Define the User Journey

The first step of the 3-6 month launch plan is defining the user journey. Virtual use cases can include all of the transit agency’s existing products and services, such as the ability to issue, top-up and refund. It is also possible to introduce new, digital-only use cases, including viewing transaction and journey histories and backing-up and restoring the card.

The second part to the first step is creating extensive documentation for the user journey design and functionalities. At the end of Step One, we will have a master plan for a rich application suite that promises passengers an elevated transit experience.

Deploy the Software Development Kit for the App

As soon as the user journey is defined and documented, we can move straight into developing the SDK between public transit agency app and the smart device. The SDK is for Android, iOS, as well as for smartphones and wearables. The kit works seamlessly with the Snowball’s OnBoard™ platform and enables the coexistence of the PTA-branded app with the Wallet Pay app. We have a tried-and-tested method, having successfully completed SDK development for over 300 devices and counting.

Deploy the Key Management System

To manage the keys used for the virtual application, we deploy a key management system (KMS) into a hardware security module (HSM), which is kept in a secure storage environment. During Step 3, we perform a key exchange ceremony, which is a secure procedure that brings up the KMS into the HSM. Snowball coordinates with the PTA security department to implement and configure the digital card security features, such as the key and certificate exchange and key injection, including keys for card issuance and top-up.

Deploy OnBoard™ Platform via SaaS Cloud Service

Next, we deploy the OnBoard™ Platform via the SaaS cloud service. The deployment will include the full card management for virtual use cases defined in Step One. We manage this deliverable to meet performance and security service levels, to satisfy service availability and to meet the requirements of Snowball’s Service Level Agreement.

Full User Acceptance Testing

Now that we have a full system, including an app, we are ready to start User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in both Snowball’s R&D center Lab facility as well as the Agency UAT environment in Step Five.

• Quality assurance testing
• Functional testing
• Performance testing
• Security testing

Field Testing

The last step before launch is field testing. Snowball oversees that the testing campaigns take place. We help define a campaign where we specify the coverage of infrastructure to go and perform field testing on real infrastructure, using the pending device models to be released. If we find issues, we resolve them. Once we reach a state of readiness to hand over our systems, the transit agency will be ready to launch their mobile ticketing.