{"id":1162,"date":"2010-11-11T18:50:15","date_gmt":"2010-11-11T17:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2019-11-06T17:45:01","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T16:45:01","slug":"improving-the-user-experience-of-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/11\/improving-the-user-experience-of-driving\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving the user experience of driving"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekend I drove a 500 mile round trip, which gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about how driving is very similar to a game, requiring practise, skill, and with clearly defined goals. I guess that\u2019s why driving was always such a popular young-adult activity before consoles.<\/p>\n

I also thought about how we can apply some of the things we\u2019ve learnt about user experience to improve driving, both for the driver, and for society as a whole.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Improving the user experience:<\/h4>\n

As I mentioned, driving shares a lot of mechanics with typical games, with only one slight difference \u2013 it lacks the positive reinforcement, and \u2018congratulations\u2019, that games give during the play session.<\/p>\n

So how to fix this? Primarily you have to give a direct form of positive reinforcement. It could be linked to your SatNav, and know when you have reached major landmarks in your journey. For example, imagine joining the motorway to hear a booming voice \u201cYou have reached the M25! Great Job! Not much further now\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"car

ooh, bad luck...<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ok, that could get annoying. However, there is one game mechanic which fits driving perfectly \u2013 achievements. As demonstrated in Xbox Live, PS Home, or iPhone Game Center, Achievements are everywhere. If you\u2019ve managed to miss them, they are one time rewards or \u2018badges\u2019 for having completed a particular task, and (certain) people invest a lot of time and effort into collecting them (although the only game I have \u2018completed\u2019 the achievements for is Cut The Rope).<\/p>\n

For driving, there seems to be a lot of potential achievements. How about?<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cRide with me\u201d – Let other drivers merge.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cHey, I\u2019m walking here\u201d \u2013Stopped at a pedestrian crossing.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cBetter you than me\u201d – Got out of the way of an ambulance.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cEasy rider\u201d – Kept to the speed limit.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cFound a shortcut!\u201d \u2013 Taken an alternative route to the SatNav.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Problems with Driving Achievements:<\/h4>\n

    However, there are a couple of risks with this model. First of all, don\u2019t give achievements for reaching destinations faster, since this would encourage speeding, or for covering great distances, as this would incentive against taking public transport. With great power comes great responsibility!<\/p>\n

    \n
    \"Car

    Achievement Unlocked: Take Down!<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Also, the \u2018one-time\u2019 nature of only having to earn achievements once to have the badge permanently may only incentivise these proper driving habits once, rather than causing a permanent shift in behaviour. Perhaps they should also display how many times you\u2019ve performed each achievements \u2013 if this doesn\u2019t risk making the achievements dull to earn!<\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/h4>\n

    It seems achievements, as a tool for improving the user experience of performing set tasks, can be applied to driving for great good. To benefit society, the achievements could be targeted to increase take up on green initiatives such as car sharing, or even taking the bus, by giving an incentive for not using your car for a week.<\/p>\n

    What do you think? What other achievements fit with driving? Or is it an idea that just wouldn\u2019t work. Reply with comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This weekend I drove a 500 mile round trip, which gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about how driving is very similar to a game, requiring practise, skill, and with clearly defined goals. I guess that\u2019s why driving was always such a popular young-adult activity before consoles. I also thought about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-user-research","grve-entry-item","grve-blog-item"],"yoast_head":"\nImproving the user experience of driving - Steve Bromley - User Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/11\/improving-the-user-experience-of-driving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Improving the user experience of driving - Steve Bromley - User Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This weekend I drove a 500 mile round trip, which gave me a lot of time to think. 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