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Revision as of 21:26, 5 October 2008

Executive Summary

Research and Observations

Design Problem

User Studies

Survey Questions

The following information was collected from study participants. The questions were asked and recorded by one of the team members, along with usage observations.

• Demographic information
• What do you do when it rains?
• What do you do once you get out of the rain?
• How much did you pay for your current rain protection device, how long have you had it, and what happened to your previous one?
• What other options have you tried?
• Why did you choose what you currently use, compared to the other options?
• What’s your favorite feature?
• What’s your least favorite feature?
• If you could improve some aspect of the product, what would it be?
• If you could have the perfect rain protection device, what would it be like?
• Please rate the following categories from 1 to 5, with 1 being something that is unimportant to you and 5 being very important:
  • Durability
  • Aesthetics
  • Weight
  • Size
  • Coverage
  • Ease of use
• What about your device is difficult to use?
• Do you have any workarounds for these difficulties?
• The participants then were asked to use the standard umbrella, golf umbrella, purse umbrella, and auto open/close umbrella. Observations were recorded by a team member.
• What did you like and dislike about the sample umbrellas?
• Other remarks or comments?

Observations

Selected Responses

Pictures

Conclusions

Conclusion Paragraph

Identified Needs and Opportunities

Updated Stakeholder Needs

From talking with users and cross-referencing it with our stakeholder needs from the first report, we have generated a new list of stakeholder needs:

List goes here

Customer Focus Areas

From these needs, the areas most widely requested by customers can be broken down into 4 main categories: - Umbrella's are too easy to lose - Should be as easy to open/close as possible - Need High Portability - Increased Coverage is always better

We took each one of these needs and generated various concepts designed to satisfy those needs. These concepts are discussed in more detail in our Design Concepts section

Design Concepts

Concept 1: ID Takeout System

Problem Description: An umbrella is in use for a relatively short amount of time, relative to its overall life: an umbrella will keep you dry on a five-minute trip between buildings, but then sits unused inside a backpack or on the floor. Umbrellas are also carried when it isn't raining, but there is a chance of rain. Many people carry small umbrellas that are more difficult to use, or reduce coverage area, to diminish the inconvenience of carrying an umbrella when it is not in use.
Concept Overview: This concept is a system of communal umbrellas. It could be implemented in a college campus, hospital complex, or any facility with multiple buildings.
The device to achieve this contains three major components: a location to deposit umbrellas, an ID scanner, and a location to receive umbrellas. An ID swipe allows the user to get an umbrella. The umbrella is used while in transit from one building to another. At the second building, the umbrella is deposited at a second device.

This concept has several advantages. These are:

• Reduced umbrella usage: instead of each individual having an umbrella, a relatively smaller number of umbrellas can serve a community of users
• Standardized umbrellas: umbrellas can be purchased in bulk directly from a single manufacturer, resulting in reduced unit cost compared to retail
• Full-sized umbrellas: the system would most likely use full-sized umbrellas, which are significantly more durable and easier to operate for a wide variety of people compared to compact umbrellas
• Reduced umbrella breakage from storage: umbrellas are in general fairly strong when in use, but umbrellas, and compact umbrellas in particular, are subject to abnormal stresses on the canopy and linkages not accounted for in the design when the umbrella is put into a backpack

There are several issues that must be addressed before this system becomes viable. These are:

• Convenience: the system must be easy to use and not take an excessive amount of time
• Availability: enough devices must be installed, and they must contain enough umbrellas, that a user can reliably expect to be able to receive an umbrella when needed
• Umbrella end-of-life: the device should have some mechanism to identify damaged umbrellas an remove them from circulation
• Sanitation: the umbrellas should be cleaned, specifically the handle and rider, since they are touched by multiple people
• Robustness: the device must be able to withstand moisture from the returned umbrellas

Sketches

Concept 2: Adjustable Ring Umbrella

Problem Description: An umbrella is in use for a relatively short amount of time, relative to its overall life: an umbrella will keep you dry on a five-minute trip between buildings, but then sits unused inside a backpack or on the floor. Umbrellas are also carried when it isn't raining, but there is a chance of rain. Many people carry small umbrellas that are more difficult to use, or reduce coverage area, to diminish the inconvenience of carrying an umbrella when it is not in use.

Concept Overview: This concept is a system of communal umbrellas. It could be implemented in a college campus, hospital complex, or any facility with multiple buildings. The device contains three major components: a location to deposit umbrellas, an ID scanner, and a location to receive umbrellas. An ID swipe allows the user to get an umbrella. The umbrella is used while in transit from one building to another. At the second building, the umbrella is deposited at a second device. There are several issues that must be addressed before this system becomes viable. These are:

• Convenience: the system must be easy to use and not take an excessive amount of time
• Availability: enough devices must be installed, and they must contain enough umbrellas, that a user can reliably expect to be able to receive an umbrella when needed
• Durability: the device should have some mechanism to identify damaged umbrellas an remove them from circulation
• Sanitation: the umbrellas should be cleaned, specifically the handle and rider, since they are touched by multiple people
• Robustness:

Sketches

Concept 3: Velcro Umbrella

Need:

Sketches

Concept 4: Adjustable Shape Umbrella

Need:

Sketches

Concept Evaluation

Pugh Chart

Description		Standard Umbrella	ID Takeout Deposit System	Collapsable Ring Umbrella	Customizable Bag storage	Adjustable Size Umbrella
Sketch
Criteria	Weight	Datum	Design 1	Design 2	Design 3	Design 4
Durablity	1	0	-	-	0	-
Asthetics	1	0	0	0	0	-
Weight	2	0	0	-	0	-
Portability	3	0	++	+	+	0
Coverage	2	0	0	0	0	+
Ease Of Use	3	0	-	0	+	0
+		0	6	3	6	2
0		0	4	3	0	4
-		0	2	0	6	-2
Net Score		0	2	0	6	-2

Development Timeline

Recommendations

Team Member Roles