Experience Prototype

Experience Prototyping[1] is a way of testing new service ideas or designs for specific touch points. Experience Prototypes are about communicating what the experience will be like and allow the design team to test and refine their solutions with potential users.
Experience Prototypes don’t need to be refined or take a long time to make, it is more important to create something quickly, test it, and then iterate the design. They can vary from paper sketches, to a physical model, to a fully acted out service.
Websites
- http://www.experientia.com/services/prototyping/experience-prototyping/
- http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/how-designers-work/design-methods/prototyping-experience/
- http://ideodesign.com.au/images/uploads/news/pdfs/FultonSuriBuchenau-Experience_PrototypingACM_8-00.pdf
- http://everythingiknow.squarespace.com/blog/2011/6/3/experience-prototyping-methods-whats-it-like-to-be-the-servi.html
- http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/how-designers-work/design-methods/prototyping-experience/

For this project a paper prototype would work, this would give us an inside in what the test person really use. The one object all of the participants used was an mobile phone, therefor we could make paper sketches. When the test are done there should be enough feedback to redesign (and eventually, create) the test object!

(The experience prototype allows us to show and test the solution through an active participation of the users).

So we should use this because it is Cost-efficient, Quick, Simple, Easy which make it an ideal way of working for the group!

·         Another way for experience prototyping is to try and live like your target group, for example the next video!
http://vimeo.com/m/3356504

---

[1] http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/how-designers-work/design-methods/prototyping-experience/

Assignment 3

Intro:
Last week was about hypotheses. This week we did some field research to gain information about what actually happens in the day of students who works and have an active social life. We will focus more on the "think and feel" aspects of the student. You can also find a summary out of an article. You can all read this in the assignment for this week:

Summary:
This week we made a summary out of a text about Interventions into Train Lines and Passenger Times.

"Travel Remedy Kit: Interventions into Train Lines and Passenger Times"

The decisions of government  to invest on transport, either building a road or laying of rail, are predicated on the information of the cost versus the economic benefit of such investment which are calculated on the basis of appraising a model of the proposed transport system. Luggage-carrying, individual and embodied passengers waiting for train are translated into economically modelled passengers, who are rational-actors in a calculated transport system.

This chapter explores substantive differences between this aggregated economic model passenger and sensory, affective model of the embodied passenger arising from social research methods, such as ethnography, focus groups, and interviews.  How might ‘remedies’ for the affective qualities of a passenger’s train journey translate into benefits within the economically modelled version? To provide answers or understanding to the research question, first is to rethink what constitute economically modelled passenger, thereafter making it a potentially better model upon which transport appraisal and government investment might be made. A proposed ‘Travel  Remedy Kit’ is used as intervention to demonstrate how substantive improvements in the experience of individual journey’s might also manifest as economic benefits in the aggregated, economically defined world of transport appraisal.

To set this chapter in context, a summary of the orthodox thinking of transport  appraisal which is as follows:  Travel is seen as a means to an end – a means of getting somewhere in order to do something at the destination. The ‘means to an end’ is an inconvenience-something to be minimised.

It follows that quicker journeys are preferred to slower ones: less time spent on the inconvenience leads to more time to do something else. Travel time is seen as unproductive time, and any  saved travel time is assumed to be reinvested in (economically) productive activity. A three-year research project, concerned with ‘Travel-Time Use in information Age’ is used to challenge this orthodoxy by arguing that travel is more than just a ‘means to an end’ and, for transport policy, the experience of travel time can be productive. For example, a survey conducted of 26,000 passengers in 2004 by National Rail Passengers Survey, not only did the result question the value attributed to saved travel time, but it also questions whether investment in quicker journeys is the only means of yielding benefits in transport system; investment in enhancing passenger productivity on-the-move may also have benefits- economic and otherwise.

 Economically modelled Passengers in transport appraisal are created through a process of translating the messy socio-material world of the traveller and their baggage into a series of calculative relations; a body is flattened into a formula according to the following general tenets ( see Lyons and Urry, 2005):

• passengers experience a universal clock time;

• they take action on the basis that any time in motion is wasteful, and would be

valuable if recovered;

• if they travel outside of work they do so in their own time which they can

value – they have a willingness to trade time for money;

• when travelling in the course of work they do so in relation to time owned by

their employer – time that is valued according to the wage they are paid;

• individual passengers do not matter in an economic appraisal – attention is

paid to the overall population of model passengers, the aggregate.

                                                                                                                                       

To help clear the distinctive features of this ‘appraised’ passenger experience, as distinct from the features of sensory, social and situated passenger experience created through social research , highlights of the differences in their spatiality- the difference in their contingent possibilities for movement.

From the tenet:

-          Transport appraisal passenger moves from a point of departure to a point of arrival in the shortest possible time. The line of journey is uniform, it has no particular characteristics or quality of experience, it ends when a passenger arrives at the destination. It aims for quickest and straightest path. This passenger is static and un-engaged with the world until the destination, the point of activity and re-entry back into the economic world.

