Elbow Room: The App

u u u

By Andrew Cohen

For General Assembly UX11

Presented Dec. 17, 2013

(Revised Jan. 7, 2014)

Do you need someplace to be by yourself, away

from crowds and distraction? Someplace to be alone

with a book — or place to talk with a friend?

If so, then ELBOW ROOM is the app for you.  

THE RESEARCH - Personas

Joanna, 37, is an urban stay at home mom. She spends most of her day with housekeeping and childrearing, but she does like to get out the house with her toddler to meet friends at a nearby café for just read a book while her daughter naps.

Household income: $105,000. Platforms: iPhone 5, iPad2, vintage HP laptop at home.

Bobby, 25, is a freelance illustrator who works mainly from home, but some afternoons, he just wants to get out of his apartment, so he’ll take his laptop to the nearest café and work on projects there, or just goof off and catch up on his favorite blogs. Household income: $47,000. Platforms: Samsung Galaxy S3, Nexus 10,

MacBook Pro.

Darwin, 46, is an editor who mostly works from his small magazine’s downtown office, but when he needs to do some writing or thinking or review manuscripts, he will often repair to a nearby café for a café au lait or late-afternoon sandwich. He prefers to go in later afternoon when it is mostly empty and affords some privacy and

quiet. Household income: $220,000. Platforms: iPhone 5S, MacBook Air, iPad Mini, 21-inch iMacs at work and home.

JOANNA’S NEEDS • to get out the house every once in

awhile • have stimulating new experiences for

herself and daughter • to feel a part of her neighborhood

community • to enjoy time spent in venue • tasty, nutritious meals when eating

out (alternatives to fast food) FRUSTRATIONS

• lack of activities, retail opportunities within walking distance of home.

• lack of family-friendly dining opportunities walking distance.

• need to entertain/engage small preschool-age child.

IDEAL FEATURES • fast, efficient service • child seating • reasonable prices • good value • wide menu selections • convenient hours • ability to sit for extended time

without being hustled out GOALS

• to get a good value for dining dollars spent outside home

• fun outing with daughter • a place to get away from household

responsibilities

Red text = issues addressed by Elbow Room

STATEMENT OF INSIGHT

Some people like to hang out in quiet, uncrowded restaurants or cafes where they can sit with friends or a book for a long time without being rushed. • SOLUTION 1: An app/website that uses credit-card company data to

determine venues and times that are likely to be uncrowded based on analysis of sales at different times of day on different days of the week. (Example: Nearest Starbucks? Avoid on Mondays at 8:30am, 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 to the

 

The Solution: Elbow Room For people who need room to:

•Think •Talk • Listen •Read •Work •Observe •Wonder

       

TASK FLOW

•Choose type of venue

•Choose time and location

•Choose from list of results

Restaurant Coffee & Tea Movie Theater Museum

Show results list

Show v. 1 of map giving current location and

offering destination search field, and

day/time pulldown menus

I want Elbow Room here and now

You chose (one of the above). Where to you want Elbow Room?

I want Elbow Room nearby but later

I want Elbow Room elsewhere & later

Show v. 2 of map giving current location and

offering destination search field, and

day/time pulldown menus

Show webcam

(If GPS not on:) Please turn GPS

on now

Where do you want Elbow Room?

Venue details

Algorithms predict present and future user density by factoring in such factors as:

•Credit-card data • Fire code requirements •Weather reports •Real-time transactions •Webcam analysis

           

á Prioritize WHEN you want Elbow Room.

OR Prioritize WHERE you want Elbow Room. â

 

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)