• 01 - Re-thinking Architectural Assessment - Master Thesis
• 02 - Design4Longevity (D4L) - Mobility - MITAgeLab, USA
• 03 - MaaS Business Models - Wikimove, DE
• 04 - Platform Design for Technical Assistance - Sakosta Holdings AG, DE
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Introduction
The building permit approval process is marred by inefficiencies, bureaucratic delays, and a lack of transparency, leading to prolonged approval times and frustration for both applicants and assessors. These issues hinder timely project execution, resulting in increased costs, unmet deadlines, and overall dissatisfaction among stakeholders.
Key Objectives
Integrate digital tools and HCD principles to streamline the building permit approval process.
Conduct a comparative analysis of existing assessment paradigms across different countries.
Develop an optimized framework for architectural assessments to enhance efficiency, transparency, and user satisfaction.
Journey Phases
Awareness
Consideration
Decision Retention
Recognizing the need for a building permit.
Gathering necessary documents and consulting professionals.
Submitting the building permit application and awaiting approval.
Responding to revisions, addressing objections, managing conflicts.
Online search engines, municipality websites.
Architectural firms, consultants.
Reviewing project notifications, assessing workload.
Analyzing project details, plan assessment approach.
Municipality offices, online portals.
Conducting assessment, providing feedback.
Communication with municipality, public forums.
Addressing queries, collaborating on revisions.
Internal notifications, project assignment emails.
Access digital project files, team communication.
Provide feedback and communicate decisions.
Revision requests, followup meetings.
Summary
The existing service blueprint reveals a disjointed process with significant delays and lack of clear communication between applicants and assessors, leading to inefficiencies and frustration on both sides.
Name: Thomas Anderson
Occupation: Architect
Goals: To submit building permits efficiently and receive timely approvals to keep construction projects on schedule.
Pain Points: Overwhelming documentation, long waiting times, lack of communication, and unclear feedback from assessors.
Identified codes used to create the persona:
• “I often find the paperwork overwhelming and difficult to manage.”
• “The waiting times for approval are too long, and it delays our projects significantly.”
• “Communication is really poor—I hardly ever know the status of my application.”
Name: Sarah Müller
Occupation: Senior Building Permit Assessor
Goals: To review applications efficiently, ensure regulatory compliance, and provide clear feedback to applicants.
Pain Points: High workload, incomplete or unclear applications, lack of standardized review processes, and time constraints leading to delays.
Identified codes used to create the persona:
• “We receive a high volume of applications, and it’s hard to keep up with the workload.”
• “Many applications come in incomplete, which slows down the entire process.”
• “There isn’t a standardized process for reviews, which makes it challenging to ensure consistency.”
Awareness
Consideration
Decision Retention
Recognizing the need for a permit via enhanced digital platforms.
Uploading necessary documents & receiving instant feedback via digital portals.
Receiving real-time updates on application status and necessary revisions.
Addressing feedback digitally and tracking the approval process through dashboards.
Municipality websites, updated online resources.
Online document submission portals
Real-time tracking via online dashboards
Automated project notifications and workload assessment.
Reviewing documents with AI-assisted tools, streamlined communication.
Providing feedback through standardized digital templates.
Digital communication channels, online tracking tools.
Monitoring compliance and conducting final inspections using mobile apps.
Digital dashboards, automated notifications.
AI-assisted review tools, collaborative platforms
Feedback management system, automated revision requests.
Mobile inspection tools, digital compliance checklist.
Summary
The new service blueprint reduces the average permit processing time by 50%, improves communication transparency, and enhances user satisfaction by enabling real-time tracking and automated feedback loops. These changes lead to faster approvals, reduced costs, and more efficient project management for all stakeholders.inefficiencies and frustration on both sides.
Introduction to the Project Mobility in retrospective
In recent years, there has been a heightened focus on improving quality of life and extending human longevity. This project delves into the intricate realm of design for longevity and mobility, where the focus is on human-centered approaches to creating products, services, and experiences that not only enhance the quality of life but also help extend the lifespan of individuals. The quest for understanding the impacts of modern lifestyles on longevity and mobility forms the backdrop of this exploration. The project aims to unravel the complexities of these concepts through an interdisciplinary lens, employing a mix of methodologies including literature review, workshops, and qualitative interviews. The research starts by understanding the etymology and ontology of the words mobility and longevity, which gives a deeper understanding of these terms and their underlining concepts of long-lasting and long-living.
Understanding mobility through the lens of immobility is an interesting approach to explore. It simply means that if you take away obstructions from immobility, you will have mobility. This translates to identifying the obstructions in approaches and eventually figuring out how to overcome them.
Approach to Mobility as a concept
Further, the approaches are categorised to understand personal physical mobility into two – indirect and direct. The indirect approach focuses on existing mobility systems, including city planning and transportation design, to identify gaps hindering longevity. While the direct approach focuses on direct impacts on physical human mobility such as the idea of “Designing Lifestyles and Products”.
