Improving the experience of finding new routes for runners
Improving the experience of finding new routes for runners from Dayana Hijaz
Improving the experience of finding new routes for runners

Finding new routes for runners was an exciting and educative course project that I took as a member of a team of 5 persons in the Innovation Through Design Thinking class instructed by Alan Van Pelt this past 2014 Fall semester at UC Berkeley.
The project required that we choose a user category, perform user observations, conduct user interviews, analyze and extract user needs, brainstorm and vote on solutions, prototype 3 ideas and test them to get user feedback.
The project load was equally divided among the team members such that everyone participated in all of the previously listed stages on the design thinking process.
My most important takeaway from the course and its project was that having empathy with the user is critical in understanding the user experience and developing successful products.

User observation of runners during their run.
Journey map detailing the various activities and choices that go into an average runner's decision making process before picking his/her route.
Empathy map, extracted from user observations and interviews, clearly separates what the user says, does, thinks, and feels. The most relevant insights will be drawn from what the user thinks and feels.
Why/How ladder which helps in unveiling the latent user needs and understand what actually dominates their choice of one route over the other.
My contribution to the post-its presenting user needs I drew from my interviews.
Collection of all the team members' post-its carrying user needs based on user observations and interviews.
Post-its organized into themes and categories.
First team solution brainstorming session to answer the needs identified in the various themes. This stage in the design thinking process allowed us to visualize our solutions which aided us in sharing and explaining our ideas to each other in the team.
Second team solution brainstorming session: "Half-Sheets" of brainstormed ideas organized into categories.
Third team brainstorming session: voting for the top favored solutions.
Prototype 1: Route by Mail Route by mail will create the experience of suspense, anticipation and mystery and will relieve the runner of the hassle of finding a route by sending him/her a new route at a random and unexpected time. The physical mail delivery system seeks to provide the runner with the joy that comes with the experience of receiving and opening a mail.
Prototype 2: Share My Route Mobile Application The app works as a combination of Instagram/Yelp/GPS. When opened, the app automatically loads the closest trails. The user can then scroll through the list and select any route he/she prefers for more information such as: additional pictures, user reviews, user ratings and other technical details such as total distance, elevation, map etc. It’s different from the other apps like Strava and Runkeeper in that it attempts to familiarize the runner with a trail before he/she goes on it, lessening the runner’s fear of the unknown, which is what we had identified in our problem statement. Share My Run is an app that addresses all the identified needs of our user group: familiarity with pictures of the location, safety and community through reviews, freedom, independence and variety through its large database of trails.
Prototype 3: Route Signals The idea behind Route Signals is that the user is free from any device he usually carries while running. The runner only needs to know where the route begins then follows the landmarks which will guide him/her through his/her route.
Feedback Capture Grids featuring positive feedback, constructive remarks, questions about the experience and finally new ideas generated from testing the prototype.
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Improving the experience of finding new routes for runners

Finding new routes for runners was an exciting and educative course project that I took as a member of a team of 5 persons in the Innovation Through Design Thinking class instructed by Alan Van Pelt this past 2014 Fall semester at UC Berkeley.
The project required that we choose a user category, perform user observations, conduct user interviews, analyze and extract user needs, brainstorm and vote on solutions, prototype 3 ideas and test them to get user feedback.
The project load was equally divided among the team members such that everyone participated in all of the previously listed stages on the design thinking process.
My most important takeaway from the course and its project was that having empathy with the user is critical in understanding the user experience and developing successful products.

Dayana Hijaz
ME Product Design Graduate at UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA