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Observations & Interviews

1. Orientation Program Leader

Xu has been working with the Freshman Orientation program for two consecutive years of being an undergraduate at MIT. She genuinely enjoys meeting the freshman when the semester starts and sharing her insights on what it's like to be at MIT. She claims that it's the best part of her semester. Through the program she has engaged in several activities including dance performances, theater roles and various sports activities. The program sets up groups of roughly ten to twelve freshman assigned to one orientation leader. She especially likes nights when her group can go out to dinner across the Bridge or around Harvard Square.

Dinner nights can sometimes be impromptu. The orientation goes on for a week but halfway through the week, the schedule is more flexible and lenient. The week's schedule does not include a single mandatory dinner night. Rather, freshmen are encouraged to get to know others in their group by going out to dinner with them. On such nights when a group plans to go out with Xu, she says, "I never carry cash on me and neither do several of the freshman. I have a check book but I noticed the freshman aren't prone to use one either. For most of them it's their first time eating with a group of people they just met. Dinner can be at times awkward and it is up to the leader to make the freshmen feel comfortable.We try to be organized about how the bill gets paid but the worst case scenario is friends pay for friends and figure out who gets paid back later." She admitted that it could be a messy situation and has no idea how to make things work out much more smoothly.

Lessons learned

• during freshman orientation week, several groups go out for dinners
• these groups are made of newly introduced freshman, not yet friends
• freshmen usually don't carry cash on them, they naively sometimes expect free food all of that week
• friends end up paying for others and the billing situation quickly grows complicated and nested
• they need a simple way of paying each other back and avoiding confusion

User Classes

Students

• Students often enjoy having meals or shopping together with friends.
• Most students prefer paying individually by splitting the bill.
• Some teenagers do not have credit card or checking account so that they have to pay by cash, which makes the paying process even more inefficient.

Working Professionals

• Many working professionals hold group meetings during meal time
• They are usually very busy and they might be happy to use an efficient paying method

Clubs/Organizations

• Organizations often need to purchase public facilities, which should be paid by every member.
• The amount in the bill might be relatively large.

Needs & Goals

People who make the payment

• An easy and secure way for one person to make a payment and be reimbursed by other members of the group
• A way for a user to remind people that owe them

People who need to pay back afterwards

. Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their dog Dino.

Fred and Wilma adopted a five year old Golden Retriever, Dino, a few months back. Dino is very active and hates staying indoors. Fred and Wilma generally take Dino out for a walk every evening after they get home from work. It's tough to keep Dino on a leash as he keeps running around trying to meet other dogs. Fred says "We meet other dogs and dog-owners when we go to the park but often need to coordinate with them to make sure we meet."  Recently, while on one such walk, Dino was bitten while playing with another dog and had to get stitches and a cone. Ever since this altercation, Fred and Wilma are very apprehensive about letting Dino off the leash and interacting with other dogs.

Fred and Wilma love hiking and other such outdoor activities but ever since they adopted Dino, they haven't really been able to indulge in such activities since most hiking trails don't permit pets. Wilma says "Access to dog relevant information (for e.g. dog friendly places to visit such as hiking trails, outdoor restaurants, etc.) would be very useful. Finding dog-owners in the neighborhood and organizing activities with them would be great too."

Key Observations

• Dog owners are probably willing to have his/her dog socialize
• However, they are concerned about aggressive dogs.
• Dog owners faced problem of coordination with other dog owners
• Dog owners would like to have access to information regarding locations that are pet-friendly.
• Dog owners would like to organize activities for their pets.

2. Betty and her dogs Fido and Dido.

Betty has had 7 year olds, Fido and Dido, for more than 5 years. She makes sure both of them exercise daily. Fido and Dido are generally let out to play in the backyard everyday. Betty enjoys taking them out of the house. She remarks "In the summer there is an underground pool that the dogs enjoy swimming in. Usually 4-5 times a week they are taken down to a meadow down the street where they can run and play. A few times a year the dogs are taken on hunting trips as well.". Betty feels that Fido and Dido are lucky to have each other to play with, since it is not easy to find other dogs. Betty isn't very comfortable letting them play with other dogs, since she is concerned about their cleanliness. 

She says "[Why aren't there any] Doggie play groups? There are kid play groups, so why not? This actually could be a great idea. It could also be a way for people to meet other people who love dogs."

Key Observations

• Dog Owners are not only interested in group activities for their dogs, but also in meeting like minded dog-lovers.
• Cleanliness is another concern owners have wile letting their dogs play with others. 
• Owners with more than one dogs aren't very concerned with a 'lack of  interaction' for their dogs.

3. Pebbles and her pet chihuahua Bambi

Pebbles has had Bambi since 2 years. She is generally very busy to take Bambi out for walks, who generally plays in the garden. Pebbles tries to take Bambi out to a not-so-close park, at least twice a week, but Bambi gets to socialize only occasionally when there are other dogs present in the park. However, even this occasional interaction worries Pebbles since "[the other dogs might be] aggressive, unclean, too big (my dog is relatively small)". She wishes for a better and safer way to get Bambi and herself meet other dogs and participate in outdoor pet activities.

Key Observations

• Size and Nature of the dog is vital to the interactions dog owners permit. People who owns a small dog are less willing to let their dog socialize.
• The only way dogs interact with other dogs is if the the owners know each other.
• Dog owners are concerned about other dogs' friendliness when considering dog activities.

User Classes

Dog Owners

• As what we observed and interviews, dog owners strongly need a platform to communicate with other dog owners
• Dog owners' concerns about other dogs' friendliness and cleanliness sometimes prevents them from having their dogs meet other dogs
• Lack of information about Pet friendly locations / activities prevent Owners from indulging in such activities.

Needs & Goals

• A way to find and meet other local Dog-owners and dogs.
• A way to organize/schedule meetups and outdoor activities.
• A way to find pet friendly locations for different activites.
• A way to learn about characteristics of various breeds of dogs in general and local dogs specifically.
• An easy and secure way for a person to allow someone to make a payment and either deduct the money he owes from his or her account, or to create an IOU virtual receipt
• A way to keep track of payments and debts