remade assigment 9

Journal

If you didn’t get the chance to test your prototype with your community partner, record a video where they test it.

— summary of the feedback from this class:

1. the overall design of the wood prototype is good, looks very aesthetically pleasing 
2. the handle design could be improved in that the loop is too large and hard to control how the clamp opens. 
3. the length is a little bit too short that they will have to still bend in order to pick things up effectively
4. the plastic boards look very sturdy and should be good for the final product
5. concern that it might be heavier than the wood prototypes so need to look into how can we minimize necessary weight
6.  

— questions and insights of further developments:

1. What do the volunteers usually pick up in their working sessions? how is the shape making the process easier or worse?

          Mainly plastic bottles, loose leaves, and cigarette butts, the tip needs to be able to close up tightly in order to pick up smaller objects.

      2. what did they think of the handle? was it comfortable? what suggestions do they have?

          the felt the handle was quite comfortable, but later we found out once the plastic is cut out, the edge is way more harsh than the wood

      3. the average height of the volunteers, how do we decide the right length?

          one member that came to our class said that she was about the same hight as the cleaning ladies, but we still need to let them take the  decision

 

 

 — I will quote the section in my “further developments” section in our presentation that day.

• Community meeting: get suggestions on ideas and discuss other proposals
• Observe/experience trash collection first-hand: acquire UX insights, e.g. finding the most suitable length for volunteer trash collectors
• User testing and improving UX: Handle wrapping, length, handle shape (gun-shaped v.s. Scissors-shape — which confers more mechanical advantage?)
• Aesthetics: Test more color combinations
• Post-processing: Sanding? Spray-painting? Hydrogen peroxide to treat discoloration?

— two questions:
What did you learn about working with the community from today’s discussion (not including the design part)?

the biggest thing I learned was how was I sometimes digging so deep into the technical issues in making the product and I would forget to update our community with our process. Most of the time I don’t feel comfortable sharing something that is in the working process but now I realized that it was very important for them to get to know what we are up to so that they can provide timely aid, but equally important, is an amazing way of building mutual trust and respect with us and the community, by showing some of our struggles and thoughts on the project.  

How are you going to apply the lessons to future collaborations?

we will send pictures in the group chat whenever we implemented an idea effectively and try to pay more visits to the community, we realized that the community is usually quite available — there will always be people around that we can talk to — so we decided to skip the rather complicated “arranging time slots” and to visit them on rather shorter notice (making sure that they will be able to meet at first, of course)