SMARTBOOTH
Dom Aarvold, Suzie Gurung, Clare Marsh, Joe Pratt
INTRODUCTION Welcome to our journey through this Interaction Design project. We have worked very hard to make this book interesting as well as informative. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Suzie Dom J o e e r a l C
RESEARCH The brief was to research and create a prototype system to support an organisation. The chosen organisation is Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) which supports young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans (LGBT) 16-25-yearolds who are made homeless or living in a hostile environment. Design-based research has been carried out throughout the project to understand and gain insight into problems, explore new concepts and prototype designs. Our Approach Methodologies: Organisation Research: to understand the currently existing systems and services AKT provide. Telephone Interview: To refine the area that needs improvement, and will be beneficial to the organisation. YouTube Videos: To understand the experience of a homeless youth.
Evidence Gathering & Analysis Thematic Analysis: Method used to identify and analyse patterns and themes from our organisation research and telephone interview. Empathy Map: To get into the mindset of someone who is homeless and or in danger we went through an empathy mapping process.
Insights Target Audience: 16-25 year olds. Helping those who have left home and have limited access to limited access to technology. Information Access: Having a tool that can be used by homeless youths to access vital information can help them find a safe place to sleep, finding meals etc. Security: Someone in a situation where they feel unsafe will not want to access the information they need and this could put them in a more dangerous situation.
RESEARCH Research Summary Carrying out design based research has made it clear that the three areas we need to focus on while prototyping is information access, security and privacy by taking our target audience as a key objective. We have discovered the constraints and issues that need to be taken into consideration in terms of designing in a public space.
DESIGN BRIEF PROJECT SUMMARY: SMARTBooth is an interactive kiosk that aims to support the homeless community. It will provide access to vital information and allow homeless users to stay connected with the services they need. It will provide an easily recognisable place for users to charge phones, message family members and find information regarding available beds and places to eat. This will be achieved by using existing telephone box infrastructure, most of which are already connected to the phone network, allowing the SMARTBooth to be fitted with WiFi. The SMARTBooth is not exclusively for homeless people. However, if the user isn’t homeless, it will prompt them to donate, either money or something that can be used i.e. phone credit or places to stay. Homeless users will be given an RDF token to access charging points and use the messaging features. CURRENT SITUATION: Our research has established that LGBT homeless youth represent up to 40% all young people experiencing homelessness. This can be for many reasons from family abandonment to running away. Therefore, LGBT youth are overly represented within the homeless population. Further research indicated that something as simple as a mobile phone can change a young person’s experience of homelessness. Therefore, having a tool that has access to vital information, such as a safe place to sleep, is important. WHAT PROBLEM ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE? During our research we identified that many of the AKT service users have limited access to technology.
However, something as simple as a mobile phone can be an important lifeline when accessing information about safe places to stay. Over half homeless youth don’t have mobile phones or don’t have access to one that works. Therefore, we are looking into designing a tool that will help homeless youth access vital information such as finding a safe place to stay, finding meals and staying in contact with service providers. We have decided to look at expanding our interest to encompass homelessness as a whole. We feel that this will be the most effective use of this project and will have impact on a greater number of people. WHO IS THIS GOING TO IMPACT ON? The project will have the most impact on our main target audience, users of the Albert Kennedy Trust, LGBT Youth aged 16-25. Our project will support these users in post crisis, mainly helping those who have left home and have limited access to limited access to technology. It will impact on homeless community as a whole, providing support and this will have the additional benefit of being able to raise awareness
and money to benefit the charities and services that work with them. WHAT ARE YOUR CONSTRAINTS? We will need to find appropriate ways of providing information to users with limited access to technology. All the while keeping the individual’s information anonymous and secure. The SMARTBooth will need to provide a level of safety and security to the end user. There will be budget constraints as the SMARTBooth could become expensive but incorporating them into existing infrastructure such as phone boxes will help control this. There is the possibility that the SMARTBooth could be subject to vandalism. We would need to ensure they are both monitored and made from robust materials.
PROTOTYPING 1. INTRODUCTION We have used an iterative design process to prototype and refine our SmartBooth design solution. Taking the insights that were discovered during the research and analysis stage of the project, we went through several incarnations of the User Interface (UI) before we developed a system that was user-friendly. Research into existing information systems and design spaces has been carried out throughout the prototype development. During this process we decided to make the system more generic and not just focused on the Albert Kennedy Trust. We felt this system could reach, and improve, the lives of many users.
2. OUR APPROACH 2.1. Paper Prototype & Usability Testing 1 Our initial prototype was created using card and post-it notes in an attempt to map out the various areas and sections we thought would be required for the finished product. We started by discussing how the userfacing part of the system would look. During our research we had determined that privacy and security were paramount. With this in mind, we decided to separate the public user system and the homeless system but also ensure there was no charity-specific branding. From here we mapped out the homeless user system. One of our main research insights was that homeless users had trouble accessing information they really needed.
