this is the goal of World Usability Day itself.
Researching a physical product like a parking meter doesn’t differ much from online interactive products (websites, email newsletters, etc). Clear instructions and feedback throughout the process are just as vital for providing a good user experience. Studying the interaction of users and products will always reveal insights that can help to make improvements, regardless of the kind of product used.
Method used: Global Expert Reviews
To get an overview of parking meters all over the world, we asked our UXalliance partners to conduct a short Expert Review on a typical parking meter in their country. The reviewers described the process of paying for a parking space and reported any issues or problems they encountered. These reviews were then compared to find common challenges and solutions to the problem of using a parking meter.
Results: Areas of complexity identified
What we have found is that no two parking meters in our survey are completely the same and that the complexity of operating the parking meters varies considerably. There is for instance a world of difference between the auto-detecting parking meter in Tokyo and the complex and error-prone parking ticket dispenser in Amsterdam. Several factors that influence the complexity were identified and described.
Also our findings received quite some media coverage, giving attention to the importance of good usability and promoting the World Usability Day in the Netherlands.
Finally, this study shows the power of the UXalliance. In a relatively short period we were able to collect data from all over the world. Making use of the local knowledge of the alliance partners, we were able to get inside information on parking meters throughout the world (e.g. specific parking rules and the acceptance of paying for a parking space). This is something we would never be able to get from just looking at the meters ourselves and these local insights greatly enriched our study.
More information?
To find out more about this study you can download the full article, or look at an interactive map showing all the parking meter locations.