Expert Meeting

Asking project specific questions

This tool was useful especially in the beginning of the project. The project coordinators helped the group with how to determine requirements for outdoor use of the hub. The group was struggling with taking all possible circumstances into consideration. Examples of circumstances are weather: rain/water, snow, sun, wind, but also vandalism and the right use. For a lot of the circumstances a scenario was made. Most of them were a worst case scenario and some were right use scenarios. The right use was important to not forget, otherwise the product won’t be designed for its purpose and won’t be user friendly. The worst case scenarios were meant to prevent misuse and big unneeded expenses. Later the tool maintenance came in handy for this topic.

Furthermore on advice of a project coordinator, an analysis of already existing street furniture was started. We looked at street furniture at the campus in the city and a bit online how it was designed for outdoor use. How is the material protected, how is the product locked/stuck to the ground, how are connections hidden and how is rain guided away? With such questions in mind, we took photos of these smart designs which gave answers to these questions. The scenarios in combination with the analysis from other street furniture led to the initial requirements list and inspiration for our design. The design should nudge all users to a desired use. We became our own expert in the field of street furniture.