ContextualInquiry:Safety GPS
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Contents |
[edit] Team Members
Rakesh Vij is a senior classmate who has provided the problem and short overview section along with the answering of the 11 task analysis questions. Christopher Ling conducted a contextual inquiry interview, and contributed to the contextual inquiry and product functionality summary. Ryan Panchadsaram came up with the 6 tasks and interface design. Karey Park described 6 tasks in moderate detail that users will perform with your application.
[edit] Description of Users
(Note: All identifying attributes listed here are fictitious):
User 1: John Background: John is a campus university senator who questions his safety while walking around in an urban area. He was recently mugged walking alone on the streets one evening. John\’s insecurity in local areas and communities rises when he knows the location has a significant crime rate. While he has never used late night escort services, such as Berkeley\’s service, Bear Walk, he firmly believes a better solution exists to combat crime.
User 2: Betty Background: Betty is currently a second year college student. She comes home late every week after her dance practices. Insecurities about her safety come up when she is walking home and crossing an empty street. Betty would definitely feel better if she knew a police officer was watching over her.
User 3: Tom Background: Tom is a parent of 2 young children. Although he does not walk around late at night, he often takes his children to play at the local park after work and dinner, which is usually around 7 – 8 pm. Tom always wonders about the safety of the park after sunset, but feels better when other parents are around.
[edit] Problem and solution overview
The problem that our product is solving is one of safety. The world is getting increasingly more and more dangerous with people being mugged and robbed all over the world. This increase is a result of the police not knowing and being able to get to the scene on time. Currently in metropolitan cities like Berkeley, there are mechanisms such as police call boxes where the police can be quickly notified that there is a crime being committed. Other than that there is no other solution to getting the police than to call them. Even with these boxes and calling directly the problem is that the victim has to wait until after the robber leaved to inform the police. Our product provides users with a portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device that can be activated to inform the police to arrive when a crime is in progress. The device will have a built in pepper spray can and also the option for a flashlight, so that it can serve as a multipurpose life-saving device. The product is also versatile in the sense that once it is set off the alarm is discreet, so if the robber does happen to make off with the victims stuff the product\’s GPS technology will serve as a tracker for the police. The product will actively help prevent and reduce thousands of robberies across the world since the police will now be informed in real-time about where crimes are being committed.
[edit] Contextual Inquiry
Interview Process
In deciding the interview process to apply to the users, we wanted to apply more of a "Master-Apprentice" model in order to learn the most from the user describing their individual safety concerns. Our team would ask the interviewers to retrace their most common steps and paths, such as for John\’s mugging incident. Because of this, the users were able to recollect certain details that they might miss out on.
Interview Format
In conducting the interviews, the method of contextual inquiry was applied as a guideline to obtain key information. This key information will aid in determining what students, faculty, and residents of the community value most in a product that would boost their feeling of safety. The interview format adhered to the contextual inquiry guidelines, of first beginning with a more conventional interview to become better acquainted with the user, which then progressed on to a contextual interview. The latter took place on the campus ground or in the community where people frequently walked. The environment of the interview plays an important role in obtaining accurate, first-hand information. According to UCPD reports, areas near the Berkeley campus contain a high concentration of criminal activity, which gives support to our selection for this as a proper interview setting.
Common Tasks/Themes
In our interviews with the users, our team noticed a couple similar tasks and themes. All our users were outside on the campus or environment at least once a day. It can be difficult avoiding areas that one could venture without being susceptible to harm or danger. Although each user was outside at some point during their daily activities, John and Betty were frequently out walking late at night, and sometimes alone. Every user also went outside at night for some task, such as how John walks home after visiting a friend, how Betty comes back late by herself after dance practice, or how Tom takes his children to the park to play or takes time to walk the family dog.
A common theme of all the users was the feeling of insecurity they felt when they were alone, with no nearby person or group. Each of them mentions an additional feature that would help them feel safer, such as having a friend to talk to or having the visibility of a nearby police patrol vehicle. Each of these attributes is understandable because it either adds to the presence of having more people there or creates the feeling of having protection from criminals.
Pertaining to our product, all the users mentioned something that was handheld, possibly fitting on a key chain. The device would have to have a push button mechanism, where its usage could be easily understood without having to read an extensive manual. In addition, the button would also have to be accident-push prone so the police department would not experience numerous false alarms.
Unique Characteristics
In John\’s mugging incident, he mentioned that everything happened extremely fast, happening "in a heart beat". An additional feature he mentioned specific to the device was that it should be linked to one\’s cellular phone, such as having the ability to send a distress signal directly to the device. The rationale behind this was that cell phones are already built-in with a connectivity feature, such as a connection directly to the operator. Integration with one\’s cell phone could also be a possible option in the panic device. An interesting design feature expressed by Betty was that the device should have the appearance of a tape recording device, such that it looks inconspicuous enough so that a criminal would not suspect it was transmitting the victim\’s location to the police department. Betty\’s statement definitely touches upon an important issue of ambiguity. A device should not cause alarm to catch a criminal\’s attention For example, cell phone\’s can draw the attention of criminals, who may take the phone away to prevent the victim from notifying authorities.