* Blue zones are regions around the world where people live exceptionally long and healthy lives due to their unique lifestyles.
The rise of remote work due to COVID has fueled a surge in sedentary lifestyles, prompting the research question: How can we address the immobility epidemic and encourage physical activity in today’s sedentary young generation? This research aims to explore design solutions for “today’s youth and tomorrow’s seniors”.
Research Question
“How can we address the immobility epidemic and encourage physical activity in today’s sedentary young generation?”
The research question is complex, and not straightforward and requires deep qualitative probing and analysis. Thus, along with an extensive literature study a mixed methods approach is adopted. A combination of an instructed co-creation workshop and supporting semi-structured qualitative interviews helps dive deeper into the target groups’ minds to better understand their wants and needs.
Co-Creation Workshop
Qualitative Interviews
Unstructured Probing & Empathy Building
Inspire Ideas
Understand Routines & Beliefs
Thematic Analysis of Ideas Coding & Analysis
Semi-Structured Probing
Motivators & Demotivators
Ideation
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Key Goals & Beliefs
• Healthy diet is also required to stay fit
• Bad lifestyle have consequences
• Social interaction is important
• There are multiple ways to stay fit
How can I see the consequences of my lifestyle choices through experiences?
• Goal: Improve and optimise the user’s experience of their physical activities.
• Focus: Understanding how perception, feelings, and engagement with physical activities impact long-term mobility.
• Target Audience: Individuals struggling to balance work, family, and fitness commitments.
• Scenario: Choosing the elevator over stairs exemplifies how everyday decisions influence long-term mobility.
• Goal: Promote a balanced lifestyle that integrates physical activity.
How can I save time and still engage in physical activities?
• Focus: Helping people overcome time management challenges and stay active despite busy schedules.
• Target Audience: Individuals whose daily choices might negatively affect their physical well-being.
• Scenario: Addresses a common situation of someone juggling their responsibilities.
How do I make my physical activities more interactive?
• Goal: Continuously improve and extend participation in physical activities.
• Focus: Enhancing social and active engagement during activities.
• Target Audience: Individuals who enjoy physical activities but find them lacking in social interaction.
• Scenario: The person enjoys an activity (e.g., cycling) but finds it less socially engaging compared to team sports.
• Goal: Increase functionality, endurance, or vitality in movement over time.
do I convert my mental burnouts to physical workouts?
• Focus: Connecting mental well-being to physical activity and longevity.
• Target Audience: Individuals struggling with mental fatigue that hinders physical activity.
• Scenario: Sedentary behavior and stress-induced fatigue affecting physical mobility.
The Mobility as a Service (MaaS) market is booming, but with this growth comes a crowded field of competitors all vying for a piece of the pie. WikiMove, a MaaS provider in Germany that currently uses a standard business model and collaborates with the Bamberg government, is facing this challenge head-on. This project will analyze WikiMove’s existing model and identify innovative strategies to diversify their revenue streams and capture a larger market share in tier 2 and 3 German cities.
Existing Business Model Analysis:
To develop strategies for improving WikiMove’s business model, we started by analyzing their current approach using well-established frameworks like the Business Model Canvas and the Value Proposition Canvas. This deep dive revealed key areas for improvement.
• In a saturated MaaS market, WikiMove lacks a service or feature that set them apart from competitors. This limits their ability to attract and retain customers.
• WikiMove’s focus on local governments and citizens restricts its reach, hindering opportunities for business model expansion.
• Service partnerships: Collaborations with local city governments.
• Commissions: Earned from service providers on-boarded onto their platform.
• Planned subscription model: Designed to generate recurring revenue from citizens.
The revenue from these streams depends solely on WikiMove being able to onboard a massive user base, which is a problem.
Leveraging research insights, the redesigned business model aims to overcome the shortcomings in WikiMove’s existing strategy
What can be our New Possible Propositions?
Who can be Potential New Customers?
How might we Do It?
• In the digital age, individuals face frustration due to limited technical knowledge and accessibility. This research focuses on creating an platform connecting users with technical experts for issue resolution and education.
Problems
Introduction Opportunity
• Users face challenges with configuring and installing technical devices.
• Issues arise from complex technicalities and lack of information.
• Troubleshooting problems are difficult to execute effectiv`ely.
• This leads to user exasperation and reduced enthusiasm for technology due to the significant time and effort investments required.
Methodology Used
Design Thinking Process
• Initiate design with empathy and innovation for gadget setup and repair.
• Develop vivid personas to understand diverse user challenges and frustrations.
• Utilize insights to define core problems and create a user - centered problem statement.
• Ideate and generate a range of creative concepts aligned with the mission.
• Create a versatile and dependable solution for users’ common challenges.
• Focus on alleviating pain points encountered during goal achievement.
• Streamline the journey to desired objectives, reducing user effort.
