There were three possible challenges to choose from of which I chose the ‘community issue reporting’. The problem statement as follows-
A great residential community (e.g. condominium, college dormitory, etc.) provides a variety of amenities and a dedicated staff responsible for its maintenance. But there isn’t always an easy way for community members to report problems to management so they can be fixed resolved quickly. Design a system for a community of your choice, so members can report issues and track their resolutions.
When I read the problem statement, I could relate to it because we have recently been in a situation where there wasn’t a clear direction to get our issues resolved. Also, one of my roommates had lived in a student dorm most of her adult life and always mentioned how tedious it was to get answers.
A report read that 19% of injuries in college dorms were cited to property defects and contributed to 10% of monetary losses.
Research shows that these injuries and losses could be prevented by promptly reporting the issues and hazard they encountered.
That's when I knew this was the challenge I would like to work on.
Brainstorming
I started out with identifying the user groups that the product would help resolve issues for. Initial thoughts were freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduates, and even PhDs. I thought about the physical space of the user groups and all possible types of services available to them, but I wanted a clearer picture.
I tried stepping in their shoes, the physical space around, being introduced to how the issue should be reported, reporting an issue, waiting for it to be resolved and what happens after being resolved. This lead to the following questions-
User Research
I conducted interviews with 6 participants that are currently residing in student housing facilities. Below are the questions that I asked during the interview.
It was found that 80% of the issues are resolved in less than 5 days. Also, there are around 1-6 issues users face in 6 months.
User Groups
To scope this project, I focussed on creating a service for students in a dormitory style housing.
Finding The Problem
Data collected during the interview was configured into a Journey Map. This helped me understand how the current system works and what students experience during each phase of the process.
After analyzing the data from research, I came up with a mission statement and user stories to guide my user flow and design decisions.
Mission Statement
Responsive Communication
Most available channels for reporting issues are reactive, where the only focus is on solving the issue. With this application, I intend to not only focus on solving problems but also make sure the user is well informed of the actions taken towards achieving the goal.
User Stories
Initial Sketches
The mission statement and the user stories guided my design process. I always kept referring to the user stories whenever I thought of a new Flow or adding a new feature. These are some of the initial sketches that I came up with.
User Flow
Low Fidelity
Homepage
Selecting The Issue
Notification and Tracking
The intention here is to create a feedback mechanism to make the process more informative, reducing the constant underlying uncertainty that exists on the users part. This is where the heart of the application lies.
The application notifies the user about the scheduled maintenance visit and allows them to change the appointment if needed. It also helps in tracking the resolution process like when the maintenance is on its way or when the issue is resolved.
User receiving a notification after appointment is scheduled.
User receiving a notification after the issue is resolved.
Issue Alert
One thing that I overlooked in my initial brainstorming session was the maintenance issues that the community faces collectively. I found out about these type of issues from the interview sessions.
The application alerts the users of system shutdowns or service cuts that happen due to scheduled maintenance work.
Extensions
Community that reaches out: During orientation, the users were shown all the required information for emergencies and for reporting housing issues, but they couldn't recall them when they needed to. It’s important to reduce the gap between resources and the users to avoid unnecessary accidents. Creating a platform where management could really engage with their students is very much needed.
More than maintenance: There are social problems that needs to be addressed to provide a great living experience to students. It would be interesting to research about how social problems within a community could be communicated in the most healthy way.
Voice: I’d like to add voice commands to the application considering the extensive and growing incorporation of VUI (Voice User Interface) into existing products and services.
Reflection
Look at the other side of the coin: The biggest learning for me out of this project was that if you try to build a two way communication among two parties, you should know both of them. It would have been great if I had researched about how management processes request, what are their constraints or are they bounded by rules and regulations.
Conduct User Testing: Definitely user testing would have helped to understand whether the intended audience understands the apps model or what do think about the product overall.
User Stories: This app wouldn't have been possible without the user stories. They functioned as a guiding module for me in this project.
TIP: Avoid doing a student focussed project during spring break. They all just disappear for good.
