Below is the original submission to GR1, featuring the idea of TagAlong. We have since changed our project idea to ChildFeed. Information about ChildFeed pertaining to GR1 is provided at the bottom of this document.
GR1: Task & User Analysis
Task Analysis
Find a Ride
Objective: Find and decide on a suitable listing of a car ride offered by another individual and complete the transaction by initiating contact with the other individual.
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- Select FROM and TO locations/addresses
- Choose date of travel
- View and navigate through a sortable, filter-able, searchable list of rides offered
- Narrow rides offered by time window
- Narrow rides offered by deviation from FROM and TO addresses
- Narrow rides offered by mode of transportation, age group, costs, and travel preferences
Offer a Ride
Objective: Broadcast a listing to share a ride with one or more other individuals, with specific restrictions based on your personal preferences.
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- Look up credibility and quality of users answering the post
- Accept/Reject users answering the post
- Directly communicate with users to allow for a straightforward negotiation of time and place
- After ride, post satisfaction to website.
Find a Long-Term Carpool
Objective: Find and decide on a suitable listing of a long-term carpools offered by another individual and complete the transaction by initiating contact with the other individual.
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- Select FROM and TO locations/addresses
- Choose commuting schedule
- View and navigate through a sortable, filter-able, searchable list of carpools offered
- Narrow carpools offered by deviation from schedule
- Narrow carpools offered by deviation from FROM and TO addresses.
- Narrow rides offered by mode of transportation, age group, costs, and travel preferences
Offer a Long-Term Carpool
Objective: Broadcast a desire to carpool for a particular commute schedule and route in addition to other preferences
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- Look up credibility and quality of users answering the post
- Accept/Reject users answering the post
- Directly communicate with users to allow for a straightforward negotiation of times and places
- After some number of rides, post satisfaction to website
User Analysis
Users:
- Mostly young (18 - 35)
- More males than females
- Frequent Internet users
User Groups for sporadic ride:
College Students: Both undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled in a university:
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Going on Vacation: People that want to go somewhere for a vacation but do not want to spend too much money with transportation.
User Groups for Car Pooling:
Urban Professionals: In this group we include everyone that works in a city, and have to commute to work everyday. There are several reasons why these people could use TagAlong:
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Parents of children and teenagers: Parents might want to try to set up some car pooling system with other parents that live nearby in order to drive their kids to school.
User Interviews
Andrew P.
Details:
- Senior in Course 1
- From Wisconsin
- Car Owner
Andrew has a car at MIT. Every summer Andy has to drive his car back home. It is a 20 hour drive and he mentioned how he always has trouble finding other people to drive with. He has tried using the ride board that is in the 2nd floor of the student center, but without much success. Very few people use it and it is not very convenient because you have to go to the student center in order to look for rides.
Caroline M.
Details:
- Doctor who lives in Westwood, but works in Brookline
- Mother of two children
- Car owner
Caroline lives in the suburbs but works in the city. She spends up to two hours every work day commuting. Driving through traffic is often stressful and would prefer to take turns driving with another person. Furthermore, with the price of gas rising, it is getting difficult to commute every day. However, she does not personally know anyone who has a similar commute schedule or commute route. She does not know of a way to find people who she could carpool with and she believes that her preferences are so specific that it would be very difficult to find what she wants by looking through listings.
Ariel T.
Details:
- 24 years old
- Graduated from Harvard 2 years ago
- Working at a startup in Cambridge
- Lives in Central Square.
- Married
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