Under Foot

Waze for pedestrians

The Client:

The Objective:

To design a mobile application capable of alerting those who travel on foot to potential hazards on their commute in real time. 

The Method:

I utilized skills including:

• Client Interviews

• Potential User Interviews

• Affinity Mapping

• Wireframing

Kristina T.

The Process:

I started my first ever design project by falling back on the interviewing skills learned during my undergraduate research project at The College of Wooster. After hearing the problem, I compiled questions to ask the client and from her responses, questions to ask the potential users of such an application.

Example Questions:

1. Where do you most often run into problems?

2. What are the most common obstacles you run into?

3. When would you be using this application?

Compiling Results:

Using my newly learned Affinity Map technique, I was able to neatly organize the results of my interviews into four categories:

• Why I need the app

• I will use the app when

• I wish I had information on these issues

• I want the app to give me these options

The Problem:

As a pedestrian, I want to know what the best route to take is when keeping to the sidewalks during my commute, avoiding obstacles that may cost time or cause injury.

Storyboarding:

Utilizing another newly learned skill, I created my first storyboard to help people visualize the transition from problem to solution.

User Testing:

Unfortunately first round testing revealed several weaknesses in the initial design including:

• Use of the "!" to report obstacles was not obvious

• Users needed to be able to distinguish between different types of obstacles

• The app was too time consuming to use, especially the process through which obstacles were reported

Ideas for the Future:

• Based on the initial user testing it was clear that significant changes were required to increase the app's ease of use while on the move.

• The app would also benefit from a return to and expansion on the interview and survey phase, allowing me to pull more specific information from a wider demographic of users. 

• In addition a comparative analysis of similar apps would provide insight into how apps designed to be used on the go simplified their interfaces.

The Solution:

A mobile application that will track and display pertinent pedestrian obstacles in real time while remaining clear and non-distracting.

Wireframing:

A lack of familiarity with the concept led me to creating something more akin to a paper prototype. This mistake unfortunately used up too much time and prevented me from getting to make a post user test prototype.