Elbow Room: The App

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By Andrew Cohen

For General Assembly UX11

Presented Dec. 17, 2013 (Revised May 22, 2014)

RESEARCH NOTES

Utilizing open-ended “Ohno Circle” methodology,

I sat in a restaurant near my home and just

observed the customers while taking notes.

FINDINGS

Many of the patrons who came in after 2pm came not for the food (which is excellent) but in search of a quiet place to

• Think • Talk • Listen

• Read • Work • Observe

PERSONAS

My research identified several user groups likely to seek out such mid-afternoon “third place” establishments. Among them: • High School and College Students • Stay-at-Home Mothers of Young Children • Freelancers • Professionals Seeking a Quiet Getaway

CHALLENGE

Find a way for people who like to hang out in quiet, uncrowded restaurants or cafes to immediately locate establishments where they can sit with friends or a book for a long time without being rushed or distracted.

SOLUTION 1 An app/website that uses data analysis to determine at which times a given establishment is likely to be uncrowded based on of sales at different times of day. Example: It could tell you that the nearest Starbucks is a mob scene on Mondays at 8am but a hermit’s dream at 11am.

SOLUTION 2 An app service that encourages restaurants and cafes to install webcams that allow prospective customers to see how crowded it is in real time before making the trip. This could be an add-on to services (Yelp, Zagat, Foursquare) that already help customers find venues.

THE IMPLEMENTATION:

Elbow Room

An app that uses predictive technology to help you find a

quiet place to go at any time of the day.

 

Algorithms predict present and future user density by factoring in such factors as:   • Credit-card data • Fire code requirements • Weather reports • Real-time transactions • Doorway sensors • Cell phone density • Webcam analysis

User criteria creates a ranked list of nearest venues matching desired attributes, giving each a “crowd index” number and a corresponding color. • Green = Under 50% full • Yellow = 50% to 100% full • Red = More than 100% full

(expect a wait)  

Venue-level page gives detailed information, including a graph showing that day’s crowd estimates, along with other data one would typically find on Yelp, Foursquare, or Zagat:

• Address, phone number • Hours, attributes, price • Travel information • Live webcam (if available)

THE END

Please don’t forget to tip your server