Gum groups
Safely Sticking Together
Gum Groups is a platform curated for information dissemination amongst communities both big and small.
This would be a second tier of safety for members of any group while also bridging the gap between real information and false or misleading information.
We all need a way to be and feel safe, so we thought we would give this solution a try.
Imagine there was a way to know exactly how safe your friends and loved ones are? Obtaining all this information live right in your hand?
MY Role
Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Thinkful UX Immersion July 2020
iOS Platform / Figma
Problem
During a crisis, community members involved have trouble communicating with each other. You’re at work and hear sirens outside the building, you check the news, nothing. you check social media and everything is conflicting. Your coworkers look at you in uncertainty, waiting for any sort of announcement. How do you know what’s going on and how can you make sure you’re safe?
aUDIENCE
Family Members
Companies
First responders
user research
Most people nowadays text each other, look to the news, or social media videos and posts to find information on occurrences, which would be a hassle and safety issue.
- All participants would use their phone to call someone in an emergency.
- Social Media Is the number one platform to receive updated wordly news.
- 50% Of participants would receive texts about an emergency, in a group setting.
Survey Questions
Have you ever been in an emergency?
How do you communicate during an emergency?
How quickly do you expect to get help in an emergency?
How would you alert someone about an emergency?
Personas
Carlos
Is a highschool student he’s not worried about a danger at his school but his parents are they watch the news everyday seeing multiple shootings. How sure are they that their son Carlos will know what to do if this were to happen at his school and how would he be informed in the moment to get to safety?
Sandra
We know day camps can be hectic especially during a field trip. As a camp instructor Sandra definitely needs to keep track of all her kids in any situation. Too many times kids wander off and go missing. Or get scared and run to hide in a dangerous situation with no protocol.
John
Warehouses are big and loud, machines could malfunction at anytime leaving workers running around in chaos. John could use a way to communicate other than a walkie talkie that might be out of rang or too low to hear.
“I wish I knew what to do“
“I need a better way to see the kids”
“I’d like to be better informed at work”
Scenario
School Shooter on campus
We chose Carlos.
We chose a school shooting threat as our use case to find specific HMW to solve. This covers a lot of concerns that may come up. Like how useful is this app in high level threat? Let’s go into a bit of detail.
Empathy map
Pains
Not receiving help in a stressful situation
Apps that are overly complicated to learn to use
Teachers/adults not taking his concerns seriously
Think / Feel
Needs a way to alert an Admin that he is in danger.
Needs a quick response to his alert.
Needs to make his peers aware of his safety.
Say / Do
Carlos is enjoying his lunch hour with his friends in the cafeteria when he is suddenly alerted to a school shooter on on the grounds.
Gains
He wants to get home from school at the end of the day.
Doesn’t want to break the assumption that his friends won’t be showing up the next day.
Hear
Stay up to date on informations
Ability to create an alert
Swift response from admins
Get help quickly
Sees
Needs a way to alert an Admin that he is in danger.
Needs a quick response to his alert.
Needs to make his peers aware of his safety.
journey map
Carlos
17 Years Old
High School Student
Goals / Needs
Needs a way to alert an Admin that he is in danger.
Needs a quick response to his alert.
Needs to make his peers aware of his safety.
Scenario
Carlos is enjoying his lunch hour with his friends in the cafeteria when he is suddenly alerted to a school shooter on on the grounds.
Expectations
Stay up to date on informations
Ability to create an alert
Swift response from admins
Get help quickly
user stories
"As a user I need to... Alert others of my safety."
"As a user I need to... Quickly maneuver the app."
"As a user I need to... Know where the danger is."
"As a user I need to... Know where a safe zone is."
Storyboard
This is Carlos!
Carlos is hanging out at lunch with his friends.
He notices everyone is looking at their phones.
His phone pings a notification & he opens the link to his app. He reads there’s an emergency, a shooter is on campus.
His peers have also seen and acknowledged this prompt so they are panicking asking themselves what to do?
Carlos remembers there’s a map on the app to show where he could go.
He sees on the map the shooter is moving towards him
He takes off down the hall.
He finds a hiding place.
He then messages in the live feed that the shooter is in the hall.
The shooter is then apprehended by the authorities and Carlos is now able to come out from his hiding spot.
Everyone is safe and or tended to by first responders.
Development
Brainstorming
Teaming up & Jotting It Down.
Does This Work
Adding Splash Screens & Implementing A Digital Flow.
Working it out
Gathering The Essence Of User Needs & Making A Path.
Visual Clarity
Big Buttons
Big Words
Bold Colors
The meat of the product
Live Chat
Where users can view members, danger, communicate with other members and admin, and state their safety level to obtain assistance.
Version 1
For our first prototype as you can see we have big buttons, a simple alert screen to minimize the noise with negative space, a second layer danger extent screen, the live map and a cleared alert screen asking if you are safe.
version 2
For prototype 2 we took 5 screens down to four and added a splash screen.
The alert screen now has a load bar for a definite confirm after tap.
wireframes
Accessibility
Prototype Iterations
Live Feed Versions
Flow Version 1
branding
We wanted this to have more a social media vibe to reach out to individuals ages ranging from 14-60.
We also chose the name "gum" meaning "sticking together" and the saying of being a "gum shoe" detective.
Final Version
Prototype research
What were we measuring ?
Qualitative evaluation of the app’s key functionalities
Observable attitude & behavior patterns
Use cases: levels of emergency
We Gathered Our Participants From:
LinkedIn Network
Discussion Boards
Personal Connections
usability testing
Testing was conducted to see if Gum Groups is " Easy to Use" In an emergency situation.
Testers were prompted with two scenarios:
A High School teacher who becomes involved in a school shooting.
A High School student who is involved in a fight.
Test Questions
Can you inform other members you are safe?
How would you go about switching yourself from safe to unsafe?
What do you assume this screen does?
How does this screen make you feel?
Solution
Information Dissemination
Conclusion
After Heuristic Evaluation & Feedback
Findings
Users expect to be able to view certain information
List of group members
First responder status
Option to call 911
Onboarding and training would be important, especially in cases where there are standard safety procedures in place, like with school shootings
Technical language can be more confusing, even if it’s more specific
Defining and maintaining scope for the initial MVP of a new project is difficult
Safety in an emergency is a huge concern for users
Seperating a scope of a safety versus a 911 app can be confusing to a user
Knowledge is power
next steps to launch
Onboarding
Crisis escalation
Plain language copy
Map marker adjustments
Rachelle Chaney ©️ 2020 Contact Me