For the economically modelled passenger ( travelling in the course of work) nothing happens en route, everything happens before and after. So there appears to be no possibility for valuable activity when travelling- or when waiting in the moment in between.

Travel Remedy Kit

The Travel Remedy Kit is an intervention and interview-based piece of empirical

research, loosely based on the concept of personalised travel planning in transport

studies, which seeks to encourage individuals to discuss and rethink their travel

choices and behaviours with the prospect of some changes taking place to the benefit

of the individual and society (Parker et al., 2007).

The kit comprises two elements: a deck of 34 cards (see Figures 1 and 2), constituting

the results of our national rail survey, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and

ethnography; and a travel pack of personalized items designed, with use of the cards,

for the specific passenger and journey. The complete deck of cards, which we do not

have the space to present here, and instructions for use can be downloaded from

http://www.built-environment.uwe.ac.uk/traveltimeuse/

The Travel Remedy Kit method involves 3 stages: design of the kit, travelling with the kit, and a final debrief and discussion of its effectiveness.

Using these 3 stages insights were gotten from the participant which include post remedied journey interviews to evaluate participants experiences with the travel remedy kit.

Conclusion:

The travel remedy kit was designed to create journeys that were more beneficial to passengers, and where travel time can be stretched or compressed. Through the intervention and the research method, they were able to show that benefits could be accorded to passenger be creating activities which will make the journey quicker and activity full for passenger.

What I personally learnt was how mix method were used to answer the research question. Additionally, how to design different activities that will provide insights from participants.

Choosing and research method should fit with how data and insights will be collected to answer he research question.

Research Report:

Introduction

Students work for variety of reasons. Some work for fun, some for pocket money. Some work because they must pay their way through school while others work for the experience. These are the people that this research seeks to help. These students build their own rhythms while trying to get the most out of their education and surroundings. To better help the students to following research question, How can we help students working part-time balance work, school and socializing? was created. The aim of this research project is to find out how students balance work, school and socializing to find ways to help them do it better.

Methods and rationale

The research question sets the direction for the project and helps create an objective view of the topic. Interviews and questionnaires were the primary source of information during the project.  The interviews and questionnaires were conducted to gain insights into the target group; to gain understanding into the rhythms that the students live by, and find the unmet needs.  

Research set up (location, questions etc.

The questionnaires were sent out over email. The interview too place in a variety of locations; from SKYPE to FACEBOOK to in-person conversations. They had to be flexible to fix into the students days.

Questionnaire option 1

Questionaire option 2

Data:

	Occupation	Hours per day	Times per week	Why do you work?	Chink in days	What helps/ insights	Day order	…	…
1.	Dishwasher	5-7	3-4	I have to pay for my schooling	When the train schedule changes.	I go back and forth between ns and 9292.	School first and then work after.
2.	Ah employee	5	3	I pay for extras my parents pay for only the university		Work as close to home as you can.	School first and then work
3.	Ah employee	7	4	Pay for school	When someone is late and I have to stay until they are there.	Really flexible plans and working after school so no conflicts	School first then work
4.	Ah junior manager	7	4	Pay for school and experience		I work week ends and the free days	School is the priority
5.	Ah stocker	5	3	Pocket money	Late delivery’s, I have to sort and unpack them before I can leave	I work only after school at 5. And one week end.	School first.
6.	Baker in bakery5	4	5	Experience	Machine malfunctions. We share machines if one is malfunctioning then I’ screwed.	Communication. I keep everyone constantly in the loop. Getting breakfast and food at work.	I work in the bakery in the mornings form 4- 8 and get to school for –9,30 class
7.	Lundress in hotel	8	3	Money	Vip people. That means that they have to come first	I only work on free days and I get fed at work	School comes first. When my schedule changes, everything changes.
8.	Packer at Beckers	7.5	3-4	Money		I send them my school schedules and they work around it. Its shift work	School first.
9.	Waitress	6hrs min.	5	Money and fun	Late rushes and conventions or meeting that aren’t booked	My schedule changes with each module. This module I have class from 10.30 to 12 then 14.30-16.30 do I work the morning rush, afternoon rush and the evening rush	Communication there is always time you are not really using.
10.	Waitress	10	2	Money	Slow or new employees	I usually work week ends so no conflicts	Be organized.
11.	Shop assistant	7	3	Money		I work weekends and koop avonds so conflicts	Work for school when you have time. If not there is not enough time.
12.	Copy shop person	4	4	Money	Broken machines, I have to use them all day. If they don’t work then I cant.		I work after school.

Challenges:
We have chosen two different situations that came out of our interviews. We translated those situations and made two challenges out of it.


Challenge 1:

Challenge 2:

Updated Experience flow:

That's it for this week!

Assignment 2

Intro:
This week we made an experience flow to focus on the activities our target group could do. What happens before, during and after the activity? You can all read this in the assignment for this week:

Summary:
This week we made a summary out of a text about Finding Time and Place for Trust in ICT Network Organizations.

