For my graduate thesis, I had to come up with a problem statement and execute a thorough research and design project in about 8 weeks to tackle the issue. Leveraging my experiences as a Design Specialist at WSP USA, a civil engineering firm that works closely with agencies like Metro, I chose to tackle a problem in the public transit realm that would also ultimately benefit me as a member of the thesis’ target demographic. 

​

The problem statement: Commuters are hesitant to take public transit in LA due to safety concerns. Women and children are more likely to experience unsafe conditions, especially when traveling during low traffic hours. How might technology be leveraged to alleviate some of these feelings of fear?

​

Image below shows some screens from the clickable prototype for one of the three proposed solutions to this problem - more details below

I began with preliminary research involving data collection, processing, analysis, and synthesis. Initially, user surveys were used to gather data points. Then, I conducted user interviews with persons from different demographics of interest. 

Synthesis of the data collected reveal 6 key findings:

• People in LA respond positively to public transit systems and want to use it more

• Most of the research participants indicated the need for increased surveillance through cameras and security presence to enhance safety

• There’s a threshold for ridership within which people feel safer

• There is a need to implement more stops and more frequent service to these stops to increase ridership

• The public is open to learning more about crimes against women occuring in transit systems

• Transit systems need better maintenance of their infrastructure

​

​

Image below shows initial round of data collection from 100 + participants

Based on the findings, I conceptualized a three phased approach to enhance women’s safety in public transit systems: 

• Phase 01: Scrub Hub - maintenance solutions 

• Phase 02: Surveil Without Fail - enhanced security measures even during transit downtimes

• Phase 03: Transituate App - multifaceted approach to collecting rider experience data and offering timely assistance. 

Phases 01 and 02 involved adding to existing infrastructure and processes to boost ridership and make transit systems feel safer overall. Phase 03 was a larger undertaking involving the need for an app that would not only facilitate rider feedback collection but also alert nearby authorities in case of an emergency. 

I created low fidelity wireframes and visual mockups, and then iteratively revised the mockups to create a clickable prototype. 

​

​

The image below shows visual mockups for the app that would later be modified and converted to a clickable prototype.

The insights uncovered through this thesis were shared with professionals in transit agencies, thereby inspiring them to assess commuter safety enhancement efforts. Some transit agencies have already began implementing best practices to enhance public transit ridership to make commuters feel safer in numbers. The skills I acquired through this thesis ultimately led me to a design management role at IBM. Over the years, I worked my way up to being the Sr. Designer for UX Strategy within IBM. The thesis was also scored highly and allowed me to graduate my Masters program with a 4.0 GPA. 🙂

​

​

This case study shows my ability to flex design thinking and management skills to creatively solve complex problems. I’m committed to continuously upskilling and learning - as is evident by my attempt to turn the app mockups into a clickable prototype. This project gave me hands-on insight into end to end design management, and I look forward to flexing these skills to make valuable contributions to the teams I work with.