INFORMATIVITY
Duration: Aug - Dec 2023
Role: Project Manager
Focus: User Research, Prototyping
Group Members: Minsuk Kim, Hong Yuan Lin, Lillian Hao, Julia Liu
Tools: Figma, Miro, Tableau, Excel
Throughout the course 05-410 User-Centered Research and Evaluation, our team delved into the Pittsburgh Smart Loading Zones initiative and identified a specific problem within it to address and resolve.
The Problem
HOW MIGHT WE enhance communication and information channels effectively to improve resident understanding and increase public acceptance of Smart Loading Zones?
The Solution
A redesigned landing page of the Curbpass website with a focus on informational content. When drivers scan the QR code for the first time on the sign, they will be directed to this page and have the option to learn about Smart Loading Zones before registering.
The city of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Parking Authority have implemented the Smart Loading Zones initiative pilot program managed by the company, Automus from December 2022 to December 2024. These are the main goals for this initiative:
Decrease emissions from unnecessary idling and circling
Reduce parking-caused traffic and double-parking
Increase parking turnover for restaurants and small businesses
Increase delivery efficiency and reduce dwell time
To do so, they have different parking rates and have spots located directly in front of businesses marked with a purple curb. Drivers scan the QR code on the sign to download the app, register, and pay for parking. SLZ’s also utilize cameras to keep track of license plate info for payment. Tickets are issued through mail for unregistered use, parking beyond the 2 hour maximum, and double parking.
Overview
What are Smart Loading Zones?
Research
Background
New parking rates:
0-5 min: $0.07/min
5-15 min: $0.14/min
15-30 min: $0.20/min
30-60 min: $0.27/min
Although the initiative aims to solve the above problems, when we started this project and researched the current public opinion, we found it was generally negative. Individually, we conducted background research through Google searches, Reddit threads, in-person observation of SLZ’s, and Automotus’s released reports. We then synthesized this information to narrow down common themes by “Walking the Wall” and setting research goals.
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The initiative claims to help businesses by increasing delivery efficiency since delivery drivers can park at the SLZ’s and quickly pick up their orders. However, small business owners protested SLZ’s when the pilot program began because ‘their suppliers need more time to unload and shouldn’t be forced to pay for the space’. Additionally, the city didn’t let them know they were implementing these zones.
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There were many Reddit threads discussing the lack of accessibility with SLZ’s. Residents were worried about the extra time it would take for disabled people to pick up food compared to others and how they might have to pay more because the parking rates go by minutes. Additionally, SLZ’s occupy the prime parking spots in front of small businesses so disabled people who want to spend longer at the restaurant/store wouldn’t have access to the most convenient spots and will have to park further.
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Generally, Pittsburgh residents didn’t believe SLZ’s would bring the improvements they claimed to. For example, delivery drivers are still likely to double park for free because they have to pay fees at SLZ’s. Furthermore, most small businesses get their shipments in the morning when parking is open so they don’t need to pay and won’t be using SLZ’s.
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Automotus says that their technology de-identifies data and only captures license plate information. However, residents who aren’t aware of this and see the cameras in their faces after parking have reported that they feel uncomfortable.
We decided to focus on the communication aspect surrounding SLZ’s and how we could improve the city government’s transparency.
Process
People generally don’t know what SLZ’s are even though they’re aware of their presence.
We conducted 5 interviews representative of our user groups - drivers, pedestrians, business owners, and government-affiliated employees. We utilized a semi-structured interview with the goals of understanding how Pittsburgh residents receive information from the government, learning about general impressions of SLZ’s so far, and comprehending what residents were looking for in city communication.
We synthesized the transcripts from each interview into interpretation notes…
And then began finding common themes by using the “affinity cluster” method.
From this, we were able to come up with 4 main insights.
There is a high level of disinterest in learning more about Smart Loading Zones.
Even though most people in Pittsburgh have seen SLZ’s around since they’re placed in highly commercial areas, they still don’t know what they are or what their purpose is. There is an overall lack of apathy regarding SLZ’s. People don’t feel the need to go out of their way to learn more about the initiative.
There are many barriers to learning about government initiatives (language, long time to take in information).
We learned that some of our interviewees found the signage to be inaccessible as it didn’t have language options. Additionally, generally residents said that information from the city government takes a long time to reach them, or doesn’t at all.
