Context (Scenario)
As I was thinking about the previous post on context I was sitting inside a bus terminal waiting for one specific bus. One of only 3 buses in the entire day that drops me off behind my house. I had never taken that bus before.
It was perhaps one of the coldest days I can remember (in which I had to take public transit).
I was also hungry because I had skipped lunch and only had yogurt and lots of coffee.
As I sat there and thought about my miserable context I wrote a lot. During that time I also entertained myself with one small exercise which could one day come in handy for you (or at least serve as a boredom breaker).
I asked one question: What do I need right now?
And then I answered it … in point form trying to understand my context and being fully aware that there were certain things that could not be changed:
- the weather
- the fact that I had no option but to take that one specific bus
- any other law of nature
So this is what the list looked like:
What do I need right now?
January 14, 2008 – 7:12PM EST Toronto, Ontario
- Warmer socks
- Food
- Warmer gloves
- A comfortable chair
- Exact information regarding my bus… platform location as a minimum.
- No confusion
- People to stop opening the door
- Hunger pain to go away
- Angry girl on the cell phone two spots over to be quiet
- Not interested in your rant
Those were the things that came to me. And if you notice I was not wishing for a beach in Costa Rica or a car. I was aware that those things were unchangeable at the moment. I needed three things:
- comfort
- food
- information
Which of those three things could have had the most impact on me? What does this tell us about understanding what our users need? That will come later… so please come back but in the meantime please add your thoughts to the discussion below.
BTW – I did get on the bus and made it home safely.
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- Context Changes Everything
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- On Mobile Context
- Everyone is an expert…
- Vettro and Antenna – a few more thoughts
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Of course, information could have led you to comfort and food.
But if we open the box a little bit … what if some entrepreneur put together a delivery service for public transit folks? Bring people to his site with the most precise information available and then, based on the schedule, offer a delivery of a hot coffee or snack right to the waiting area. No more having to decide whether to get that bit of food OR go to the platform. This same service could deliver hand-warmers as well.