Climate change poses an ever-growing and very real threat to humanity. The negative impacts of global warming can already be seen, and with our current way of life, this is only set to get worse (Mulvaney 2022). Climate change affects our entire planet, but there is no current ‘instant-fix’ to stop climate change, making its prevention not only an incredibly large-scale problem, but a very complex wicked problem.
In 2019, the Western Australian Government announced the climate goal of achieving net zero emissions in WA by 2050 (Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 2020, 5). To achieve this goal, the Government plans to work with all sectors of the economy to reduce their emissions (Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 2020, 5). This project focuses on an emissions reduction strategy for the public transport sector.
Working with the WA Department of Transport, this project aimed to co-design a strategy for lowering emissions in WA’s public transport sector and working towards achieving the Western Australian Government’s 2050 target of zero emissions. This strategy was to be in the form of an information system, created using design thinking, co-design strategies, and service innovation tools. This information system’s purpose was to educate individuals on how they can reduce their emissions and overall impact through making sustainable travel decisions.
Initially the Department of Transport presented us with the problem of needing to increase the uptake of low-to-zero emission transport. We were tasked with developing an information resource using design thinking principles that could demystify and facilitate the uptake of such transport in Western Australia. (Accelerating Lower Emissions 2022).
Through research, investigation, and various design thinking methodologies, we have redefined the project problem as follows:
Reducing emissions in WA’s transport sector isa very large- scale wicked problem. In order to assist the public with lowering their transport emissions, we need to look beyond simply electric vehicles, or public transport, and consider the wide variety of pathways available to lowering transport emissions. Therefore, we will need to co-design a comprehensive and interconnected information system for the general public that provides accessible, reliable and educational information about their alternative sustainable mobility options and empowers them to make informed, climate-conscious travel choices.
In redefining the project problem, we changed the task from developing an information resource to an information system. And this is because through our research, we quickly realised that a single PDF or information resource is limited; it is static, and only really concerned with WHAT information is being presented. An information system on the other hand, is dynamic, and not only concerned with WHAT information is being presented, but also HOW that information is being presented.
This journey map depicts all the individual touchpoints from all four concepts that make up our proposed information system. n this journey map, a single information resource would be displayed on this map as just 1 touchpoint; from the number of different pathways presented on this map, it is clear to see that one, single touchpoint (due to its limited reach) would not be able to accommodate the diverse journeys of the wide range of stakeholders we have identified.
To guide our research and design work in this project, we developed the following four objectives:
1.
To bridge the gap in current public communication by developing an accessible, reliable and relevant information system that the public can easily utilise to find the information they seek about climate change and energy efficient modes of transport
2.
Todevelop a strategy for effectively lowering scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions inPerth’s transport sector
3.
To construct an information system that will serve as an educational tool on the dangers of climate change and encourage the public of how they can alter their actions to assist in reducing their own scope 1 emissions
4.
To collect data through research to understand the preferred mode of mobility of the public and the reasoning behind this to cater to all travel needs and improve public travel experience
In order to address the wicked problem we had been presented with it was important to firstly understand the problem. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem, we conducted desk research, user research, and ethnographic research.
Our desk research consisted of research into barriers to using more sustainable transport, and similar transport projects in Australia and around the world. These took the form of precedence studies, as well as a comprehensive literature review of service innovation in transportation and travel.
Our user research was primarily conducted through co-design with other postgrad students in our team and class. This was done via ideation and brainstorming, and allowed us to develop key elements that guided our ethnographic research. There were 3 such key elements:
Stakeholder map. This diagram allowed us to determine who was affected by the project, and thus was a starting point for our ethnographic research and interviewing.
Core actor map. This diagram allowed us to separate the most important stakeholders from the peripheral stakeholders, and subsequently prioritise which people, groups organisations we could engage for co-design sessions.
In service design, ethnographic research is a tool used to gain a deeper understanding of the people that are being designed for. Our ethnographic research aimed to gain insights into the thoughts, feelings and opinions of the people we interviewed through conversations about transport, mobility and climate change.
Empathy maps are a visualisation tool used to understand patterns in people’s behaviour. We used the empathy maps to categorise the data from each of the organisations or groups that we interviewed into 6 categories: think and feel; say and do; see; hear; pain points; gain points. Through categorising the data like this, we were able to get a much clearer idea of the views, opinions and experiences of the public when it comes to travel and mobility and, most importantly, see patterns in these views and opinions.
Some of the interesting insights that we gained through this process included:
Based on our interviewing, we developed journey maps. Through these maps, we were able to identify touchpoints (contact moments during a service journey) that users interact with when travelling.Through doing so, we were able to gain insight into which touchpoint opportunities would be most effective to incorporate in our information system.
To explore and develop our information system, we engaged in a range of co-design activities with our classmates to generate and flesh out ideas. These included the following.
Concept stories. These combined drawings and descriptions to expand on the rough early ideas we had generated, and delve further into what the concept was, how it would work, its audience, and the benefits to the project.
Service blueprints.Service blueprints are essentially flowchart-style diagrams that are used visualise the way a product or service works and how it is experienced. It includes a step-by-step walkthrough of the product or services from the various perspectives of all those who interact with it at different points – whether it be the end users, providers, or a third party required as part of the service’s delivery.
