Electronic reservation system for shared laundromats
Using UX methods to develop a new solution for electronic reservation system for shared laundromats
This project was mainly used to practice the UX methods, but also expand the creativity aspect and learn how to use different sketching techniques
Overview of the project
In this project the focus was to learn different sketching techniques and practice “thinking outside the box”. The assignment that was handed to me was to create a new solution for electronic reservation system for shared laundromats.
Tools/programmes used in this project
- Balsamic
- Figma
- Paper & pen
- Cardboard box for lo-fi prototype
The design process
Since this project had a huge focus on the conceptual design a smaller user research was executed. Normally I would like to spend a little more time getting to know the users, but in this project I had less time and decided to gather at least a bit data from some users. The design process was based on the UX-cycle.
- User research
- Conceptual design
- Prototyping
These 3 methods acted as building blocks in the project’s design process with continuous iteration.
User research
I interviewed 3 people that were experienced within shared laundromats. I also put up a digital survey whereas 9 people responded to the survey. The results of the user research showed following…
- The majority book a laundry appointment by going to the designated laundromat and booking a time through paper & pen or tag.
- The majority have at least once forgot about their laundry appointment/gone down to the laundromat on the wrong day and been frustrated.
- The majority wanted some sort of app to book their appointments if they had a chance to choose.
Personas
After getting a somewhat good understanding of the demographic and user personas were then created. The personas that were made are fictional and are not based on any users.
The personas were extremely helpful to not lose the understanding of the users, but also to remind me of different aspects – such as color blindness.
Requirements
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Conceptual design
After getting a good understanding of the users goals and needs, the next step to find methods for different ideas.
- Brainstorming
- Conceptual sketches
- Conceptual model
- Storyboard
Brainstorming
Brainstorming was the first method implemented in the phase conceptual design. This method was used to be able to generate as many different ideas as possible.
Conceptual sketches
Sketches are used to visualize some of the chosen ideas from brainstorming. The sketches was helpful to be able to understand the idea better and continuously building it up.
Conceptual model
Wireframes were created to be able to implement the ideas in form of user interface, and was acting as a guide for developing the final prototype.
Storyboard
Sketches are used to visualize some of the chosen ideas from brainstorming. The sketches was helpful to be able to understand the idea better and continuously building it up.
Prototyping
The prototyping phase started with building a lo-fi prototype to test out the different ideas and solutions from the conceptual design. The main ideas and solutions I came up with from previous phases were following..
- An app where you can book or cancel an appointment for laundry
- Set alarm & notifications for ongoing laundry
- Accessibility for the app
- A function to keep track of the machines
Lo-fi prototype
Mid-fi prototype
After testing out different ideas and solutions in the lo-fi prototype to see which ones worked or not, a mid-fi prototype was created to finalize the whole idea.
During the user research there were a vast majority that wished for an app to book or cancel appointments for laundry. This is why I decided that it should be an app for the whole electronic booking system for shared laundromats. With an app the users could be anywhere and still be able to book a laundry appointment instead of being bound to a location.
The users also expressed that they had forgotten some laundry appointments or taken the wrong time/date for it. Because of this reason I got the idea of putting a function within the app with opportunity to set alarms & notifications for the laundromat. This would hopefully be a solution to forgotten appointments and so on.
Accessibility is a really important aspect to think about no matter what is being developed. I wanted to make sure that I would not forget about this aspect therefore it was put in the persona that one of them had a color blindness condition. This helped me to rethink through, since red and green are universal colors for stop and go. This is why I decided to put in a function of accessibility so the color and other things could be altered.
This idea was something that I came up with during the brainstorming phase. I thought it would be useful for the users to know in case a machine has stopped abruptly and the user is not nearby to see it until the timer has gone off. This way the user can use their laundry appointment in the best way and not have time wasted.
Reflection
This was one of my very first UX design project that was done in the university for practice. I really enjoyed this, and this was the time I learnt that the users perspective is something that is really important. Looking back at it today there are many things I would have done differently, although I still want to keep this in my portfolio to show that I have come a long way with using UX methods.