Responsibilities
UX Research
UX Design
UX Writing
UI Design
Usability test
Team
UX Designer (School project)
Timeline
4 Weeks
Year
2022
Client
The SJ app is a mobile application provided by SJ, Sweden's national railway operator. It offers features for planning, booking, and managing train journeys. The app allows users to search for train schedules, book tickets, access digital tickets, and receive real-time departure information.
This project was initiated during my time as a UX design student at Nackademin.
Challange
Use of 3 apps to be able to go to work. Sound like a fair deal? I didn't think so either. Yet, this was my reality for two years while commuting to school. Me, along with about 1.7 million fellow commuters in Sweden, shared this ordeal. The collective frustration led me to an awakening: our commuting experience needed a radical transformation.
Teaming up with two of my exceptional classmates, we set out to devise a solution: SJ Commuter Feature.
Solutions
Focusing on the most valued information
The research showed what information that is most needed to be able to go from place A to place B. This includes: type of transportation, time, place, ticket and possible traffic information. Therefore we made this information easy to reach at one place. No need for moving between apps, just to see if the bus will be on time or not.
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Easy access
A common struggle among the users of the research process was to handle all the different tickets for each transportation. In our solution, all tickets are collected att one place, reachable when you need them. 

Oh no, did you forgot to buy a ticket? No worries! Buy it in the same app.
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Adapt to user needs
What if I want to change one bus to another? No problem! By selecting “Ändra (Edit)” The user can easily change from the suggested bus to another within seconds.
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Methods
Process keys
Since a project is a living thing, the tasks of the process recurred during its course and followed a dynamic progression.
Methods adapted to the case's characteristics
With introduction of conducting a Heuristic Evaluation of todays interface of SJ’s application, we were able to list several issues that failed to attain basic interaction perceptions. These findings lived throughout the project, were some points were evaluated based on findings from interaction with potential users.
A large amount of users, also gave us the opportunity to conduct several usability tests. You will find more about that at the end of this page.
Understand the users
By combining qualitative and quantitative research, we were able to gain valuable insights about behaviour of today's commuters. The findings served as our guidelines for developing the user flow and design of the project. The identified needs were as follows:
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Minimise app usage
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Efficient trip planning
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Access to relevant traffic information
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Consistent user experience
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Smooth ticket purchasing process
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Stress-free trip planning
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Enhanced digital accessibility
28%
The increase in the number of commuters in Sweden over the last 14 years. - Dagens Samhälle
150 000
Amount of people in Sweden that commute 150 km or more to work on a daily basis. - Dagens Samhälle
Selection of methods used
Market research
Wireframing
User Interviews
HiFi-Prototype
Thematic analysis
Online usability test
Archetypes / Need-groups
Guerilla-test
Userflow
Evaluation / New implementations
Result
Improved
user loyalty
Increased
user activity
Minimised cognitive load
Reduced errors & misunderstandings
Words from the users
"I think the app is clear, straightforward, easy to understand. It's really nice to have the trips all in one app."
"There's a certain familiarity in the app; I feel a bit at home."
"I buy a single ticket and pay with Swish. Well, that was smooth, we like that. More of that."
A "living" design
Something all UX projects have in common is that the design is a living thing, which means that the design needs to be adapted during the project - as long as it goes in line with the user need. In this project, we updated out prototype after Guerilla-test conducted at Stockholm Central station. The result of the updates are presented above. We are happy to say that the response of the feature were very positive among the testpanel.
My key takeaways
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The value of guerilla-test
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The importance of being creative when it comes to find people for the usability test
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The importance of familiarity when redesigning an existing product