User Research Project

Project Guidelines

This was an assignment that I completed in my SMAD 203 Foundations of User Experience Design class. The purpose was to show that efficient research skills when it comes to gaining user research on a product. I was tasked with creating a new app that would benefit something in Downtown Harrisonburg. I proposed an app called “Your Table is Ready.” This application, would be available to download for all mobile phones, and would be of upmost help to James Madison University Students and community members wanting to see the wait times of restaurants in Downtown Harrisonburg.

Audience

The audience of the app would be primarily catered towards James Madison University Students. Those are the top crowd that eat out in Downtown Harrisonburg. Although, the main audience is students, it also can be helpful for any person wanting to know about the wait times of restaurants in Downtown Harrisonburg. It would benefit those using the app and those restaurants that are registered on the app. Any restaurant located in the Downtown Harrisonburg area is welcome to display their wait times and a few other features on the app

Design Rationale

When trying to come up with a design question, I tried to think of things that I found myself frustrated with in downtown Harrisonburg. The thing that most frustrates me is that all the restaurants always have a long wait time because they are so full. It would be nice to see the wait times of the restaurants in advance before we go into downtown. I knew that this was a common theme for many of my friends as well so I decided that I would reach out to them to see their take on an app that would let people know the current wait time for restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg. Although I narrowed the question down to being able to see the wait times to restaurants, I thought that it was important to not narrow down the types of restaurants. This allowed me to ask a broader group of JMU students. I did not want block some answers off by making it about one specific restaurant in downtown Harrisonburg.

I hypothesized that the difference in times when people go to restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg would impact their frustrations with the restaurant’s wait times. People who go out to eat during typically non busy times may have a different opinion with their frustrations.

I decided to interview six people who have all eaten at restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg. I asked them open ended style questions to ensure that I was able to capture specific answers to the questions. I conducted interviews in person and also through video call to those who I could not meet in person. The benefit of having in person interviews is so that I could observe their body language when answering the questions. Since some people I could not meet with in person, it was beneficial to use a video call so that I could still see their reactions to the questions.

Design Question

How might we improve the experience of students being able to see the space availability of bars and restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg?

Research Questions

  1. How often do you go to bars/restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg, and who with?
  2. Which restaurants do you prefer to go to in downtown Harrisonburg?
  3. At what time do you find yourself at these restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg?
  4. Do you usually have to wait to be seated? If so, please describe your frustrations with that.
  5. What do you do if you are trying to go to a place in downtown Harrisonburg that has a long wait time? Do you choose to wait? Do you go somewhere else? Why?