Project overview
Bharat Yatra enables users to manage transit cards using NFC-enabled Android devices.
Two actions define the experience:
• Check Balance
• Update Balance
While the flows looked straightforward, successful completion depended on users knowing something the interface couldn't explain—where and when to tap their card.
Before we dive in, let's take a look at the flow
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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.
Timing 🕐
Users received little feedback during NFC interactions and often weren't sure if the process had started.
Reader Location 📱
Every Android phone places its NFC reader differently, making every interaction a guessing game.
Multiple Taps 🔁
Update Balance required multiple NFC interactions, but users expected it to finish after the first tap.
Observation
The problem wasn't NFC. The problem was uncertainty.
Users kept moving the card around.
Users removed the card too early.
Users blamed the app instead of the device.
These observations changed how we framed the problem.
Insight
The challenge wasn't teaching users how NFC works.
It was teaching users how NFC works on THEIR device.
Iteration One
Making NFC feel alive.
Users needed better guidance during active NFC states — particularly a sense that something was actively happening.
Decision
Why
Outcome
Added countdown timer
Users needed confidence that something was happening
Interaction felt more predictable. But users was still searching for the NFC reader
DESIGN DECISION
Introduced a countdown timer to make the NFC interaction feel guided and time-bounded, reducing anxiety and abandonment.
Opportunity
Reduce trial-and-error tapping by guiding users once to their device's NFC reader and remembering it for every future interaction.
New SDK Capability
Detect NFC Reader
Save Location
Reuse Later
What if users only had to learn once?
Instead of improving every NFC interaction, we could improve only the first one.
Exploration
Hypothesis
Reality
Animations would guide users
Users watched, They didn't act
Design Shift
From animation to guidance.
DESIGN DECISION
📱 Larger phone
📃Explicit instruction
🔖Saved location
👁️ Visible tap zones
✅ Reader confirmation
Should every user complete NFC Mapping?
Force Mapping
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
Progressive Mapping
Pros
Familiar for returning users
Zero added friction for simple flows
Progressive disclosure
Cons
Less guidance for old users
Inconsistent experience short-term
DESIGN DECISION
Mapping only appears when reader location is unknown. We reduced friction without introducing a mandatory setup experience.
Final Experience
Success Metrics
As the feature is pre-launch, these metrics define how success will be evaluated after release.
User Experience
🏃➡️ Faster(in 12sec) reader discovery
⬇️Reduced trial-and-error tapping
😎Higher interaction confidence
🧠Better understanding of NFC states
Product
📌 Mapping adoption
🔖Saved location reuse
🔼Update Balance completion
🧠Check Balance completion
User Experience
⬇️ Reduced NFC support issues
🤏Fewer failed balance updates
🌻More predictable NFC interactions
Reflection
Great NFC experiences aren't about better instructions. They're about reducing uncertainty.
Hardware shapes UX
Design must adapt to device constraints, not assume consistency.
Progressive disclosure reduces friction
Teach users only when they need to learn.
Platform capabilities create product opportunities
The new SDK didn't just enable a feature—it enabled a better interaction model.
🙌
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