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:
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Client Interviews
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Potential User Interviews
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Affinity Mapping
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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:
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Where do you most often run into problems?
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What are the most common obstacles you run into?
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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:
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Why I need the app
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I will use the app when
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I wish I had information on these issues
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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:
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Use of the "!" to report obstacles was not obvious
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Users needed to be able to distinguish between different types of obstacles
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The app was too time consuming to use, especially the process through which obstacles were reported
Ideas for the Future:
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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.
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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.
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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.
