I found this week’s group task interesting as it is an aspect of the design industry I previously had very little knowledge on. I was able to find out a surprisingly vast amount of information simply from engaging in non-participant observation in the university coffee shop, such as that during standard lecture times there are few students, who generally arrived at around 11:30, and that those who were working generally sat alone but those in groups were socialising and sitting at round tables. I was also able to pick up on some design flaws, such as the menu being too small to read, and users having to lean over the food to view it, which can also be a hygiene issue in a place where food is sold. There was also only one queue and staff member, so users only getting food had to wait in line with those having drinks prepared, which could be frustrating as the already have their item in their hand but still have to wait for other users to have their items made instead of simply being able to pay and sit down.
We also got the chance to create a service blueprint. I found it interesting breaking down the processes into front and backstage processes, which helps the organisation delegate tasks to the correct sections of the company as well as keeping the task running smoothly both on the user’s end and the organisation.
Some of the processes we discovered through cursory desk research were some I previously never considered were a part of the process of buying and having delivered an item, for example seeing the advertisement for the service, which is in hindsight an integral part of the service, which designers are also essential for in making sure the target users know what the service does and are convinced it will meet their needs, as well as catering to their own likely personal taste through branding.
This week I also created a user journey map, summarising the process one of my target users detailed, of a typical instance when he plans a meet up with his friends.
The issues he usually faces as shown here are others being disorganised and having different schedules. During the same interview he also said that he enjoys meeting with friends at societies, which is an area which Student Brood aims to deal with, allowing users to essentially create their own informal societies. It will also help users organise meetings by making joining a meeting as simple as pressing one button, and fitting meetings into their schedule automatically.