It started as an idea during a workshop of UX Switzerland. The question was what added value this user experience industry association could offer its members. One possibility was: “Exchange of experience and further training through a ‘stage’ with a UX team in another company.” The two members, Daniel Schindler (SBB) and Patrick Steiger (Infometis, FHS OST), wanted to try out this suggestion as an experiment. And so it came to pass that after Easter, Patrick was able to undertake a 9-day internship with Daniel's UX team at SBB in Bern.
Patrick is a lecturer at the HCID at the OST University of Applied Sciences . The first pleasant surprise was that Ramon Cilurzo would be his SBB internship coach. As fate would have it, Ramon received his HCID Master's degree on the last day of Patrick's internship in Rapperswil . This resulted in a great role reversal between the lecturer and the newly minted UX professional.
The intern was given the opportunity to work with the SBB website and experience firsthand how this application, used by millions, is further developed behind the scenes. Interestingly, at first glance, the website offers the same functions as the SBB mobile app: for example, planning a journey on public transport or buying a ticket. However, upon closer inspection, the intern realized that the website serves entirely different primary personas, such as foreign visitors without a SwissPass or domestic users who prefer not to log in. Therefore, the interaction design justifiably and deliberately differs in detail – for example, when purchasing a ticket – from the mobile app.
As preparation, Patrick familiarized himself with Figma and intensively components and auto-layout . During the first few days, he worked alongside his mentor, recreating the screens the latter was currently working on, using the extensive SBB component library. It was fascinating to see how the UX team at SBB documents the GUI specification and hands it over to the development team. Thanks to the reuse of components deployed across SBB, it is no longer necessary to describe every GUI element textually. This ensures the consistent application of the same interaction elements across the various customer touchpoints.
During the UX team's virtual daily meeting, Patrick got to know the other UX professionals and was immediately involved in a "real" review: He had to evaluate the proposed interaction for purchasing bicycle and dog tickets in conjunction with recording passenger information. What sounds simple is actually quite complex and difficult to perfect on the first try. An iterative, user-centered approach (user tests are planned) proved to be the key to success in this case as well.
As part of his learning experience with the agile software development process at SBB, Patrick was able to participate in PI Planning, which fortunately took place in the second part of his internship. SBB was very open, and the confident Scrum Master was happy to provide additional explanations to clarify the context and process of an activity for the visitor.
With his final task, a benchmark study on a specific functionality of the ticket purchase process, Patrick was able to contribute something valuable once again and express his gratitude for the many experiences he gained during the two weeks. This provided the informational foundation for the subsequent design process by the SBB website UX team.
In conclusion: A change of perspective like this short internship is definitely worthwhile. Patrick was able to broaden his UX horizons and step into the role of a learner. He also greatly appreciated the personal contacts he made with the employees he met in Bern. Based on this experience, SBB is highly recommended as an employer – in terms of work methods and team spirit.
