User Testing
Product Matrix
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This blog provides a forum for students, instructors and others to share information and ideas about the Spring Thesis Program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.
1 comment:
Hi Sunki,
Great work! You are making a lot of progress, and your testing has revealed some very important issues that you need to address now. Your challenge will be to use the lessons from testing to improve the product in the next round, but you have the information you need to take this next step.
It seems to me that there are two big issues that your project addresses: first, you are trying to increase the number of bikes per square foot that can be stored. This is very important, because building owners are being required to provide storage space, and they want to minimize the amount of expensive space in their buildings that they will have to give to bike parking. Since every square foot that is used for this purpose represents lost income, they will buy the most efficient system, as long as it is similar in price to competing products.
You have correctly concluded that the key to fitting more bikes is to store them vertically, but a simple wall-mounted hook creates difficulties for people who cannot lift their heavy bike to reach the hook. So, you are experimenting with various methods for making it easier to hang up the bike in the vertical orientation. Your idea of making a track that guides the front wheel as the bike is lifted is very good! I can imagine that, while this is a very simple solution, it would make it much easier to make the bike vertical, because it allows the user to focus all of his or her strength on pushing forward and up, without worrying about keeping it straight. Now, you have to make sure that many people, including some with much lower strength in their arms, will be able to do it. You may find that some large percentage of potential users still cannot lift their bikes, even using the wall mounted track. Your idea of sloping the track is smart, because pushing the bike up a slope is much easier than pushing it up a vertical surface, but your testing indicated that this is still not easy enough. If you made the slope less steep, it would be easier, but then you begin increasing the floor space needed for each bike.
I have a suggestion: I am wondering if it would be possible to make a product that included some form of power assistance to the person trying to place their bike in the vertical position. For example, you could add a spring for lifting the front wheel. The rider would roll the bike in to position, then press a button and have the spring or hydraulic piston lift the front wheel up until the bike was vertical. This would add cost to the product, but if it meant that the building owner could store a much larger quantity of bikes this way, it makes sense from a financial point of view. It seems to me, that if you could solve the problem of lifting the bike up this way, you would have a great product, and a potential commercial winner.
Let me know if I can be of additional assistance to you as you work to improve your design and then carry out additional tests. You are doing great work now, keep going!
steven
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