The team’s chosen domain is active communities and the dilemma it aims to solve is the delay in response times and lack of information about a specific venue or location that other websites and apps fail to provide. Active communities is a domain that revolves around bringing people of same interests and same locations together through social mobile computing for small daily activities. The product that has been chosen by the team to address this is AskLocal.
AskLocal is an application which allows users to gather information about what is happening at a specific location at this moment in time. When searching for information online you can find out general information about a place but if you wanted to know if a particular bar was crowded tonight, or if a waterfall is actually flowing due to recent rainfall, Google can’t tell you this. AskLocal aims to take advantage of users who are actually in that location, or have been there recently, being able to help provide this information.
Users will post questions to the app, and the users who are in that location at present will receive a notification that a question has been asked. Only users who have been there recently are able to provide an answer to the questions so the information will be up-to-date.
AskLocal is a mobile app aimed at connecting the community to answer specific question about a particular venue. An example of this might be: Is eleven rooftop bar crowded tonight? The app aims to have people at the bar give instant responses to the question. The app uses GPS location services and Push notifications to efficiently provide answers to questions. By doing this the app attempts to solve the problem of what if I need a specific answer to a question that does not have a fixed answer.
There are a number of similar applications that are already exist in the market, such as Google live location data, Ask.fm, Foursquare, Yelp and so on. The advantage of AskLocal compared to Google live location data is that AskLocal is more social than statistics. Moreover, Google live only shows data based on typical visits whereas AskLocal allows users to interact with each other and get current information which may differ significantly. Ask.fm is also an application that users can post questions to your current location but not at a specific location. AskLocal has improved by allowing users to not only asking the questions of their current location but also other different locations. The questions and answers could be more useful when planning the trip. Foursquare and Yelp are two similar reviewing system where people can write or view reviews and information about a specific location. What Asklocal does better is that users could have most recent reviews and information of a particular location. In some case, such as going to a possibly crowded bar, the crowd level varies every night, you might get real time information before you make the decision to head to the bar.
The target audience will be split into two primary sections, people who are knowledgeable of certain locations and those who are looking for answers. The first group will be targeted for information as these people visit certain locations regularly, aka regulars. These people are the most important users of the app as without them the app will not work. The second group will consist of the majority of the people who will use the app. This group can be refined down to even more targeted groups such as targeting younger people and the nightlife scene or parks for families.
A user is interested in going to a rooftop bar with their friends but is going there for the first time and wants to know if it is overcrowded or not. The user opens the AskLocal app and searches for the bar, once they tap on the bar, a list of top questions and answers are listed. The user sees that a question had been asked a few hours ago on how crowded the bar is. At that time the bar did not seem to be very busy however as a few hours have passed the users takes the opportunity to re-ask the question. The user only has to wait a few minutes before someone responds. The user receives a notification that their question has been answered and has the option to compare the question to similar bars around the area or to share the answer received on other social media platforms. The user decides to share the answer with their friends to let them know about the status of the bar. The user is happy with the general experience as it would be annoying for them to physically check every bar. The AskLocal app helped them get a quick overview of the place and decide where exactly to go to avoid the busy crowd.
A potential feature we aim to include in the app is the ability to only be able to ask questions if you have answered a certain number of questions. This reduces spam posting of unnecessary or duplicate questions. Another feature would be the ability to compare the same question asked in 2 or more different locations to allow the user to decide for themselves which location is better. Users should also be able to share the answers to certain questions on other social media platforms so as to inform friends or family. When searching for a location, the app should also be able to display similar locations or offerings to what the user is specifically looking for. This would be a great feature as the user will be able to explore other places rather than just the ones they are most familiar with.
The team consists of 5 members that are proficient in UI and UX design. The team leader is Matt, he will be responsible to lead and manage the project. As there are 4 designers, each member will have a specific role in relation to the design process such as; creating mockups and wireframes, creating prototypes, conducting user testing, ensuring a good user interface design and a good user experience. Every individual in the group will be responsible for different logistics. In particular, Carol will be responsible for organizing equipments, especially while conducting prototypes for user testing. Sanika will find the most suitable time for all group members to attend group meetings. Bosco will handle most of the programming and backend tasks. Liam will be responsible for ensuring all steps of the design process have been undertaken correctly.
| Team Member | Roles and Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Matthew Moss (43231454) | UI/UX Design & Front End Development |
| Liam Buttery (43531538) | UI/UX Design & Content |
| (Carol) Shui Yan (43801642) | User Interface Design |
| Sanika Naik (43949263) | UI/UX Design |
| Bosco Bartilomo (4356893) | Back End Developer |
All decisions around the project will be brought up and discussed in team meetings. After the potential decision is presented, discussion around whether it should be implemented or how to improve it are had. All members will receive the chance to voice their opinions and we will aim to reach a collective decision by the end. Most decisions will be finalised through a majority vote if no consensus is reached by the end of the meeting.
Any conflicts within the group can be brought up at a team meeting, and the root of the conflict can be confronted directly in a polite and open way. If a team member is underperforming, they will be asked reasons as to why they may not be contributing equally. If the member is unsure of how to complete a task it is their responsibility to talk with the leader and the rest of the team to seek for help. Failure for any change to occur after the problem has been presented in the team meeting will result in an email sent to the course coordinator, Lorna. The email will outline the source of the problem, potential solutions that have been implemented/attempted and the reason as to why these attempts failed. If no further action is taken then a meeting will be set up with Laura to deal with the conflict.
The team will meet regularly every Tuesday workshop and other meeting times will be discussed if needed. As all members of the team are actively on Facebook, we will use Facebook messenger as the main communication tool outside of class. All files related to the project will be stored and shared through Google Drive. The team will also use the GitHub repository provided by the university. In terms of file naming conventions, all files will be named clearly with the filename briefly describing what the file is.
Phase 1: Project initialization
- Project selection
- Group formation
- Brainstorm ideas
Phase 2: Research
- Identify problem
- Find appropriate user group
- Complete research of similar products that already exist in the market
Phase 3: Design
- Create wireframes and mockups
- Generate ideas for potential features
Phase 4: Testing
- Create low-fidelity prototypes for user testing
- Make changes as per user feedback
Phase 5: Development
- Complete front end design
- Complete back end development
- High-fidelity user testing
- Complete final product with functional features
| Assessment Task | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Project Plan (Oral pitch and project proposal) | 1 September 2017 |
| Design Prototype (Interaction Walk-Through) | 12 September 2017 |
| Design Prototype (User Testing Outcomes) | 3 October 2017 |
| Design Prototype (Final Iteration) | 17 October 2017 |
| Design Prototype (Final Prototype Demonstration) | 25 October 2017 |
| Project (Design Prototype Final Presentation & Submission) | 27 October 2017 |
| Tools/Resources | URL |
|---|---|
| Google Drive Folder | https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwpfkIevWed0VjVFTGZMaE1xRjA/view?usp=sharing |
| Github | https://github.com/deco3500-2017/TeamSupreme |
| Github Project Management | https://github.com/deco3500-2017/TeamSupreme/projects/1 |
Concepts:
- Collaboration
- Awareness
- Interaction
- Social
- Impressions
Keywords:
- Community
- Social Q&A