Session 1: Initial Semi-Structured Interview (In-Person)

  • Date: Week 1, Day 3
  • Participants: Lena (Domain Expert), David (Computer Expert)
  • Goal: Understand high-level workflows and pain points.
  • Notes: Lena described checking multiple spreadsheets to identify daily delays. She mentioned specific “hotspots” that she knows about anecdotally. She also brought up the potential impact of major events or road closures.
  • Initial Insights: The existing workflow is manual and disjointed. A single, integrated visualization could save significant time. There’s a need to see both geographical (hotspot) and temporal (time of day) patterns.

Session 2: Think-Aloud Observation (Video Call)

  • Date: Week 1, Day 5
  • Participants: Lena, David
  • Goal: Capture the expert’s tacit knowledge by observing their real work.
  • Notes: Lena walked through her process of manually cross-referencing a bus schedule PDF with a live GPS data table. She pointed out that she has to “guess” which routes are most affected by rain.
  • Key Discovery: The “guesswork” around weather correlation is a key opportunity for the visualization. The process of manual cross-referencing is a clear pain point that can be solved with a coordinated view.