OVERVIEW
ROLE
Research
Ideation
Conceptualization
UX Design
User Testing
4 UX Designers
TEAM
Sep '22 - Nov'22
TIMELINE
Miro
Figma
Adobe Suite
Dovetail
Otter.ai
TOOLS
Safety Buddy helps pedestrians who travel at night by providing an end-to-end solution that connects them with guardians, planning their routes, and quickly accessing emergency services.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
Students in Bloomington felt anxious and unsafe traveling alone at night due to rising crime rates and a lack of timely information on campus security, alternative travel options, and well-lit areas leading to unsafe travel experience.
HOW AM I SOLVING IT?
Safety Buddy, integrated with smartwatches, combines preventive and curative measures by allowing users to connect with guardians, access a communal map of unsafe areas, receive personalized travel alerts, and quickly access emergency services.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT?
Safety Buddy enhances personal safety and peace of mind, enabling worry-free travel for students. It fosters a sense of community, ensuring immediate resources in emergencies, and helps students navigate safely, reducing anxiety associated with traveling alone at night.
Project in a nutshell - TL; DR
Imagine you are walking alone at night, and it’s pitch dark.
The only source of light you have are these light poles, and you feel something’s wrong. How would you react to such a situation?
……and similar is the case with Nick!
He is a college student and often has late evening classes due to which sometimes he has to walk home back alone at night.
One evening, he felt someone following him.
Without any safety precautions, he traveled home in fear, knowing that showing his fear or fighting back could worsen the situation.
Hey Nick, download Safety Buddy, this is designed for you!
Me
Designed for pedestrians for their worry and anxiety free late-evening travels!
Me
For me? How will this help me?
Nick
Oh, got it! This is interesting!
Nick
BUT WE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU, NICK!
SAFETY BUDDY
Add your "Guardians"
Users can sync their phone contacts on the Safety Buddy app and add their friends / relatives as "guardians".
Plan ahead with your personal "Planner"
Nick can personalize his transport and schedule preferences, receiving timely bus alerts and convenient ride alternatives as needed.
Be informed with the "Communal Map"
Nick filters routes based on events and marks unsafe locations with photos and comments, visible on the map with timestamps.
Quick access to "SOS"
Nick can access SOS quickly on Safety Buddy by swiping down on the app and long pressing the smartwatch side button.
My research highlighted insightful key points;
But how did I get there? - THE PROCESS
To gain more insights on this topic I conducted a survey and interviews with a diverse group of people in Bloomington to gather information about their commuting habits and safety concerns.
A day without fear, and travel anywhere without anxiety!
Safety for me is like a seat-belt, having protection around you in any unsafe situation.
Community, people and crowd that takes care of each other during an emergency!
Personal Safety App
College students would consider downloading a personal safety app with a tracking feature
Women are more likely to download a safety app with a tracking feature in increase sense of security
Safety Boost
Smartphone and Apps
Smartphones are the most commonly discussed protective technology among college students.
I primarily wanted to understand, what does "Safety" mean to you?
A few highlights from the interviews;
We were able to analyze the needs of our target audience; however, understanding their current use of technology was an important breakthrough to consider.
And this is where survey results played a key role!
Over 80% of college students are deeply concerned about their safety due to rising campus crimes, with very few preventive options available.
Real-time safety updates and guardian connectivity reduced travel anxiety by 60% among college students.
Safety apps for public stranger violence focused mainly on location-based services, personal alarms, and crowd-sourced data.
While our research and interviews were still going, we came across an interesting insight;
This is when we realized: what if Nick could access safety measures on both his phone and smartwatch?
Talking to Nick and his friends, it was clear they use various safety measures: sharing locations, messaging, and carrying a spray.
However………
If users have products that cater to safety and individual precautions, why do they still feel unsafe?
That is when I did market research and competitive analysis on Birdie and Safelet and found that;
Both of the products have limitations in providing comprehensive and efficient emergency assistance, whether through lack of practicality or restrictions in notifying contacts.
But we soon discovered, MySafetyPin, Saven, and My Keeper, designed to help users identify and avoid unsafe areas and situations.
And we learned that these safety apps are widely popular and recommended as they have features like;
Location Services
Utilizing GPS to identify and avoid unsafe areas, enhancing user awareness of their surroundings.
These apps offer a quick and accessible way for users to signal for help or draw attention to potential threats.
Personal Alerts
Crowd-Sourced Info.
