The Evaluation of Cyclistic, a Bike Route Planning Tool for Tourists in Copenhagen
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The Evaluation of Cyclistic, a Bike Route Planning Tool for Tourists in Copenhagen An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science Submitted by: Jennifer Mann Victoria Tower Brian Joseph Submitted to: Project Advisor: Prof. Lorraine Higgins In cooperation with: Michael Hammel, Dansk Cyklist Forbund May 6, 2012 Acknowledgements We would like to thank everyone who has assisted with our project. Without the help of these people, our IQP would not have been as successful or as valuable of an experience. We would like to give a special thanks to the Dansk Cyclist Forbund, our liaison Michael Hammel, and Baisikeli. We would also like to thank our advisor Lorraine Higgins, our ID2050 instructor Scott Jiusto, the site coordinators Tom Thomsen and Peder Pedersen, and our Danish language and culture instructor Mogens Larsen. Finally we would like to thank all of the people we interviewed, our survey participants, and fellow IQP students at the Copenhagen project site for their participation in our study. ii Authorship Brian Joseph Brian has written the introduction and has also written portions of the background, including the sections about Dansk Cyklist Forbund, the Cycling Infrastructure and the Perceptions of Cycling. He has also written portions of the methods and results including gaining a better understanding of Cyclistic. Brian has written a majority of the conclusions and recommendations, and has co-written the cycling guide with Victoria. Brian has also created all of the progress reports. He has also conducted user testing with tourists. Jennifer Mann Jennifer has written portions in the background, including co-writing the Route Software section and writing the User Testing section. She has also written sections in the methodology and results including ways of promoting Cyclistic and identifying strengths and shortcomings of the software. Jennifer has also done a majority of the final editing and formatting of the final report to ensure fluidity throughout. She has also conducted some user testing with tourists. Victoria Tower Victoria has written the acknowledgements, abstract, the executive summary, and portions of the background including the Danish Tourism section and co-writing the Routing Software section with Jennifer. Victoria has also written portions of the methodology and results in understanding what tourist’s motivations/deterrents to cycle in Denmark are. She has also co-written the Cycling Guide with Brian in the conclusions and recommendations section. Victoria has also analyzed all of the numerical data collected from the tourists and to create all of the tables of this data. She has also created and organized the appendixes and helped in the final formatting of the report. Victoria has also edited portions of the methodology and results, and tracked and edited by Victoria. She has also created all of the work plans for each week and organized the group so that deadlines are always met. Victoria has also conducted user testing with the tourists. Through this project as a group, we have learned about user testing, how to conduct a usability study, and the importance of cycling to the Danish culture. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHORSHIP ........................................................................................................................................... III ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................. 9 2.1 DANSK CYKLIST FORBUND .............................................................................................................................. 1 2.2 CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE ............................................................................................................................. 3 2.2.1 Bike Paths and Bike Parking .................................................................................................................. 3 2.2.2 Rules and Regulations of the Road...................................................................................................... 5 2.2.3 What is unique about Danish cycling infrastructure? ............................................................... 9 2.2.4 Baisikeli and other Bike Rental Shops ............................................................................................. 10 2.3 PERCEPTIONS OF CYCLING ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1 The Cycling States of Mind .................................................................................................................... 12 2.3.2 What are the motivators and deterrents to cycling? ................................................................ 13 2.4 DANISH TOURISM........................................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.1 Danish Attractions .................................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.2 How do tourists seek information about Denmark? ................................................................. 20 2.4.3 Bike Tours in Copenhagen .................................................................................................................... 20 2.5 ROUTING SOFTWARE ..................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5.1 What are the goals of Cyclistic? .......................................................................................................... 21 2.5.2 What features do existing bicycle routing tools offer? ............................................................ 22 2.5.3 How is Cyclistic unique? ......................................................................................................................... 28 2.5.4 Improving Cyclistic ................................................................................................................................... 33 2.6 USER TESTING ................................................................................................................................................ 33 2.6.1 What is Usability? ..................................................................................................................................... 33 2.6.2 What are the key principles in designing for usability? .......................................................... 34 2.6.3 How do we test for usability? ............................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 39 3.1 UNDERSTAND CYCLISTIC ............................................................................................................................... 41 3.2 IDENTIFY WAYS TO PROMOTE CYCLISTIC AND BIKE-TOURISM .............................................................. 43 3.3 UNDERSTAND TOURISTS’ MOTIVATIONS/DETERRENTS TO CYCLE IN DENMARK ................................ 44 3.4 IDENTIFY CYCLISTIC’S STRENGTHS AND SHORTCOMINGS ........................................................................ 48 3.5 RECOMMEND SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS ................................................................................................ 54 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 55 4.1 UNDERSTANDING CYCLISTIC ........................................................................................................................ 55 4.2 PROMOTING CYCLISTIC AND BIKE-TOURISM ............................................................................................. 63 4.3 WHAT MOTIVATES/DETERS TOURISTS TO CYCLE IN DENMARK? .......................................................... 64 4.4 WHAT ARE CYCLISTIC’S STRENGTHS AND SHORTCOMINGS? ................................................................... 70 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................... 81 5.1 INCLUDE A CYCLING GUIDE FOR TOURISTS ............................................................................................... 82 Cycling Guide .......................................................................................................................................................... 83 5.2 REDESIGNING THE INTERFACE .................................................................................................................... 88 5.2.1 Additional Considerations ..................................................................................................................... 90 iv 5.2.2 Translation Problems .............................................................................................................................