Most efficient
Student semester pass
- 5/5 participants completed the task
- 1:42 average successful time
- 4.0/5 average ease rating
Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) · Public transit · Master’s project · Usability evaluation
Turning usability evidence into improvements for public-transit riders
In a 15-week graduate usability evaluation course, I was part of a five-person team assessing the mobile website for the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA). I conducted one of five participant sessions, organized findings across every session, calculated task, post-study, and System Usability Scale metrics, created the report appendices, shaped the final presentation, and presented our metrics to CATA stakeholders. Three recommendations were later adopted: clearer arrival and departure controls in Trip Planner, a more visible and actionable Night Owl experience, and additional accessibility testing.
- UX research
- Usability evaluation
- Quantitative analysis
5
Moderated usability sessions
4
Transit tasks evaluated
48
System Usability Scale score
3
Selected recommendations adopted
Project overview
Evaluating essential transit journeys
The challenge
CATA’s mobile website helps riders plan routes, buy passes, locate bus stops, and access specialized services. These activities can be time-sensitive, and confusion can have consequences beyond ordinary website frustration—particularly for campus travel and late-night transportation.
My role
I contributed substantially throughout the evaluation while taking direct responsibility for the study’s quantitative evidence and organization by conducting one participant session, organizing findings across all five sessions, calculating task, post-study, and System Usability Scale metrics, creating the report appendices, shaping the final presentation, and presenting our metrics to CATA stakeholders.
Study design
Testing four essential transit journeys
Five undergraduate and graduate students completed realistic transit scenarios in moderated remote sessions on their own smartphones. Four attended Michigan State University; one attended another college.
Tasks and study format
- Student semester pass · Find the price and begin purchasing it
- Route to campus · Plan a time-sensitive journey
- Bus stops near work · Locate and interpret nearby stops
- Late-night transportation · Find an after-hours campus service
- Study format · Remote moderation, think-aloud, and personal smartphones
We measured effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction through task success, time, ease, confidence, post-study responses, and the System Usability Scale.
Task results
Completion rates concealed significant friction
All five participants completed the first three tasks, while three of four completed the optional late-night task. Time, ease, confidence, and observed behavior showed that success rates alone concealed substantial friction.
Most difficult
Bus stops near work
- 5/5 participants completed the task
- 4:03 average successful time
- 3.1/5 average ease rating
Quantitative evidence
A System Usability Scale score of 48
After completing the four tasks, participants rated the mobile experience using the 10-item System Usability Scale. The average score was 48, below the benchmark of 68, and individual scores ranged from 35 to 62.5. No participant scored the experience at or above the benchmark, reinforcing the need for clearer navigation, task guidance, and mobile interactions.
Task behavior, post-study responses, and SUS results converged on the need for clearer navigation, feedback, and mobile interactions.
Recommendations
Turning evidence into actionable improvements
Each recommendation connected a recurring behavior to a concrete change CATA could evaluate, prioritize, and implement.
01
Trip Planner timing
Expose arrival or departure selection at the beginning of the task and strengthen loading feedback.
02
Night Owl service
Clarify the campus scope, improve findability, and provide an actionable way to request service.
03
Navigation and maps
Use task-based labels, repair circular navigation, reduce map dominance, and clarify results.
Stakeholder delivery
Making the evidence clear for CATA stakeholders
I organized findings across all five sessions, calculated the quantitative evidence, helped shape the final presentation, and presented our metrics to CATA stakeholders. Another team member created the redesigned interface concepts; I provided input on what to prototype but did not produce the interface designs.
- OrganizeStructure observations and findings from all five sessions
- MeasureCalculate task, post-study, and System Usability Scale results
- PrioritizeConnect frequency, impact, and persistence to severity
- PresentExplain the metrics and recommendations to CATA stakeholders
Outcomes
Three recommendations advanced beyond the course
CATA later adopted two experience recommendations from the evaluation and agreed to pursue additional accessibility testing in a future course engagement. The changes addressed timing clarity in Trip Planner and the findability and actionability of Night Owl service.
Trip Planner
Arrival versus departure selection now appears at the beginning of the task, addressing confusion observed across sessions.
Night Owl
The service is easier to find, clearly described for the Michigan State University campus, and provides a more actionable way to request service.
Accessibility
CATA agreed to pursue additional accessibility testing in a future course engagement.
Completion did not equal usability. Combining observed behavior with task metrics and participant feedback revealed where riders succeeded only through trial and error.
Contact
Need a researcher-designer for a complex public-sector system?
Let’s talk about enterprise modernization, accessible workflows, or responsible AI.
snaggums@gmail.com