Original research

EVALUATING THE QUALITY AND PROCESS CAPABILITY OF SMARTPHONE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TRAVEL TIME PREDICTION PERFORMANCE

Pages 355-368

10.61552/JIBI.2026.04.001

Edrian Santos, Aswin Sivakumar, Elsa Gijo Paul, Jaswanth Selvi Dhanasekar, Aravinthsamy Singravel

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Abstract: The popularity of the use of smartphone-based navigation applications is driven by convenience and the availability of inexpensive mobile data plans. While the main function is routing from one place to another, the second most important function is the estimated travel duration based on the routing provided. From this estimate and the required time of arrival at the destination, a departure time can be planned.
The estimated travel duration needs to be accurate because inaccuracies cause inconvenience at best and lost business opportunities at worst, when arrival gets delayed.
While their popularity could indicate their level of quality, this study presents the real-world performance of 3 of the most widely used navigator applications in their travel duration estimation. Travel parameters are controlled to ensure fairness. Findings indicate capabilities worse than +/-30% error, so travelers need to allow for more time than indicated by these applications

Keywords: Estimation, navigation, application, smartphone, reliability, real-world.

Recieved: 02.03.2026. Revised: 25.04.2026. Accepted: 01.06.2026.