… your great outdoors digital companion in times of emergency, whether you get lost, injured, attacked by a wild animal, in need of medical attention or similar crisis.
UX Case Study
Abstract
My Role: UX Designer (Complete Design Process)
Title: Trail Beacon
Product: Mobile Application
Problem: Lack of preparedness among hikers/walkers in dealing with an emergency situation in the great outdoors
Goal: Improve user survival chances in response to an emergency crisis
Summary:
Based on the initial research, 40.7% of the participant did hike backcountry trails, about 11% have been lost or injured, but more importantly, 92.6% did not have an emergency plan in place in case a crisis should arise, a problem which we cannot ignore. Solution: a mobile application with the primary function to automate outgoing emergency alert notifications with user location tagged and personalized voice/text messages to a pre-determined emergency contact list as well as simultaneous outgoing call to emergency personal (911). A complete design sprint is performed from discovery to user testing.
The following noteworthy results are based on a population size of 27 participants (12 Male & 15 Female) in the following age group: < 19 (0), 20 – 29 yo (4), 30 – 39 yo (17), 40 – 49 yo (5), 50 – 59 yo (0), and > 60 (1).
Personas
Sarah Smith (26)
Landscape Photographer
Sarah is a wife and mother of two young kids. She works as a blog editor and photographer for a touring agency. Sarah enjoys going on hiking trips and capturing creative landscape photos for her blog. She does have allergies to pollen, but she usually takes her inhaler with her to the hikes. Few allergic episodes have been noticed when she uses her inhaler as prescribed.
Personality: Creative, Friendly, Nature-lover
Quote: “Nature has its way of healing you”
Bob Buke (48)
Certified Personal Accountant
Bob, aka “the Tank”, works as an accountant for a large technology firm. He enjoys participating in obstacle courses and pushes his limits ever whenever possible. Bob likes to go on a hiking and camping weekend trips once every 5-6 weeks. Exploring the backcountry trails are his favorite trips. Bob takes high blood pressure medication.
Personality: Perfectionist, Dependable, Weekend-warrior
Quote: “Work hard, Play hard”
Jack Johnson (37)
Rock Climber
Jack is a rocker climber instructor at a local rock climbing gym. He enjoys venturing off into the wilderness seeking new spots for bouldering and climb. A fun weekend for Jack involves some sort of outdoor adventure, usually climbing and backpacking. He is very sociable and tends to participate in group adventures, but there have been countless number of times when he has been on solo journeys.
Personality: Adventurous, Thrill-Seeker, Sociable
Quote: “You only live once”
Strategy & Ideation
Given that there is a probability of facing an emergency situation for hikers in the great outdoors, in particular if you wander off the trail or take on a backcountry trail, a solution is needed to improve the survival chances of those who venture off into the wilderness, especially for solo hikers. Emergency situation is defined as getting lost, trapped, injured due to fall or wild animal attack, physical condition failure due to previous health history, and any condition that requires medical attention.
According to the research, 100% of the participant take their cell phone on hikes and about 92.6% would download a mobile app that could improve their survival chances in the great outdoors. I believe that a mobile application can provide the means to reaching the goal of improved likelihood of emergency situation survival. The assumptions are hikes have access to cellular or emergency signal or able to reach a spot where signal is available.
Trail Beacon’s primary function is to automate outgoing emergency alert notifications with your location and personalized message to your emergency contact list as well as emergency personal. Additional, you have access to trail navigations, state and national park information, weather forecast, and first aid procedures from with the application.
Maps, Diagrams & Flows
Task Flow
The process of SOS alert system activation and termination
Wireframes & Visual Mockups
Wireframes & Visual Mockups
Prototype
View Trail Beacon mobile application clickable prototype below on your desktop, using mouse to navigate the app. Press (F) on your keyboard to go full-screen mode. Press (R) to rest/restart the application.
USER TESTING
Usability Testing
Moderator-operated testing were conducted to examine the usability and ease of use of the design. Users were asked the following tasks to perform: Create a new account, activate the SOS alert notification system, what is next day's high temperature, locate first aid procedures dealing with burns, and what is one of the favorite trails bookmarked.
A/B Testing
SOS button location was the main focus of the test. The two options were: centrally located SOS button on the tab bar versus peripherally located button above the tab bar. Based on ease of access for both right and left handed users, centrally located button has been selected for the design.
Conclusion
Emergency situations can happen to the best of us while out on a hike in the great outdoors. The goal with the Trail Beacon is to improve the survival chances of someone who find themselves in such a crisis. The design presented shows promising solution in terms of functionality and usability. However, further studies and user testing are needed on larger population size for more accurate and precise findings.
