Scooter, Safer
5 weeks design thinking project
TEST
UNDERSTAND
DEFINE
CREATE
LAUNCH
Prompt
We have more transportation options than ever in Austin, particularly with the arrival of Bird and Lime, two major scooter-sharing platforms. But with no helmet laws in the city of Austin and a swelling population, the potential for injuries suffered during scooter commuting has also gone up.
"How might we make getting around on scooter safer?"
WEEK 1: UNDERSTAND
Observe & Immerse
We went to the UT campus, watched people riding scooters and documented what I saw. I followed user's journey and rode scooter, trying to note my pain points and bright spots.
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Converse
Do you use any safety equipment, like a helmet or lights, when you commute?
What's it like commuting within or near UT on scooters?
Does anything make it more or less convenient to commute using a scooter?
Have you figured out any tricks that make scooter commuting a little safer or easier for you?
Can you tell me about a time when you had a really positive/negative experience commuting by scooter?
Download
After a week of observation and interview, our team got together and shared what we heard and saw.
"I feel safer on scooter than walking at night"
"Scooter riders require their own routes - separate from car traffic."
"Scooter legality & protocol is still very vague."
Steep learning curve for rules.
"Scooter parking can be hazardous to pedestrians & other commuters."
Riding a scooter is usually an unplanned event.
"I ride scooter for long, crazy walk on campus."
A person needs 2 hands to drive scooter. Hard to turn signal.
"I trust myself...so I don't wear a helmet."
People aren't keeping an eye out for scooters since they are so new.
"I feel weird to act like a car driver on a scooter."
"Scooter maintenance is inconsistent & a safety concern."
WEEK 2: DEFINE
(SYNTHESIS)
Clusters
Categorization by initial similarity
Themes
Patterns and relationships
Insights
Insights
Why?
1. For infrequent scooter users, every ride is like the first time.
2. Two wheel transportation exists in an in-between world where it is expected to act like a car but without many of tools required to do so.
3. The convenience of a scooter as a mode of transportation does not match the convenience of the needed safety equipment.
4. Because the time and financial investment of riding a scooter is low, the perceived need for safety preparation is also low.
5. Scooter rides are often unplanned, and scooter quality is variable, so you're often forced ride what you get.
WEEK 3: CREATE (IDEATION)
" If you want to have good ideas, you must have many ideas."
Linus Pauling
Ideation
After we generated some insights last week, we started to reframe insights in a way that makes them more generative. We wrote these opportunity areas as How Might We...? statements. Then we generated large volumes of ideas in a short span of time
How Might We...
Incentivize Riders to Use Safety Equipment?
Make Safety Protocols the Default?
Train People to Ride Scooters?
Allow Riders to Know the Quality of the Scooter Before They Ride?
Equip Scooters with Hardware to Make Them More Car-like?
"We generated large volumes of ideas in a short time, which move us from the abstract realm of understanding the problem to the concrete realm of solutions. Click the above picture to see our ideas!"
Selection
After ideation, we spent some time looking over your ideas as a team. We voted as individuals using the following categories:
MOST ACTIONABLE - The most impactful concept that could be implemented with the resources available to your team and others today.
MOST DELIGHTFUL - The concept which would create the most delight(or surprise, or joy) for your users.
MOST TRANSFORMATIVE IF... - The concept that would completely revolutionize everything, but which depends on a technology , resources, legislative or other barriers being overcome.
IDEA 1 - Lime Arcade (Most Delightful)
Opportunity Area: How might we train people to ride scooter?
Idea: We are developing a new scooter simulation game. It would be installed around campus to promote safety and give discount incentives to those who play.
IDEA 2 - KARATE Belt Helmet System
(Most Transformative)
Opportunity Area: How might we make safety protocols the default?
Assumption: Imagine you are a new scooter rider in a world where everyone wears a helmet.
Idea: Inspired by KARATE Martial Art Belt, we want to design a colored belt Helmet system which represents the progression of a scooter rider from white, the innocence of a beginner to the maturity of the black belt, who is an expert rider impervious to the darkness and fear.
Goal: We imagine that people wearing the novice helmet know that they could eventually get the expert one. The colored belt can also be used as a scooter skill signal for pedestrians or drivers.
IDEA 3 - Discount for Helmet Wearers
(Most Actionable)
Opportunity Area: How might we incentivize rider to use safety equipment?
Idea: We design one feature for scooter mobile application, which offers discount for helmet wearers.
WEEK 4: CREATE
(PROTOTYPING)
" We prototype to learn (and fail) quickly and cheaply."
We were prototyping our ideas in two forms: Looks-like and works-like. These can be tested as separate prototypes, or combined into one.
Looks-like prototypes suggest the aesthetics and form of the solution.
Works-like prototypes demonstrate the function of the solution.
During the class, our instructor Jose Colucci instructed us to prototype. We used the materials provided in class to build our prototype. After that, we went to the Design Institution for Health Studio to continue our prototyping.
IDEA 1 - Lime Arcade (Most Delightful)
Looks-like prototype:
We made a scooter ride simulator. Imagine the simulators are located on campus, new scooter riders could learn how to ride scooter by playing scooter simulation game.
Works-like prototype:
To give users an immersive experience, we designed a scooter simulation game. We drew some scenarios which would happen in daily life.
IDEA 2 - KARATE Belt Helmet System
(Most Transformative)
Looks-like prototype:
We used the real helmets as our prototypes, which means that test participants will be more likely to behave realistically.
Works-like prototype:
I designed a colored belt Helmet system diagram to show the progression of a scooter rider from white, the innocence of a beginner to the maturity of the black belt, who is an expert rider impervious to the darkness and fear.
We designed the scooter ride app workflow, aiming to encourage riders to wear a helmet. If you are a rider wearing a helmet, you are able to get a discount by just taking a selfie with a helmet. If you are a rider not wearing a helmet, you can start ride anyway, but the app will notify you how much you would have saved wearing a helmet, which incentivizes you to wear a helmet next time.
IDEA 3 - Discount for Helmet Wearers
(Most Actionable)
WEEK 5: TEST
"Users are engaging with something we've built, so they'll be reacting to our concepts."
Goal:
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Test the desirability of our concepts.
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Further test the assumption we made in our design synthesis, and teaches us more about our users.
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User Feedback
Orange: KARATE Belt Helmet System. Blue: Lime Arcade. Red: Discount for Helmet Wearers.
"Everyone would like to wear student helmet so that pedestrians and drivers would avoid them."
"I don't think I am a expert driver when I wear a expert helmet. "
"I think that's very cool. It helps you make the decisions that you will have to make on the road."
"What do the points mean? Bonus of rides would incentivize me more."
"Animation will make me more relaxed in the scenario."
"I will use the simulator in high traffic areas or near bus stop."
"I want to get a helmet for the 20% off ride, where do I get it? "
"I am interested in a collapsible helmet which is more portable, like an umbrella. "
"I saw an email that said don't ride on the sidewalk, but I still don't know because I see people on the sidewalk. "
I am a very prudent person, and I wouldn't just try scooter if I don't know how to use it."
"Shared helmet is not going to be clean."