Introduction
Motivation
Engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh are often stretched for time and as a result sacrifice getting a full nights rest each day. In this project, we aim to develop a solution to allow students to relax between classes.
Identified Stakeholders:
-
University of Pittsburgh
-
Swanson School of Engineering
-
Students
-
Faculty
-
Janitorial Staff
1. User Outreach
Data Collection Methods:
-
Google Forms Survey
-
168 responders
-
Reached out through Facebook, GroupMe
-
-
One on One Interviews
-
10 interviews
-
Survey Results:
Yes
No
Open-Ended Results:
"What word do you associate with napping?"
2. Ideate and Prototype
Team began by walking around the building for inspiration
Initial Ideas:
-
Whiteboards that fold out into beds
-
Desks that rotate over into beds
-
Utilizing bench space for rest
Pretotype of desk that rotates into bed
As a desk
As a bed
Pretotype of bench space utilization
3. Re-Define the Problem
Our team took a step back to ask: are we solving the right problem?
Back to the basics: WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
-
Because college students are stressed and tired
New Plan: Develop a solution to relax students
The idea: Test 3 different types of Zen Gardens to see if this reaches our goal
Meet the Zens
Zen 1: Original Zen
Zen 2: Digital Zen
Zen 3: Ferrofluids Zen
Data Results
Results:
-
45% of people who walked by looked at the Zen
-
11% of people stopped to play with the Zen
Zen Garden:
-
10/10 people interviewed liked it.
-
Users wanted info on Zen history, larger rocks, and finer sand
-
Quotes from Users:
-
“This is Zentastic”
-
“We are all just pieces of sand in a zen box”
-
“Seeing it makes a positive impact on my day”
-
“Playing with this is surprisingly soothing”
-
Digital Zen:
-
12% Thought it was interesting
-
35% of people didn’t understand it
-
53% of people didn’t like it
Ferrofluids Zen:
-
67% of users enjoyed it
-
Suggestions for improvements:
-
“More lights”
-
“More magnets to play with”
-
“Add colors”
-
“Turn it into a game”
-