Project overview
Bharat Yatra allows users to manage transit cards through NFC-enabled Android devices. Users can check balance and update card balances directly from their phones.
As NFC adoption grew, a consistent pattern of failures and user drop-off emerged during core interactions — particularly during the Update Balance flow. This project set out to diagnose and resolve those failures through interaction design.
Understanding the User Journey
Before designing solutions, we mapped the two core NFC flows users relied on — understanding where friction points could exist at each step.
The Challange
"Users didn't know when to tap and where to tap."
1
Unclear NFC tap timing cues
2
Unexpected second NFC tap required
3
No guidance on
NFC reader location
Update and check balance flow
No timing signal
Multi-tap — no progress
Reader location unknown
Our Approach
We structured the work in two parallel tracks.The first focused on making the NFC interaction itself clearer and more forgiving. The second focused on reducing the trial and error required to find the NFC reader on different devices, as we mention “Tap the card back of your phone”.
Track 1
Better timing signals during NFC write
Countdown timer to set expectation
Progress feedback across multi-tap flow
Track 2
Detect NFC reader position
Guide users to correct tap location once
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Reduce Physical Uncertainty
Replace passive copy with active, real time guidance during the update and check balance interaction.
Guide, don’t Instruct
Never ask a user to figure out the solution themselves when the feature is new as it will lead to dropoff.
Iteration 1- Improving NFC Interaction
PROBLEM
Users struggled during the update & check balance process and often found the NFC interaction confusing with no sense of progress
INSIGHT
Users needed better guidance during active NFC states — particularly a sense that something was actively happening.
DESIGN DECISION
Introduced a countdown timer to make the NFC interaction feel guided and time-bounded, reducing anxiety and abandonment.
New SDK Requirement
Detect NFC reader location on device
Save reader position after first successful tap
Reuse saved location in future interactions
Opportunity
Reduce trial-and-error tapping by guiding users once to their device's NFC reader and remembering it for every future interaction.
Initial Mapping Exploration
The first mapping experience guided users through tapping their card across predefined zones on a phone illustration until the NFC reader was discovered.
WHAT WASN’T WORKING
Phone illustration was visually too small to guide precise tapping
Tap zones lacked visual emphasis and felt ambiguous.
Card-to-phone spatial relationship was unclear.
Users had to interpret animation rather than follow instruction.
Users had to interpret animation rather than follow instruction.
Iteration 2 — Shifting from Animation to Guidance
Designer Before - V1
Passive — relies on animation comprehension. Small phone graphic. No explicit tap instruction.
After - V2
Active — explicit instruction. Large phone and card graphics. Clear spatial relationship.
DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS
1
Larger phone illustration — fills screen, guides precision.
2
Larger card graphic — reinforces the card-to-phone relationship.
3
Stronger visual hierarchy — instruction dominates over decoration.
4
More visible and labelled tap zones.
5
Clear written instruction replaces animation dependency.
Decision Making
Should every user be forced through the mapping flow?
Option A
Force Mapping
All users complete NFC mapping before their first interaction.
Pros
+Consistent experience
+Reader always known
+Fewer failures
Cons
—Additional friction for all users
—Blocks users who just want to check balance
—May cause abandonment
Option B
Preserve Existing Flow
Existing users skip mapping. Mapping only triggers for new NFC interactions where location is unknown.
Pros
+Familiar for returning users
+Zero added friction for simple flows
+Progressive disclosure
Cons
—Less guidance for legacy users
—Inconsistent experience short-term
Decision
Preserve the existing NFC experience for users who skip mapping, while providing guided tap-zone interactions for users whose reader location has been saved. Mapping is triggered progressively — only when a user’s device reader is unknown.
Final Experience
Key Learnings
"The challenge wasn't teaching users how NFC works. The challenge was teaching users how NFC works on their device."
By iterating on interaction design, collaborating closely with Product and Engineering teams, and introducing personalised NFC mapping, we transformed a trial-and-error NFC experience into a guided and reliable journey.
01 Hardware constraints require explicit spatial guidance, not just UI affordances.
02 Progressive disclosure — mapping only when needed — preserves experience quality for existing users.
03 SDK capabilities unlocked personalisation that UI design alone couldn't solve.
04 Close collaboration with engineering midway through design avoids costly rework.
🙌
Thanks for watching