[edit] Tasks
1. A user activates the "Warning" state (easy)
There will be two states in which our device can be used, when activated by the owner. "Warning" alerts the police that a person is "afraid" or feels as if something is bad. An example might be when a user begins to walk down an unlit street, or when he or she realizes that no one is around.
2. A user activates the "Panic" state (easy)
The "Panic" state of our device will actually send a distress signal to the police with the person\’s location, and alert them to come. This is something that the user will want to be able to do at a moment\’s notice, and under pressure.
3. A user wants to cancel the "Panic" state (medium)
A user may want to cancel a "Panic" state, but he or she will not be able to cancel it directly. The local police will have to cancel it. False alarms are inevitable; users, in the interest of their own safety, will attempt to "predict" muggings and assaults. The user will want to cancel the "Panic" state upon realization that he or she overreacted, but then, so will any assaulter who manages to discover it. It is in the interest of safety that the ability to cancel any sent signals belong to local authorities.
4. A security officer views a map with a few "Warning" states activated (medium)
For our product, in addition to the users, who will mostly be students, we also have security officers, who could be policemen, BearWALK officers, and security guards. On the security officer\’s digital map, he takes note where the alert comes from. If there isn\’t already, he will ensure that there is a patrol vehicle within a small radius of any cluster of "Warning" activations. At the same time, the officer will have to try not to isolate any single activated "Warning" state too much.
5. A security officer responds to a "Panic" state (difficult)
A patrol officer will receive the "Panic" alert, and quickly begin pursuing the site of activation. He might try to contact the owner of the device, to determine the exact nature of the crime, or if there even was a crime to begin with.
6. A security officer zooms into a specific area (difficult)
The security officer may or may not have the easiest time tracking down the owner of the device, let alone the assaulter. In any case, the security officer locates the victim, and hopefully, successfully deters the crime.
[edit] Task Analysis Questions
Who is going to use the system?
The system will be used by people who are in need of the police when an attack or an emergency situation occurs. Almost anyone could have this device, someone who is young, old or even middle-aged. Anyone who wants protection and the security of being connected to the police at all times should have this device. In the long run everyone in the world should have this device. People of all ages and education levels will be using this product when they are under attack and/or need the police for assistance.
What tasks do they perform now?
Currently, when people are under attack they have to wait until their assailant leaves before being able to contact the police. Once the attacker has left the victim either utilizes their cell phone (if they still have one), goes to a local payphone/emergency booth, or utilizes someone else\’s phone to get in touch with the police. Who will usually arrive after the assailant has left and most likely wont be able to recover any lost property.
What tasks are desired?
The main tasks that users desire are the ability to keep the police informed in live real-time about where an attack or emergency situation is going on and/or to be able to inform them soon after an attack occurs. Usually the physical task involves using a phone to call 911 or pressing a button on an emergency booth that contacts local police. With our device the task desired is pressing the button, which alerts the police to come anywhere they are.
How are the tasks learned?
This most common task that occurs in this situation is calling 911, which is something that Americans learn at a very early age. Most times children are taught this task when they are in elementary school, but in the case of immigrants they learn from seeing signs and being told by other Americans. In general in time of crisis and emergency people usually have learned how to react or they use their natural instincts, and if they don\’t then someone around them is usually willing to help. When using devices such as our product and other police kiosks to contact the police they instructions are listed in a manual, but also very clearly labeled on the device. There will be a button that will need to be pressed to complete the task. It is a very simple task, but is labeled well to help the users.
Where are the tasks performed?
These tasks are performed almost anywhere and everywhere on the world because nowhere is free of crime. They take place on street corners and inside people\’s homes. Once the crime does occur the task that the victim or their helpers seek to do is contact the police. Now these tasks can happen anywhere also through cell phones, home phones, or street corner police kiosks/call-boxes. With our device the situation is the same since it is portable and can be taken anywhere like a cell phone, the task can also be performed anywhere.
What is the relationship between user & data?
There are several sets of data that the user must retain until they must be related to the police and helpers. The first and most vital piece of information that the user must retain is the address of their location. This data is vital because it must be passed on to the police over the phone so that they can come to that location. Other than that the victim must also remember a description of their assailant so that they can give the police a description to catch them with. The actual relationship between user and data is eliminated with our product since the device has a GPS tracking system, which stores the location data and automatically passes it on to the police when triggered.
What other tools does the customer have?