• Central aim is efficient and seamless assistance for users.
• Create prototypes focusing on key user flows to bring concepts to life.
• Test rigorously and incorporate user feedback to refine designs.
• Aim to provide a transformative solution that empowers users with confidence in tech navigation.
User understanding involves comprehending the challenges, perspectives, and capabilities of users, particularly concerning their knowledge, expectations, and limitations while interacting with a service or platform. It encompasses empathizing with users’ needs, technical capacities, and preferred modes of assistance. Identifying pain points is one of the key purpose of empathizing with users.
Lack of Technical
Proficiency:
Users face challenges due to their limited understanding of technology and struggle with device setup or troubleshooting.
Users find it difficult to follow complex device installation steps and require guidance.
Troubleshooting:
Users encounter technical issues that are beyond their understanding, leading to frustration and dependency on external support.
Limited Real - time
Assistance:
Users may struggle when attempting to fix issues in real - time due to a lack of immediate expert guidance.
Complexity:
Users might find it challenging to navigate through complex user interfaces, impacting their interaction with the platform.
Define - Customer Journey Map
Ideate - Business Case Scenarios
Working System of a business model
• Based on the very basic idea of a service of operations sending a consultant to a client’s home we decided to create a more fitting model in correlation with our research findings. We developed four scenarios in which the development of the design could play out.
Scenario 1
• In this scenario the client contacts the company and if the support is not sufficient over the internet or over the phone, a consultant is going to visit the client in accordance with the appointment made.
Ideate - Business Case Scenarios
Scenario 2
• It proposes a streamlined, profitable approach by integrating the service provider with the apartment complex. Residents benefit from simplified repairs by contacting the landlord or housing company, who coordinate directly with the partnered service provider, eliminating the need for individual service calls.
Scenario 3
• It is very similar to scenario 2, except now the service provider has more partners and works with providers that can supply materials or parts directly. This would speak in favour of our circular economy idea, since in this scenario our service provider managed to arrange partners in such a way that devices are repaired, recycled, reused and the client is happy.
Scenario 4
• In the fourth scenario we have a different partnership. Here the service provider is in an even deeper partnership with the housing industry to the point where the technician is integrated into the apartment complex and has his own office on site. This is the best - case scenario for the residents, since the service fees will be `included in rent and you have a readily available technician to repair and resolve your problems, without the need to use the internet and online searching for help.
Support has an office in the premises / Near the house like a service personnel, that is assigned to every house.
Ideate - User Flow Diagram
• With reference to the above scenarios, a user flow was required to further detail out the ideation process in addition to the touchpoints derived from the “Define” stage. In context a user flow diagram was generated covering all aspects of scenarios as well as previous design thinking stages,
Users download and install the app. Create a profille or login.
Choose the product / device they need help with. Select setup or troubleshooting assistance.
Follow step - by - step guides or use the troubleshooting wizard. Utilize AR assistance if needed. Connect with live chat if the issue is complex.
Successfully set up/ install the device.
Issue resolved with minimum effort.
Rate the assistance received.
Provide feedback for improvement
Ideate - Information Architecture
• Welcome to the platform - your hub for seamless device setup and troubleshooting.
• User - centric features: Personalized profiles, extensive device library, and diverse troubleshooting tools.
• Stay informed with proactive notifications, contribute feedback, and explore future integrations for an enhanced experience.
Prototype- Low Fidelity Sample screens
• Some low fidelity wireframes as sample screens, according to the information architecture and user flow diagram.
Prototype- Low Fidelity Sample screens
• Some low fidelity wireframes as sample screens, according to the information architecture and user flow diagram.
Prototype- Low Fidelity Sample screens
• Some low fidelity wireframes as sample screens, according to the information architecture and user flow diagram.
Prototype- Low Fidelity Sample screens
• Some low fidelity wireframes as sample screens, according to the information architecture and user flow diagram.
• Since this was an academic project, due to time and resource constraints, all the concepts were concluded on the ideation phase and hence the design thinking process was concluded for the project. The team closed on ideation phase hence prototyping and testing was not taken further ahead.
• Following are the stakeholder’s remarks out of the discussions amongst the design team and stakeholders
Opened a new set of perspectives, inviting more opportunities.
Involving multiple partner agencies making it scalable.
Sustainable module implementation in further phases.
Implementation of multiple scenarios provides multiple starting points.
• In summary, the clients were very satisfied with our solution as a multi - disciplinary approach.
Promoting to reduce e - waste and practice long term gadget usage.
• In addition to it, involving agencies related to real - estate, component sellers and local repairers, created economy generation opportunities for everyone which proved better than operating on an individual level.
• By creating a network of these agencies it will ensure a seamless flow in serving the customer, ensuring availability of enough resources, leading the customers to trust the product.
*All contents are originally produced by author including production of this document. All information provided in this document is correct & best of my knowledge.
Author: Vatsal Mewada