Brainstorming Solutions
People care about positive change.
Before sketching out solutions, we brought together all the research we had conducted (Rose, Bud, Thorn Diagrams, Affinity Diagramming, Interpretation Notes, and our early “Walk the Wall”) and narrowed down our insights, needs, and questions.
Insights
People would pay more attention to signs containing information about SLZ’s.
People read flyers.
People trust word of mouth from family and friends.
People would appreciate payment information on signs.
People would like to see what SLZ’s are before paying for them.
People would listen to city government about SLZ’s.
Using the “Crazy 8s” method, we generated 40 sketches total (8 each). We then used voting dots to identify top-priority needs from our sketches.
Need: People don’t read the signs because of the amount of words
Leading Question: How can we encourage people to read the signs and feel motivated to learn more about SLZ’s and use them?
Discussion Points:
Do you understand this sign?
Would you prefer this over a sign that uses text instead of icons?
Do you think this sign would motivate you to read it more than a text-heavy sign?
What are trade offs of this design compared to the original sign?
Hi-Fi Prototype
People aren’t aware of SLZ’s.
People don’t want to use SLZ’s because they don’t see pricing information anywhere.
People find SLZ’s inaccessible.
There are barriers to learning more about SLZ’s.
There is disinterest in learning more about SLZ’s.
Focusing on one specific need, we created storyboards that had three scenarios: the first was “safe”, the second was progressively riskier, and the third was meant to test social boundaries and make the user uncomfortable. Then, we conducted “speed dating” to gain insights on each solution. This is an example of what mine looked like:
Convenience
Needs
Clarity
Common misunderstandings we encountered usually related back to what exactly Smart Loading Zones were, how they worked in terms of payment and fines, their purpose, and how they would personally affect the lives of the users. We spent a lot of time introducing the concept of Smart Loading Zones in the context of Pittsburgh and various streets/roads, and there was a lot of confusion around how the city-wide implementation of this initiative worked and whether these would disrupt normal traffic.
A design idea that was validated was…
We conducted 5 interviews using this prototype and synthesized the feedback by affinity diagramming.
People don’t understand how SLZ’s work and therefore don’t want to use them.
Since most people don’t understand payment for SLZ’s and are intimidated by the purple curb and camera, they prefer to use and pay for regular parking instead. The only way to learn about them while parking is to register, which many aren’t willing to do immediately.
People prioritize “seeing and knowing about the positive impact” and “public opinion”. Especially for initiatives like this where the local community is greatly impacted, hearing and seeing positive things from other residents has the most potential to increase public acceptance.
Questions
How can we improve current signage to be more accessible?
How can we be more transparent with payment info on signs?
What are the gaps between existing communication channels for SLZs and ones that residents pay attention to?
How can we reach people to ensure they know what SLZs are?
How can we associate purple curbs with SLZs?
How do we reach the target audience of gig workers, business owners, drivers, etc.?
Our overall findings and insights revealed that above all, users valued:
Privacy
People liked being given opportunities to learn more although they didn’t find much motivation to do so.
Although we went back and forth between improving the physical signage versus the parking app (Curbpass), we decided to improve the app so that people the SLZ’s most impact would be prioritized. We wanted to provide information that people didn’t have to go out of their way to find. Therefore, when people scan the QR code, they should be able to learn about SLZ’s. We debated between giving the option to learn more in some type of button form and immediately providing the information and decided on the latter. One of the main themes across our research throughout the semester was the apathy residents generally had, and that even though they didn’t know what SLZ’s were and saw them around, they didn’t feel any motivation to learn about them. So, we felt even with a button, people still may not feel that motivation.
To combat that, we wanted to put the information in their faces, so that they would see it as a first-time user.
We added an informational landing page so that users could read about what SLZ’s are, what their purpose is, how payment works, and where they’re located before they register.
These were the changes we made based on our feedback:
Zooming in on parking zones after selection (map interface)
Representing information using more bullet points rather than full sentences
Having a more zoomed in map interface overall based on user’s location
Solution
Our final solution incorporated the feedback we received in the last iteration. For our deliverable, we made an Elevator Pitch Poster that was presented in a Zoom breakout room exhibition form to various Human-Computer Interaction Institute faculty, students, and Automotus employees (people involved in the integration of the initiative). We received extremely positive feedback.
