Week 8

Scenario Workshop 2

Scenario = Context of Experience


This week we did an video scenario exercise. The idea was to video a situation of human interaction around campus. We chose to film the Subway fast food restaurant as it usually quite busy and has some obvious design flaws. With the stills captured from the video, we made video cards and discussed apparent problems and solutions for the venue.


Observations:

There is minimal seating in the entire venue, there are 2 additional outdoor tables . These outdoor tables are in a public walkway meaning that it is not enjoyable or relaxing to sit here. When Subway gets busy the queue leads out the door, hindering seating and blocking the view of the food and menus. 

Through the sandwich obtaining process you are served by at least 3 people. While it may be faster and more efficient there are usually mistakes due to lack of communication between staff. These mistakes can be negative for both the customer (not getting exactly what they wanted) and for the restaurant (accidentally undercharging customers). There is no evidence customer service skills and you feel like you are part of a production line. This creates a negative emotional response and unpleasant association, meaning many people wont return again. 

The stores interior is not at all tidy, another deterrence for customers. The boxes in the far left corner show that the facility is lacking space and is generally messy. this reflects badly on the restaurant as customers automatically assume that this how the kitchen and preparation areas would look, implying that it may be unhygienic. 

Finally, we observed that the space was extremely loud. Due to the overcrowding, metal chairs and table are being moved around, clanging and clashing into each other, as well as scraping along the concrete floors. The restaurant users appear to want to be in and out as quickly as possible to avoid this harsh noise disturbance. We would also assume this is one of the reasons why this restaurant user is wearing headphones.

Reflection:

I think it is important to understand why exactly people choose to  use different public places, for which they are spending their hard earned money. This relates to our specific project as we want to identify any problems, that may have even subtle negative associations, early on in the design process. If we can develop our Haptic Ball into a product that connects a person to their loved one, we will be encouraging the user to create an emotional connection with that product. In doing this we will evoke a positive association with the product, thus pro-longing its success.