The other tools that the customer has in the situation that they get mugged are very minimal. Namely since the robber tried to take everything that they have, so its most likely don\’t have their cell phone anymore. So the other tools that are available are mainly other bystanders who are willing to help, payphones from which to call 911, and corner police safety kiosks that can be used to alert police.
How do customers communicate with each other?
Customers don\’t generally have a need to communicate with others, but in the best case scenario everyone would have our devices and so customers would communicate by talking the same way they do ordinarily. However, in the case that we have limited customers there will be a website with a forum through which they can communicate.
How often are the tasks performed?
Hopefully the tasks are not performed often. Our device acts as a security measure sort of like insurance, which is there to help but it is best if it does not have to be used. Similarly, our device can be used whenever and wherever, but hopefully isn\’t required. The frequency of robberies also varies depending on the person\’s location and activities. However, online sources say that in SF about 4000 robberies took place in 2006. That means that on average there were about 10-11 incidents each day, which means the task could/should be performed that often.
What are the time constraints on the tasks?
The constraints on the task are that it remains concealed and out of the assailants view. Also a constraint is that the assailant allows you to move once he starts robbing you. This is a constraint because sometimes victims are held and physically cannot accomplish the task. Another constraint is living or being in a city where the service is setup and provided when an attack occurs. This is probably the biggest constraint because there is some infrastructure necessary before the system will work in every city.
What happens when things go wrong?
When things go wrong the victim can either relate to the old methods of contacting police after the fact, or use the built in pepper-spray to hopefully scare the assailant away or stall them until the police arrives.
[edit] Functionality Summary
With our safety GPS device, users will be able to carry the product with them all the time. Whenever the user feels that their security may be jeopardized, they can have the device in their hand to signal the police department at the very instant something dangerous occurs. If their device has pepper spray, they will have the added functionality of an immediate deterrent in addition to the GPS locator. Overall, the product represents a symbolic object of protection, which will ideally instill the user with security.
[edit] Interface Design
Since our product is used both by citizens and security officials it is necessary for us to break up the interface design for two sets of users. For the consumer, we have a hand-held device that can be activated by using the fingers. For the police, we have a graphical front-end that interacts with all the devices.
Consumer Facing Device
The device we designed resembles an electronic car key because of its portability and discreetness.
Users today are familiar with keyless entry systems and know how to interact with them. So we are going to build upon their fluency with the object and create our GPS Saftey device.
The device must be able to send two signals. The first is a warning signal, activated when the user feels unsafe. A warning signal acts as an alert to the police, but does not dispatch them. The second signal is a panic signal, which is when the user is in distress. The police will receive this alert and respond to the user\’s location.
Using the device needs to be simple, yet deter accidental activation. In order to achieve that, the device will require sliding a cover to reveal buttons that must be pushed in unison to activate it.
Security Interface
The security interface will be on a computer connected to a large widescreen monitor. Users can interact with the system by pointing and clicking.
The system is intended to present information in a manner which all the information can be digested in a glance. Our system uses red and yellow circles to denote states of panic and warning respectively. Using colors with similar shapes allows the users to process the information preattentively.
Basic Functionality
Users can perform basic tasks like viewing the status of a dot and zooming in on the map.
Using this information, the dispatcher can assign a patrol vehicle to respond to the scene. If a panic is issued, the only way to remove it from the scene is for an officer to respond.
Future Ideas / Iterations
- Integrating police car GPS data to synchronize the information from both systems
- Installing system into laptop computers within patrol vehicles
- Aggregating warning and panic states can hold useful information for the police department. Looking at the data they can identify the areas which people feel the most unsafe in, and make changes.
[edit] Scenarios of example tasks with sketches
[edit] Analysis of Approach
Probably the most important benefit of our GPS safety device is exactly that – safety. The ability to summon the police from absolutely any location, at any moment, and have a patrol officer come to you right away, is no small luxury. GPS technology alone will eliminate the single biggest problem that the police calling centers pose, which is the inability to inform the police of crimes soon enough after it occurs. No specific location remains any more "dangerous" than another, so long as the device can be used anywhere. Safety, combined with speed, makes this device a threat to all street criminals. Additionally, there is the value of security. Not having to walk anxious, at an uncomfortable pace, gives this device value even when it is not being used.
One thing that a device of this nature is prone to is, among other things, misuse. A false alarm costs a significant amount of money, and may lead to penalty costs. In many home security systems, after receiving an alert, the police call the home to see what happened, in case it was a false alarm. If they receive no answer, they then proceed to the house. This problem may be overcome similarly by integration of this GPS safety device with the user\’s cell phone, to inform the police of the exact situation before they proceed. In addition, other costs may be a con too, especially for the technology required. GPS, in particular, may be more than what is affordable for most people, and might be replaced with WiFi technology.
