Project Proposal

Objective of this project

User requirements analysis

products begin with an understanding of the needs and

requirements of the users

Propose a low-fidelity prototype

Purpose

Literature review

Existing applications for wheelchair users

Exploring needs of wheelchair riders in transportation then propose a prototype for a mobility platform (App)

(Retrieved from iOS App store, and Android Google play)

Proposed applications for wheelchair users

Sidewalk Navigation

need for study

• substrate in the path such as gravel, grass, cobbles, and chippings or when the surface is too soft, navigation using wheelchairs is difficult.
• the height of curbs, width and slope of curb cuts, number and height of steps, and path with a slope more than 10 degrees of angle
• walkway condition. Icy, snowy or rainy walkway and road blockade
• Along their way, they may miss signage on the street.

Observation

Persona

Fix-route Bus Navigation

• Personas are ‘fictitious, specific, concrete representations of target users (Pruitt & Adlin, 2006: p 11)
• A persona is represented through a fictional individual, who in turn represents a group of real consumers with similar characteristics (Pruitt & Adlin, 2006; Turner & Turner, 2010).

observing the users in order to understand them, identifying their needs, requirements and pain points. In other words, a designer should put oneself in their shoes to see what are the users’ experiences and challenges.

User requirements: “what” is to be built and NOT “how” it is to be built

• They are many bus stops where there is no room for wheelchair maneuverability so as to pick up or drop off wheelchair riders.

• The users want to know the time that the bus will be arriving at a specific stop

Persona

Paratransit Navigation

• In paratransit transits, a reservation call must be made in advance
• Paratransit riders have complaints about drivers who have never shown up or turned up late. And, sometimes the drivers show up in a wrong place.
• After drivers arrival, ... some times riders miss their rides.
• Some drivers do not pay attention to their passengers’ health; they are careless and talk on the phone while driving.
• due to the special condition of wheelchair users, their family and friends are showing more worries for their loved ones more than others while they are out of the home.

Name: Julia Leoffler

Quote: Julia believes that “life is a challenge and only thing that helps you keep going is faith.”

Age: 62

Gender: Female

Julia is a loving person; she is taking care of her two

pets, a cat and a dog. Because of her mobility

impairment, she uses wheelchair to go out.

She lives alone and for her transportation she mostly

rides paratransit buses. Although, sometimes her

friends come and give her a ride, she cannot solely

rely on them. She goes shopping for buying groceries

as well as pet food. She does not like her impairment

isolate her so she would like to participate in social

groups and spends time with her friends. She has a

mobile and she is good at using it. She has some

applications installed in her phone and is able to use them.

General Process for user requirements analysis (Maguire & Bevan, 2002)

source: http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=2188

Due to literature review gap and having more tangible outcome, Paratransit navigation will be covered for prototyping.

Pain points Categories:

SideWalk Navigation

Fixed-Route Bus Navigation

Paratransit Navigation

• Interview
• Brainstorming
• Literature review
• Persona
• Surveys

• Right to access transportation equally
• But for wheelchair users access to transportation is a common concern
• a simple trip is a challenge, become reserved
• individuals with disabilities tend to use public transportation more than private transportation (Bascom, 2017)
• people with better-quality access to transportation have reported improved quality of life (Bascom, 2017)
• "Americans With Disabilities Act" (ADA) controls discrimination, Paratransit : is a service for those who are not able to use public fixed-route bus
• Changes and improvement that assist people with disabilities to live more equally alongside other people is beneficial.

Methodology

Ideation

User Requirements analysis of a mobility assistance platform and its interface design for

Vulnerable Road Users

Human-centered Design:

HCD also called user-centered design (UCD) is a design which brings in the target users in the design process (Miaskiewicz et al, 2011). It is a process that begins with the people we are designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailored to suit their needs.

• HCD focuses on the people, their needs, and requirements

• The designer should come up with new ideas to address the problems target users are facing.
• Brainstorming

Some recommendations are:

• The App should have a feature of keeping track of the ride
• Notification of rides arrival
• Rating system for drivers
• notification to wheelchair user's caregivers

source:

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2016/may/wheelchair-users-bus-travel-survey-results

Problem Statement

Industrial and systems Engineering Department

Adviser: Dr. Younho Seong

Prepared by: Mahsa Mohseni

User Story

• Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs)? most at risk in traffic
• Why Wheelchair Users? wheelchair riders are considered the most VRUs (Sriramulu, 1981) and susceptible to injuries.
• transportation disadvantaged, difficulties in accessing transportation

Outline

• Problem statement & Needs for study
• Objective
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Plan for the rest of my study

HCD phases

Prototype

Project Proposal Defense

source:

http://www.accessandmobilityprofessional.com/quarter-wheelchair-users-re-buy-chairs-report-reveals/

Storyboard

Plan after proposal

Thank you for

your attention!

• user requirements analysis needs iteration, by getting feedback and interviewing these requirements should be completed.
• completing the recommendations by brainstorming
• changing storyboard accordingly
• sketching prototype, wireframe the

lo-fi prototype