TOPIC 7 - Design Thinking - The What? The Why? The How - wicked problems (Group)

                                                         

Problem definition (pin points from user survey and interviews)

- Wicked problems in modern cities are complex and there are multifaceted issues often due to interconnectedness with other problems in the contexts of social, economic and political. Based on user surveys and interviews that I can find. First, there is congestion of public transport (insufficient coverage of bus and metro services, poor timetable, and over-reliance on personal vehicles), and second is environmental pollution, as citizens express growing concern over air and water quality and lack of green spaces. This is due to industrial activities, traffic congestion, and inadequate regulatory framework. Public safety and crime, where there are rising crime rates/drug-related activities and a perceived lack of police presence or effectiveness. There are more examples, but these are the main one that contributes to the problem definitions.

Figure 1 Factors that Affect the Preferences ofTransportation among University Students in Malaysia

User persona

Demographics 1: 

• NAME: OWEN TSANG DA XIN
• AGE:19
• GENDER: MALE
• EDUCATION: BACHELOR DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
• LOCATION: ASIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Ben lives in a suburban neighborhood and commutes to the city for his study. He relies on public transportation because parking costs near his campus are expensive and traffic congestion during peak hours is unbearable. This helps to reduce commuting time and have more personal and family time. Not only that, it utilizes a cost-effective and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. Ben can use a smartphone app for route planning and schedule updates.

However, there are challenges as well, for example: insufficient bus routes and schedules that do not align with his school timing. There are also occasional safety concerns on public transit during off-peak hours.

Demographics 2: 

• NAME: TAN WAI KEN
• AGE:20
• GENDER: MALE
• EDUCATION: BACHELOR DEGREE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• LOCATION: ASIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Ken lives in the apartment in the industry and relies on public transportation because to avoidexpensive parking fees, toll fees and petrol fees every single day. However, his father often need to fetch him because the distance from his home to the nearest railway station is quite far. Furthermore, there is also lack of covered pathway with lights which cause the hidden danger for individuals walking alone to or from the railway station especiallly during the night.

After traveling by MRT and LRT, Ken uses a smartphone application to check the latest bus schedule before taking the bus to his school. However, long queues often occur when buses get stuck in traffic, especially during peak hours. This has cause Ken waste another period of time just waiting for the bus and it happens again when he want to go home during about 5pm. Sometimes, he is also forced to drive himself when the school schedule only includes a single class for the day to ensure he can easily reach home.

STORYBOARD

• Scene 1 (Morning)

- Owen/Ken wakes up uses his phone and clicks on the app to check the schedule, and everything goes according to plan.

• Scene 2 (To raillway station)

- Ken's father fetch him to the nearest railway station. If there is only single class for the day he will goes with private transport like car.

• Scene 3 (On raillway)

- Ken need to enterchange multiple times to reach the bus station which cause an extra travelling time.

• Scene 4 (On bus station)

- However, there was a slight delay while Owen/Ken was waiting for the bus to arrive. Thus he has to wait for the bus and worry about being late for his class

• Scene 5 (On the bus)

- Ben couldn't find any seats due to the bus was crowded and the ride is slow due to traffic congestion in the city.

• Scene 6 (Arrived late)

- Ben arrived around 30 minutes late to his class and apologized to the teacher by explaining the situation.

Solutions

By developing and implementing a comprehensive, integrated smart transportation system that aimed at reducing congestion and improving the efficiency and reliability of public transport. The system itself will utilize AI to optimize bus routes and schedules in real time and there will be multi-modal transport integrations which include bus, subway,bike-share and e-scooters which act as an alternative mode of transportation. In addition, to address safety issues, we can improve safety with real-time monitoring of transit vehicles and emergency response features in the app.

Up next, we could also develop an environmental sustainability initiatives such as eco-friendly fleet, campaign and green infrastructure. By transiting into electrical or hybrid buses, it will minimize the air pollution of public transport. In addition, by organizing a public awareness campaign, people would have the knowledge about the importance of environmental conservation. Moreover, we could also implement green infrastructure projects to improve the quality of the air and the overall environment.

Then, we can also implement the covered pathway to ensure people shielded from rain and the extreme heat, especially in Malaysia. It can provide safer pathway for the cyclist and pedestrians because it separate from vehicles traffic which make user feel more at ease compared to the road with an uneven surface. Furthermore, the public transport like Beam should be promoted to convenient people by shorten the travelling time from their living place. Lastly, we also hope that APU can implement the hybrid mode for specific classes especially for the group that has only single session for the day.

REFERENCES (APA STYLE)

• Colding, Johan & Barthel, Stephan & Sörqvist, Patrik. (2019). Wicked Problems of Smart Cities. 10.3390/smartcities2040031.
• Owens, D. (2021, December 7). UX CASE STUDY — WICKED PROBLEMS - Deniz Owens - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@denizowens/ux-case-study-wicked-problems-a7bddcf6dfa2

• Head, B., & Alford, J. (2013). Wicked problems. Administration & Society, 47(6), 711–739. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399713481601

PROVIDED BY: TSANG DA XIN (TP071168)

EDITED BY: PATRICK WOO SOON TAT (TP070151)

EDITED BY: TAN WAI KEN (TP070991)