Experience

Projects

FAQ

Experience

Projects

FAQ

Experience

Projects

FAQ

KeyLime Interactive x Purdue UX

Key Lime Interactive (KLI) is a user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) service design company that aids clients across multiple industries. KLI aims to expand its industry knowledge into the transportation and public services sector by evaluating the experience of on and off-campus Purdue students using the City Bus service. In this project, I worked in a team of nine to complete the task of improving ridership and experiences using CityBus.

Company

KeyLime Interactive

Date

Jan 2024 - May 2024

Collaborators

Amy Fei, Anderson Tsan, Emaline Frey, Jack Myers, Joy Zhang, Kaylee Young, Linh Pham, Mikeala Thompson

Amy Fei, Anderson Tsan, Emaline Frey,
Jack Myers, Joy Zhang, Kaylee Young,
Linh Pham, Mikeala Thompson

My Contributions

Documentation, Contextual Inquiry, Observations, Secondary Research, Guerilla Testing

Documentation, Contextual Inquiry,
Observations, Secondary Research,
Guerilla Testing

User Group

Purdue students who use the CityBus

View Documentation Here

Project Goals

CityBus is Purdue’s primary student transportation, but users face frustration across various touchpoints. Through user research, we identified key pain points and focused on iterative redesigns to enhance the overall experience.

Results

As a team, we explored two directions: a current app redesign and a complete app overhaul.

While the redesign focused on small yet meaningful changes to improve the existing app (such as push notifications, bus alerts, and usability enhancements), my primary contributions were within the complete app overhaul.

In this direction, I helped design new user flows, interfaces, and features to modernize the experience. Key updates included a map-centric user flow, a Google/Apple Maps–inspired UI, and a home screen widget that allowed users to track bus times and trip progress without opening the app.

Research & Insights

To uncover rider pain points and opportunities for improvement with CityBus, we conducted a mix of observations & research, contextual inquiry, and guerrilla testing. This multi-method approach allowed us to capture both broad feedback and in-the-moment rider experiences.

My role: I contributed across all research methods, and specifically shadowed one rider during the contextual inquiry to capture in-the-moment pain points.

To uncover rider pain points and opportunities for improvement with CityBus, we conducted a mix of observations & research, contextual inquiry, and guerrilla testing. This multi-method approach allowed us to capture both broad feedback and in-the-moment rider experiences.

My role: I contributed across all research methods, and specifically shadowed one rider during the contextual inquiry to capture in-the-moment pain points.

Observations & Research
We reviewed app store feedback and online discussions, identifying recurring issues like inaccurate bus times, app glitches, and early service cutoffs.

Contextual Inquiry
We shadowed Purdue students while riding CityBus, noting pain points such as poor signage, demand for live GPS tracking, and an outdated app design.

Guerrilla Testing
We intercepted riders in high-traffic campus areas and used a whiteboard to quickly capture feedback. Students confirmed frustrations with unreliable buses and confusing app navigation.

Finalizing Pain Points

After synthesizing research and usability testing, we narrowed down key issues to focus on improving the rider experience:

Poor time communication – Bus times were unclear or inaccurate.
In-app navigation issues – Lack of backtracking and confusing flows made the app difficult to use.
Over-reliance on the app – Riders had to constantly check their phones to navigate the service.

After synthesizing research and usability testing, we narrowed down key issues to focus on improving the rider experience:

Early Concepts & Design Rationale

To address the pain points we identified, our team sketched out early concepts that explored how the app could deliver clearer navigation, real-time updates, and more intuitive communication.

Live GPS Directions
Provides turn-by-turn navigation with real-time GPS updates so riders always know where their bus is and how to get to the next stop.

Map with Notifications
Displays a central map with optional alerts for route changes, delays, or reminders — giving riders control without digging through menus.

Lock-Screen Widget
Shows bus updates directly on the lock screen, so riders get critical information at a glance without opening the app.

Live Bus Notifications
Sends real-time arrival updates with a visual indicator of where the bus is compared to the rider’s location, reducing uncertainty and wait times

A Sketch of the Entire App Overhaul Flow

Sketch of Our Entire App Overhaul FLow

Final Prototype & Outcomes

Our final high-fidelity prototype brought together the most impactful solutions we identified through research and testing. Rather than adding new features for the sake of it, we focused on refining the core experience: making bus arrivals more reliable, simplifying navigation, and ensuring riders could stay informed without extra effort.

The result was a streamlined app that felt both familiar and dependable — addressing long-standing frustrations like inaccurate times and confusing routes, while creating a smoother, more trustworthy experience for the community of riders.

Click to View Final Prototype

Reflection

This was my very first UX project, and I was still learning how to move through the design process. At times it felt challenging to balance research, collaboration, and prototyping, but it gave me a strong foundation for how user insights translate into design decisions. Working with a larger team also taught me the importance of clear communication and iteration — skills I’ve carried into every project since. Looking back, this experience showed me not only what areas I needed to grow in, but also how rewarding it is to see research evolve into a tangible solution.

Limitations

Time and budget were key constraints in this project. While my focus was on the larger redesign concepts, the other half of our team developed a more budget-friendly version that introduced smaller, practical updates — such as push notifications for delays and an improved timetable — that could work within CityBus’ existing system. Looking back, I also wish we had the opportunity to conduct more testing on our final prototype to gather deeper user feedback.

Sahana Bala's Portfolio

Resume

Mail

Sahana Bala's Portfolio

Resume

Mail

Sahana Bala's Portfolio

Resume

Mail