I frequently use public transport to get around Sydney and when I recently found myself needing to get home in a hurry. I quickly went to Wynyard and saw a bus I knew would take me home. Unfortunately the driver was attending to something in the cabin at the time and the bus doors were closed so I waited patiently outside the bus, waiting for him to return but also in the knowledge that I only had the correct fare sitting in my hand and not a pre-paid ticket as the ticket machine was some distance away. Eventually the driver returned, opened the door, I stepped onto the bus, indicated where I wanted to go and went to hand him my money when he said you need a ticket and I'm about to go. So I missed the bus.

Reluctantly I went to the ticket machine to purchase a ticket. I was asked which ticket I wanted, told how much it would cost and after paying the money, I got what I payed for, a ticket. Nothing more, nothing less, just a ticket. Not surprising as this was a ticket machine but you would think with today's technology, over 40 years after the first man landed on the moon with hand held mobile devices that play music, record video and even allow you to talk to other people, that a machine capable of dispensing a ticket could do more than just dispense tickets.

For example, there are a number of ways of getting around the city, bus, train, ferry, walking. There are even a number of buses that can take you to the same destination, some faster than others. If my goal was to reach a destination in the shortest possible time, why couldn't this marvel of modern science, the ticket machine, ask me my destination, calculate the quickest way to get there, provide me with a number of trip alternatives and dispense the appropriate ticket. Why is the onus on the passenger to understand which ticket they need and which bus stop to go to to get to their destination in the shortest possible time.

I guess there are two answer to these questions:

1. Passengers needed to have tickets before boarding the public transport system and Transport NSW had to have a way of dispensing tickets to passengers so immediately they looked for a ticket dispensing machine.
   
2. After identifying a desire to "efficiently" dispense tickets, there goal was then to find someone that could supply ticket dispensing machine. They didn't look to address the needs of the customer, that is, how can we assist a passenger on their journey, what they did do is address an internal need to dispense tickets and so they ended up with ticket machines, nothing more, nothing less, the ticket machine does what it says it does.
   

So many times do we see the root of all system design problems being a lack of understanding or lack of articulation of the successful customer outcome. The result of this is inside out thinking and an approach to developing systems with a complete ignorance of the customer. Had Transport NSW looked to address the customer need and taken an Outside In approach, the resulting ticket machine system could have been more like an automated travel kiosk, capable of helping customer reach their destination by the most efficient means, achieving a successful customer outcome and making passengers lives easier, simpler and more successful. Alas, we are left with ticket dispensing machines and confused passengers.

It's simple really. According to their website charter , "Transport NSW is the lead agency of the NSW transport portfolio, with primary responsibility for:

    * Transport coordination
    * Transport policy and planning
    * Transport services
    * Transport infrastructure

This streamlined transport structure is intended to deliver integrated transport planning and service delivery, and consolidation of like-functions to reduce costs and provide additional funds for front-line staff and services. In collaboration with other transport agencies, the agency is progressively rolling out key service initiatives to deliver a more capable, safe and reliable transport network across metropolitan, regional and rural NSW."

Unfortunately, their charter doesn't include one reference to commuters, passengers or the public, the very people this agency is supposed to provide services for.

So the problem here is that the mission statement is flawed and that everybody, from the top management to the front line is potentially doing the wrong things. Their mission has nothing to do with passengers and providing them with an efficient and effective means of transport.

In a similar situation to this, British Airways employed high priced consultants for a period of nine months to tell them what their core competency was. The result of this work was the finding that British Airways core competency was to fly aeroplanes. So immediately, anything outside the scope of flying aeroplanes was not considered core, much of it was outsourced and this has led to a significant degradation of both service and experience for customers. The result is the mess they find themselves in today.

What needs to be done is for Transport NSW to look at themselves from the outside in, or from the public's perspective. Then they need to realise that their mission, like many other organisations in this world, should be about moving people. With the simple mission of moving people, then and only then will they be able to plan for the future and provide the necessary services and improvements to satisfy people's requirements for moving around this state.

This lack of alignment to customers is the key problem with the strategy and mission statement of almost all modern organisations, both public and private.

To rectify the problem, what needs to be done initially is to understand what the successful customer outcomes are. People want to move around the city, getting where they need to go the manner in which people choose to travel needs to make their lives easier, simpler and more successful. It is possible, it just needs someone to look at it from the Outside In.