Wayfinding in the Railway Station

Case Study "Usability"

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) are currently renewing the signage at the railway station Basel. GfK Switzerland SirValUse accompanied this project by performing a user experience study with eye tracking using SMI Eye Tracking Glasses. The results provide the basis for a set of measures to redesign the guidance system and for comparative evaluation after their implementation.

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Challenge

The main railway station in Basel is a border station with international connections to France, Germany and Italy. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) who run the station are currently renewing the guidance system for travellers. But what is the optimal guidance system? To answer this question a thorough understanding of the customer’s perspective is essential. 

Solution

One part of the solution was to identify and describe the elements on which travellers rely, and the problem they face, when finding their way through the railway station. This was done in a qualitative user experience (UX) study performed under realistic every-day-like conditions with mobile eye tracking.   

Conclusion

The analysis of the eye tracking data revealed strengths and weaknesses of the current guidance system with regard to spatial orientation and customer experience. This knowledge provides an empirical basis to develop or adapt planned measures for redesigning the guidance system.  And  it allows for a comparative evaluation of the outcome after the measures have been implemented.

SMI Eye tracking

For this study the SMI Eye Tracking Glasses were used. The challenge in the present study was that set-up calibration and recording took place in varying conditions (in a moving train, inside railway station, outside with sunlight) constantly changing between and within recordings. The system worked fine under these conditions. It is also noteworthy that the parallax error was negligible for the purpose of the study.

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