Concept mapping. After engaging in divergent thinking co-design activities, we conceptualised as many possible concepts as we could for the mobility information system we would be developing. We came up with 65 concepts, which are presented in this concept map. Through doing so, we were able to identify links between the various concepts so that we could develop a system of different touchpoints that would work well together.
Viability mapping. We used viability mapping to plot al 65 of our concepts together in a diagram that measured the viability of the concepts against their ability to create change. Through doing so, we were able to visually identify which concepts had the most potential and take this into consideration when designing our information system.
To refine and improve our concepts, we engaged in 4 stages following concept development.
The first was co-design, which we did via collaborative workshops with the Department of Transport and Your Move staff, in our own design team, and with Year 9 students at Melville Senior HighSchool. In these workshops, we conducted a variety of activities that deconstructed, reconsidered, and built upon the initial for concept systems we created for our information system.
The second stage was prototyping. We did this via taking our four concept systems and applying various prototyping methods to them to identify weak points, make the concept systems more interesting and fun, and just improve them overall. This stage also included low-fidelity sketches, where we used rough sketches to flesh out each of our four concepts more.
To test the effectiveness of our concept systems, we needed to gain feedback from real people who could be potential users. Using our low-fidelity prototypes, we interviewed a variety of people from the general public, explaining each of our concept systems and asking questions to find out their thoughts and opinions on them. Based on the insights gained through this process, we updated our designs accordingly to create high-fidelity prototypes.
For each of our four concept systems, we developed high-fidelity prototypes which were made to closely match how the final concepts would function in the real world. The purpose of this was to capture as closely as possible, the experience of interacting with our concept systems, so that we could validate their effectiveness. We conducted a final round of user testing and iteration with the high-fidelity prototypes, making refinements and small improvements before our final prototypes would be presented to the Department of Transport.
The “There’s Another Way, WA” campaign aims to raise awareness about climate change and travel emissions impacts througha dvertising, sponsorships and promotional items. Featuring our original character and campaign mascot, Emmett the Emu, the There’s Another Way, WA campaign aims to target viewers across a variety of platforms, locations and spaces, and educate them about the alternative forms of sustainable transport and travel alternatives. These ads would depict relatable travel behaviours and needs, promoting simple changes that the public can make in order to travel more sustainably and protect our planet’s future. All these ads would also direct viewers to the sustainable travel website www.anotherway.wa.gov.au where they can find more information about the campaign and what they can do.
The ‘There’s Another Way, WA: Pocket Travel Guide’ is a physical, and 100% recyclable, annual travel guide. This guide provides information about events in Perth for the whole year, as well as year-round attractions and popular landmarks. The guide’s aim is to encourage travellers to make responsible travel choices for trips that are outside their day-to-day travels, through a digestible, and interactive book. The Pocket Travel Guide expands on the conventional concept of a travel guide, through providing sustainable travel options to and from events, a scavenger hunt, travel games and activities, and tear-away pages that give the pages a second life.
With the world becoming increasingly attached to their devices, the Pocket Travel Guide presents a novel and tangible experience that has value beyond simply things to do, encouraging the public to reconsider their travel habits and take up environmentally friendly alternatives.
The “Another Way” Update is designed to encourage and assist users when it comes to making sustainable travel choices.Envisioned as an addition to the Transperth app, this update would add new functionality including a points system, merchandise store, achievements system, competitions, comprehensive user profiles, and greater control over settings and push notifications. This innovative output includes a broad range ofprizes for users, elements that engage drivers, and potential for integration with other transport apps beyond just Transperth.
The “There’s Another Way, WA: Community Outreach Program” creates partnerships between schools, universities, and government organisations to develop innovation for sustainability. From the perspective of a government department, like the Department of Transport, this program will provide the opportunity for outreach into the community through education in schools. Our research has uncovered the limitations of implementing sustainability innovation from a siloed perspective and, inversely, the need to foster collaboration to create lasting change. In response to this research, we have expanded the scope of the “Outreach Program”, developing it into a program for “Educational Partnerships for Sustainable Innovation”. This program aims to facilitate the implementation of sustainable innovations in not only transportation, but also other emission-contributing areas in order to help reduce the negative impacts of climate change.
Personas. These fictional representations of users are developed based on our research and carried out over the project prior to starting the interviewing process. These personas allowed us to empathise with those who would actually be interacting with our proposed information system.
Through providing relevant and reliable information in a variety of formats that can cater to how people want to receive that information, the information system stands to effectively inform the public and reduce such misinformation.
Informing people as to what their mobility options are, the threat that climate change poses, and what they can do on an individual level to reduce transport emissions can lead to increased education around these issues.
There is potential for this project to cause a shift in thinking and behaviour and create a more sustainably minded society in which people are empowered to make sustainable choices in areas beyond just travel.
Pushing people towards active transport will also assist in lowering scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
By lowering scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions we are reducing climate change and its negative impacts, and subsequently ensuring a brighter future than if we were to continue with our current emissions patterns.
As the Department of Transport’s overall goal for this project lies in reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Improved mobility can be applied to more than just emissions related mobility issues; by improving mobility more broadly, the variety of travel needs of the public can better be catered to.
If this project is successful and improves the public travel experience, it has potential to inspire action on other wicked problems around the world that could be addressed via applying similar design methodologies.
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