Crowd-sourced information empowers communities to stay informed and proactive in avoiding risks.
Through research, we were able to synthesize the key pain points;
Low-lit Locations
Users feel vulnerable in poorly lit areas due to the increased risk of unseen threats.
Users are anxious in empty areas where help may be hard to find.
Isolated Places
Journey Uncertainty
Users experience stress and anxiety due to unpredictable aspects of their travel routes.
How Might We? - The Breakthrough!
How might we design a preventive safety solution that empowers users to navigate their journeys with confidence and peace of mind?
After defining our HMW statement, and studying our research and design needs, we quickly sketched storyboards to illustrate scenarios through storyboarding for our design frames.
Nick walking home late at night.
He feels anxious after noticing a suspicious person on a deserted street.
Nick opens the app and updates the location as "deserted".
Nearby pedestrians get alerted about the deserted street.
Other pedestrians avoid the street.
How might we increase the notion of communal safety for pedestrians?
Nick studying till late at the HC/d studio.
His app and smartwatch alert him about the upcoming bus.
He packs and leaves immediately. The app keeps sending him alerts.
Nick catches the bus on time and reaches home safely.
How might we ensure users reach home and avoid any uncalled danger?
Nick is walking home late at night.
He panics as he feels someone is following him.
He takes his phone and shakes it.
The app starts recording Nick's situation.
An alert is sent to Nick’s emergency contacts along with footage and location.
How might we help pedestrians communicate with their emergency contacts quickly?
To ensure that our concepts are aligned with the design and user needs I conducted concept validation with users, and found that;
Shaking a phone in an emergency isn't ideal, as accidental shakes can cause unnecessary panic for emergency contacts.
Adding a custom schedule option will give users more flexibility and accurate travel alerts.
Time Stamps
Users were confused by the pin post action and emphasized the importance of knowing how recent the pin or comment was. Thus, timestamps became essential.
Profile View
We tested this feature with both users and guardians. And realized that if the guardian is a close emergency contact, uploading a profile picture is redundant.
Notifications
Users preferred seeing notifications as direct phone alerts rather than as calendar events.
Sketching Mid Fidelity and User Testing
Using the feedback from our users, we designed the mid-fidelity version of the concepts and tested them again.
FINAL SOLUTION
SAFETY BUDDY
Pain Point:
Users weren't aware of their travel options after their late evening classes.
Hey Nick, can you complete the onboarding process on Safety Buddy?
Me
When you provide Safety Buddy with your transport preferences and sync your calendar, it will send you tailored alerts.
Me
You can add customized schedule or edit the existing one!
Me
Sure, can you brief me about my choices?
Nick
And what if my schedules change?
Nick
Oh, that's cool!
Nick
I remember you telling me that sometimes you miss the bus when you have late evening classes.
Me
Don't worry now! when you sync your calendar with your planner, and it will alert you about all upcoming buses.
Me
Yes, and it is scary to walk home alone after it's dark!
Nick
Yeah! This is going to help me travel worry free!
Nick
Pain Point:
Users would often miss their last transportation options due to lack of awareness and scheduling conflicts.
Pain Point:
Users need immediate access to the SOS feature and directions to nearby well-lit or crowded areas in any emergency, ensuring swift assistance and a sense of safety.
Okay, so what about the guardians?
Nick
Great! This is exactly what I was looking for :)
Nick
Safety Buddy will be so helpful for me!
Nick
Me
The app will send your live location to your guardians and call 911 immediately!
Me
Oh, there's more. Safety Buddy will guide you to the nearest crowded area on your smart watch!
Me
Guardians are your close contacts or emergency contact!
Me
They will receive alerts if you're in an emergency.
Me
Kaustubh, this app is asking me to add Guardians! What is this?
Nick
Pain Point:
Users often face difficulty staying connected with their emergency contacts during critical situations.
Yes, let me walk you through communal map to better understand this.
Me
This map will guide you home safely!
Me
You can use filter to look for a well-lit or crowded area!
Me
Oh, so they'll be instantly notified of any emergency?
Nick
Sure!
Nick
okay! but how?
Nick
Oh, so I can see which routes to avoid!!
Nick
Pain Point:
Users often find it challenging to stay informed about areas to avoid and safe routes for their journey home.
Additionally, I'd like to integrate smart IoT light poles into the urban landscape, creating a futuristic city where these poles illuminate to guide users to safe areas upon request.
Reflection
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