PROTOTYPING With this in mind, we created a section that will include the nearest available food, such as soup kitchens, the number of beds available at the nearest homeless shelters. This information would be gathered from the shelters directly using a content management system (CMS) that would be updated by shelter staff. Using real time information in the Smart Booth will mean users will not end up making their way to places where the services they would like to access are not available. We have conducted researched into a secure, anonymous, messaging system that would allow users to check in with friends and family and charity staff.
This would allow the user to contact someone without fear of others finding out where they currently are. Carrying out paper prototyping (see blog post) helped us identify the main areas that we needed to develop for the final prototype and also refine our various ideas into something relevant and meaningful. It also allowed for user testing that helped shape later designs. We mocked up the screens that we identified in the user journey stage using paper and completed several rounds of user testing.
PROTOTYPING We set the participants tasks to complete and asked them to talk through the actions they were performing as well as for any feedback. For example, was everything to be found where they expected it? Were the instructions and feedback clear? From this stage we added additional screens that reflected the user feedback, most notable being a screen to confirm that a hostel bed had been reserved. 2.2. Digitised Prototype & Usability Testing 2 We digitalised the paper prototype using Illustrator and Invision. Further usability testing identified these issues: - Users need to have trust in our phone charging system - how?
- Finding Food & Shelters: How would people find their way from the Smart Booth to their destination? We decided that the best way to address this would be for Smart Booth to print pocket sized map that shows the route to help someone find their way to the hostel or find food. - User Interface needs to be consistent. - Where will SmartBooth be installed? 2.3. Digitised Prototype & Usability Testing 3 We implemented changes based on user testing and improved the UI to be as informative and user friendly as possible. Ensuring that the instructions and feedback were clear.
PROTOTYPING 2.4. Final Prototype We made improvements to our prototype by finalising the user interface and visual designs. This gave an idea of how the finished product would look like. To achieve this, we have built a case for the iPad to give a feel of what the screen would be like when stood in one of the Smart Booths. We hope this will give the user testers a sense of what we want to create in terms of user privacy. We have developed an example of what the RFID wristband and reader will look like. These are functionalities that can be added for the future development.
However, users will be able to wear the wristband to get a better overall idea of what we are trying to achieve. In addition to this we have built a scale model of a Smart Booth using an model telephone box to demonstrate how it would sit within the wider world and what the finished product could potentially look like. 3. INSTALLATION LOCATION In-depth research identified two places that would provide maximum exposure for the information we are trying to provide. An article stated, homeless people spend their time at the library because of the free resources available here, such as computers, book and magazines.
PROTOTYPING Homeless people use these services either to find resources to help them have a better life or use it to pass the time. Installing SmartBooth at the library will allow for a safe, dry space for homeless users to access any information they need. It will be beneficial to install these where there is no access restrictions, such as town centres, so information and help is available 24/7. This booth will be better sited in a location where homeless people are known to congregate. 4. CONSTRAINTS & IMPROVEMENTS There are several constraints that we have discovered over the course of prototyping. These are as follows:
- Materials: The materials used to create the booth need to be robust; designed and built in a way that makes them difficult to vandalise or steal. The design also needs to take into account that some of these booths will be located outside, meaning they have to be weatherproof. - Space: We need to think about encouraging people to complete the tasks that they need and then vacate, allowing others access. Think about encouraging users to wait when someone is using the booth. We could add some information about the next nearest booth somewhere on the outside.
- Privacy: The nature of the information that is being provided can be sensitive. We need to provide the people accessing this with privacy from others passing / standing behind them. We could use something as simple as privacy screens over the top of the monitors and solid booth walls. - Confirming accommodation: There is an option to reserve a space within a hostel for the night. We would need for homeless hostels to have a sibling RFID reader to ensure that the user has actually arrived. This would not have to carry information about the user, just match the RFID codes.
PROTOTYPING 5. CONCLUSION Carrying out in-depth research and testing into this area has developed and refined our final design. This has been an involved and detailed process; gathering information from a variety of sources and collating it to create the best possible solution for providing access to information and services to persons who would ordinarily find this difficult. The final system provides clear accessible information that is presented in a discrete way enabling people, who need to, to use this service without judgement or embarrassment about who they are or their situation.
FINAL PROTOTYPE What resolution will the final prototype be? Our prototype will comprise of a fully working, hi-fi Invision mock up with several different screens displaying information, a mock-up of the phone charging boxes and a scale model of the booth itself.
We have developed a working prototype of the final interface design that allows users to simulate booking a place at a hostel or search for places to eat. We have also created a mock-up of the inside of the booth to house the tablet that will be used to simulate the computer.
In addition, we have created an example of the mobile phone charging station. There is also a scale version of the entire booth. It is a small telephone box with scale versions of the screen and charging booth inside.
FINAL PROTOTYPE