Abstract
Research with end users can contribute to the design of technologies such as intelligent transport systems. However, it is important to use methods that can facilitate the uptake of research outcomes by the industry. This paper presents the use of passenger personas as part of the process of developing new technologies for the rail industry in the UK. Personas represent archetypal users and can facilitate the understanding of user behaviours, needs, motivations, characteristics and limitations. We aggregated existing knowledge and complemented it with bespoke data collection to understand passengers’ perceptions about the rail system. The study design focused on current user experiences and also where technology can improve these experiences. A set of four personas was produced in order to illustrate who the users of the train systems are as well as their characteristics. This knowledge informed the requirements of innovative technologies that can enhance user experiences during rail travel.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Lyons, G., Jain, J., Susilo, Y., Atkins, S.: Comparing rail passengers’ travel time use in great Britain between 2004 and 2010. Mobilities 8, 560–579 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2012.743221
Oliveira, L., Mitchell, V., May, A.: Reducing temporal tensions as a strategy to promote sustainable behaviours. Comput. Hum. Behav. 62, 303–315 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.004
Camacho, T.D., Foth, M., Rakotonirainy, A.: Pervasive technology and public transport: opportunities beyond telematics. IEEE Pervasive Comput. 12, 18–25 (2013)
Miñano, S.P., Kirkwood, L., Court, S., Farnsworth, M., Shehab, E., Tinworth, N: A review of digital wayfinding technologies in the transportation industry. In: 15th International Conference on Manufacturing Research - ICMR. Greenwich. IOS Press, London (2017). https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-792-4-207
Foth, M., Schroeter, R.: Enhancing the experience of public transport users with urban screens and mobile applications. In: Proceedings of the 14th International Academic MindTrek Conference on Envisioning Future Media Environments - MindTrek 2010, p. 33 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1145/1930488.1930496
Transport Focus. The passenger experience - the full research report, London, UK (2014)
Goodman, E., Kuniavsky, M., Moed, A.: Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research, 2nd edn. Morgan Kaufmann, Waltham (2012)
Marshall, R., Cook, S., Mitchell, V., Summerskill, S., Haines, V., Maguire, M., Sims, R., Gyi, D., Case, K.: Design and evaluation: End users, user datasets and personas. Appl. Ergon. 46, 311–317 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2013.03.008
Wirtz, S., Jakobs, E.M.: Improving user experience for passenger information systems. Prototypes and reference objects. IEEE Trans. Prof. Commun. 56, 120–137 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2013.2257211
Transport Focus. Ticket Vending Machine Usability – Qualitative Research, London, UK (2010)
Wardman, M., Murphy, P.: Passengers’ valuations of train seating layout, position and occupancy. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 74, 222–238 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2015.01.007
Cooper, A.: Jones, B.L. (ed.) The Inmates are Running the Asylum, 1st edn. Sams, Indianapolis (1999)
Goodwin, K.: Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-Centered Products and Services. Wiley, Indianapolis (2009)
Haines, V., Mitchell, V.: A persona-based approach to domestic energy retrofit. Build. Res. Inf. 42, 462–476 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2014.893161
Burrows, A., Gooberman-Hill, R., Coyle, D.: Empirically derived user attributes for the design of home healthcare technologies. Pers. Ubiquit. Comput. 19, 1233–1245 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-015-0889-1
Braun, V., Clarke, V.: Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual. Res. Psychol. 3, 77–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Oliveira, L., Bradley, C., Birrell, S., Davies, A., Tinworth, N., Cain, R.: Understanding passengers’ experiences of train journeys to inform the design of technological innovations. In: Re: Research - the 2017 International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, pp. 838–853 (2017). https://doi.org/10.7945/C2R388
Fox, C., Oliveira, L., Kirkwood, L., Cain, R.: Understanding users’ behaviours in relation to concentrated boarding: implications for rail infrastructure and technology. In: 15th International Conference on Manufacturing Research - ICMR. IOS Press, Greenwich, London (2017). https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-792-4-120
Babu, V.S., Oliveira, L., Birrell, S., Taylor, A., Cain, R.: Comparison of E-ink and OLED screens as train seat displays: a user study. In: Kováčiková, T., et al. (eds.) INTSYS 2017. LNICST, vol. 222, pp. 294–300. Springer, Cham (2018)
Farnsworth, M., Kirkwood, L., Court, S., Shebab, E., Tinworth, N.: Optimisation strategy for efficient platform train interface activity. In: 15th International Conference on Manufacturing Research - ICMR. Greenwich, IOS Press, London (2017). https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-792-4-233
Court, S., Kirkwood, L., Farnsworth, M., Orlovs, I., Shehab, E., Tinworth, N: Requirements analysis of digital technology for the rail industry. In: 15th International Conference on Manufacturing Research – ICMR. IOS Press, Greenwich, London (2017). https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-792-4-201
Acknowledgments
This research is performed as part of the “CLoSeR: Customer Loyalty and Dynamic Seat Reservation System” project, funded by RSSB/Innovate UK (Grant No 102483). This project was selected through the competition ‘Enhancing Customer Experience in Rail’. Partners in this project are the University of Warwick, Cranfield University and four industry partners: Unipart Rail, TrainFX, Loyalty Prime and Great Western Railway. The authors would like to thank all participants who donated their time to fill out the questionnaires or to be interviewed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
About this paper
Cite this paper
Oliveira, L., Bradley, C., Birrell, S., Tinworth, N., Davies, A., Cain, R. (2018). Using Passenger Personas to Design Technological Innovation for the Rail Industry. In: Kováčiková, T., Buzna, Ľ., Pourhashem, G., Lugano, G., Cornet, Y., Lugano, N. (eds) Intelligent Transport Systems – From Research and Development to the Market Uptake. INTSYS 2017. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 222. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93710-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93710-6_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93709-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93710-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)