The National Park Service App's interactive map feature is a tool that users felt was not meeting their needs. For this project, I enhanced the map with new and interactive filters aimed at creating a better tool for planning, exploring and navigating each park.
Two years ago the National Park Service (NPS), released their much anticipated free mobile app. While many users were happy with what the app provided, an equal amount felt it was unhelpful. In particular, many users voiced concerns that the interactive map feature was lacking in detail. They were frustrated that the map did not look or act the same way as the paper maps the park provides when you visit in person. These maps are available for download on the NPS website so why was there no comparable option within the mobile app? The interactive map on the app was not easy to find and difficult to use.
Here were some of user's biggest complaints:
“The app is limited in scope especially because there are no maps. The NPS webpage, as limited as that is also, is more informative.”
“Paper maps are still better”
“Please provide unique symbols for the points of interest instead of the same green marker for everything, or provide labels that appear after reaching a specific zoom scale.”
“Frustrating that the map waypoints aren’t customizable, can only select one at a time and they are lacking annotations.”
I am a frequent national park visitor. When I go, I’m looking for hikes, campsites, and the occasional visitor center if I’m in need of more hiking guidance from a park ranger. I’m used to national parks and familiar with the general layout. I can easily find what I need and use other apps or tools to find what I can’t. I’m a laid back visitor and prefer to explore once I’m in the park.
I, of course, am just one type of visitor. As I interviewed different app users and park visitors, the variety of people that will visit a national park is wide and diverse. Some people just want to see certain points of interest and search for parks according to their agenda, some live close by and like to stop by when they can, others treat national park visits as a vacation destination or a lifelong bucket list item.
Some visitors will have children or disabilities and will need a map that can help them find an activity that suits them as well. Not everyone visiting a national park is an avid outdoors person, setting out for a challenging hike. These types of visitors will use the many robust apps that already exist like Gaia, Alltrails, and Strava to provide them with what they need. Below is a SWOT comparison of similar applications that use interactive maps both for national parks and also for outdoor activities.
It was at this point that I realized the part that the NPS app can do really well is help the user discover those points, then let the other more robust navigation apps get you there. From my research I saw that most visitors, regardless of experience, have an idea of the type of activity they’d like to do in the park.
The problem, it seemed, was not the map nor its lack of detail. The map was, in and of itself, not particularly important to most users. Instead, prioritizing the individual experiences those parks could offer was key. The real issue was that the map was not helping users locate and explore experiences, suitable for each of them, within the park.
How might we help NPS app users explore the park based on personal preferences and needs?
Problem & Solution #1
I first decided that I’d take the user through a sign up flow that included manually selecting interests and the specifics of the stay. The app would then produce suggested experiences based on their preferences. This would be great but users would be forced to create a profile in order to access any of the information. I anticipated the selection process would be long and tedious.
Problem & Solution #2
The problem with this solution is that there is the potential for A TON of waypoint suggestions based on what the user happened to put into the search bar. If you take a closer look there are hundreds of parks, not only parks but territories, monuments, historical sites, the list goes on. The results pool was just too large for this kind of search.
The other problem is that the search bar alone does not help the user discover or explore potential activities in the map view. What if the user did not have an idea of what they wanted to do or look for on the map?
As I entered the user testing phase I had three hypotheses I wanted to test. I wanted to know if the addition of the filter system in combination with the search bar would function in a way the user expected and felt comfortable navigating.
A common theme throughout user testing was confusion over terminology. I had pulled the terms themselves from the app but in this context it was confusing to the user. Because of this it was difficult for users to find what they were looking for even when given specific words to search for. It seemed that the filter function was difficult for people to navigate and too labor intensive. Users wanted a more fun, intuitive and exploratory tool.
Users also wanted more detail in the map. They wanted it to function the same way as google or apple maps. They were expecting the waypoints to already be present in the map without having to manually add them, and for them to become visible as you zoomed in. They were anticipating the search bar to function in a similar way, with suggestions as you type and results in the form of a list.
I decided to add an ‘Explore’ button, easily accessible on the top right hand side of the map. Within this button would be several curated experiences that users could explore on the map. Without having to manually enter what you’d like to see, the curated experiences do it for you, suggesting different activities in list form that can be viewed in detail.
I kept the search bar on the home map page. The filters were kept as well but were hidden unless the user clicked the new filter button on the top right hand side of the map. This way, the user could locate them if they wanted to and it would be easy to find by using a familiar, easily recognizable button.
The map itself would have all waypoints visible as you zoom in, no need to individually select them as you go. This is the way the user will expect an interactive map to function. This would also help the user explore all that is available within the park without having to sift through lists of activities.
The next steps from here on out are to test and test again. In this initial design cycle I learned the value of uncovering problems, that may be hidden within larger more obvious problems, by synthesizing insights and creating point of view and how might we statements.
I learned that solutions to problem statements should be designed to reach each type of user. You have to sympathize and recognize that not all users will act the same, want the same things, struggle with the same things. Even with a varied user pool, you need to find commonalities and design solutions that target them.
Finally, I learned the importance of designing familiar experiences in order for users to feel confident navigating your design system. In this case, if you have an interactive map, be sure that your map functions the same way as other interactive maps, which users will be familiar with.
