Problem Space and Requirements Gathering

Problem Scope and Domain

The domain space we are investigating is unaccompanied travel and living, specifically for business travelers, international students and single military service members (where single does not necessarily mean ‘unmarried’). The U.S. Navy alone has 327, 862 Active Duty personnel, many of them single (November 4, 2015, U.S. Navy). In 2012 the number of international students in the United States was 764,495 (2012, USA Today). According to the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, international students and their dependents contributed $22.7 billion to the U.S. economy in tuition, fees and living expenses (2012, USA Today).

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans make more than 405 million long-distance business trips each year (2015, Bureau of Transportation Statistics). About half of those trips are made by individuals between the ages of 30 - 49 and they tend to be males (77%); these people shoulder about 30% of the business travel burden while only representing 15% of the American population. While there are lots of restaurants, sometimes people just crave homemade food. We believe that food is more than just sustenance; it is a shared culture and a way of relieving stress. Our project aims to find a way to bring comfort and a sense of ‘home’ to our product users by connecting interested home cooks with our target demographic - unaccompanied travelers.

Solution

System Flow

Design Process

From the data collected by contextual interviews, we created the affinity diagram for each of the findings. Then we brainstorm hundred solutions and also built persona. The consolidated models helped us reveal profiles, roles, coordination, artifacts, influences, intents, and breakdowns in the all contexts.

Sketches - Low Fidelity

I sketched few of the screen as low fidelity prototype. Once the paper prototypes were ready, we tested them with three homemakers and two foodies. Then we made changes to the prototype based on the feedback.

High-Fidelity Prototype

We created high fidelity interactive prototype screens using Sketch App. We built interactive prototype using InVision. Then performed iteration based on usability testing.

Retrospective and Lessons Learned

[1] More robust user testing and incorporate the findings into our next development iteration.
[2] Identify delivery service functionality in conjunction with the application.
[3] Develop a fully functional implementation
[4] Develop home chef protocol for safety