“Finding Time and Place for Trust in ICT Network Organizations” by Hans Rämö"

The global network economy is all embracing in ways never before possible. The ceaseless flow of information that we try to avidly absorb has, paradoxically, contributed to an increasing lack of attention regarding, for example, the differences between physical place and abstract space and between clock time and experienced time. In ICT network organizations the boundary between the physical here and now and the virtual there and now is erased by the computer’s interface. For example, ordering merchandise or communicating over the Internet is an exceedingly easy operation.

Trust and Network Organizations
The notion of trust has been the object of continuous interest in economics, sociology, and organizations studies since at least the 1970s. Few studies have specifically explored both the temporal and spatial factors of trust. Hans Rämö contends that adequate understanding of the different conditions for trust-based cooperation and management in traditional office settings and in virtual networks requires an explicit focus on different forms of trust in conjunction with (and interactions of) aspects of time/timing and space/place.

Spatiotemporal Forms of Trust
There are four different categories that correspond to a level of abstraction.
1 Trust in Abstract Time and Abstract Space
Purely abstract conceptualizations in attempts to build formal models of cooperation, competition, and trust have replaced humans with actors or agents moving in decontextualized situations. The objective is to determine rational and optimal conflict-free maneuvers (motions) to build models of trust.
2 Trust at a Desired Instant in Time and Place
The antithesis to the above is our time-honored ability to act judiciously and wisely at a concrete and opportune occasion in real-world settings.
3 Trust Just in Time and Just in Place
Forms of trust that include weak and/or instrumental modalities in competitive market settings.
4 Trust and Timing in Virtual Space
Forms of trust in a category that have particular relevance for the understanding of trust in ICT-based network organizations.

From Clock Time and Space to Timing in Place
Nowadays time is frequently reduced to clock time, which is equated with speed and is regarded as an important yardstick against which we measure the value of our activities at work. Action and communication based on right and timely moments to act judiciously in unique situations are also encouraged virtues in management. The mutual implication of both time and space must be the ontological basis of any investigation in the social sciences. Situations that develop under the influence of clock time can be characterized as chronos time, a notion that has a long history. Chronos is defined as the “number of motion with respect to the before and the after”, which is a classical expression of the concept of (Chronos) time as change, measure, and serial order. The omnipresent characteriazaion of time as clock time is, however, only one delimited way of understanding time. Chronos, and most notably clock-time manifestation, must be augmented by the non chronological practice of time as kairos.

Concrete Places and Abstract Virtual Spaces
The difference between the two ancient Greek spatial notions of space (chora) and place (topos) is that whereas the former is an abstract geometric or cartographic extension, the latter is a concrete contextual localization, without sharp demarcations.

Spatiotemporal Forms of Trust in Network Organizations
There are three different categories of network settings.
1 Inanimate Network and Trust
In this categorization clock time (chromos) and abstract space (chora) are expressed as infinitesimal slices, such as in mathematics.
2 Instrumental Trust in Networks
Time-management concepts such as “just-in-time” are based on the idea of conjoining different production stages within the organization to those in sequence outside its boundaries, in networks of subcontractors and suppliers.
3 Trust in Virtual Net-Work(ing)
This spatiotemporal category is characteristic of another well-known management concept with a clear focus on time, the ICT-based network organization, a term typically used to refer to systems that are interlinked by advanced information technology.

Conclusion
First, the purely abstract and generally applicable form of inanimate network and trust is based on a depiction of time and space expressed as infinitesimal slices: clock time (chromos) and abstract geometrical extension (chora).
Second, trustful networking in context is a concept embracing the ability to act judiciously and wisely at concrete and opportune occasions.
Third, instrumental trust in networks is a concept based on the abstract chromos time of clocks in conjunction with a conception of concrete and meaningful place, most notably in the time-management ideas of just-in-time and just-in-place manufacturing.
Fourth, trust in virtual net-work(ing) is a communication based on human right moments to act judiciously in “virtual spaces” such as in ICT-based network organizations. 

What I personally learned from reading the article is that space and time are interesting abilities. This article has a link between Smart Life Rhythms because time and space could be used to resolve problems with time managing.

I guess that the proces of designing should be digital in the case of an ICT organization. The people who work there are mostly connected with electronic devices. In this way the employers can handle situations more efficiënt. An application to manage their time (our target group) could help employers from an ICT organization.

A day in the life of our target group
To give an introduction to our target group, we made some sketches to make things visable. Later on you can see the activities of the day in an expercience flow. These sketches were just to make things visable, this was an extra part of the assignment.

Target group: Working students with an active social life.
The day starts with waking up in the morning:

The student goes to school:

The student is at school:

*Sketch in progress*

The student is having a drink with his friends to socialize:

*Sketch in progress*

The student goes to work:

The sudent is making homework when he gets home after work: 

Experience flow

In order to make the experience flow, we have to make some hypotheses. This is what we think that will happen before, during and after the activity:

That's it for this week!
Next week we will do some field research. We will talk to some students who work and have an active social life to know what their needs are.