top of page
Project Area
Service Design | UX Design
Duration
4 Weeks
Target audience
Student communtiy
OVERVIEW
As part of the Service Design module at NID, this is an attempt to define a service, write a service proposal and design service. Identifying the intangibles and translating them into a tangible format. Unimate is one such service that harnesses the power of the student community and utilizes it to strengthen intra-college relations. Sharing the things we only use now and again cuts down on clutter, is more affordable, brings people together, and is kinder to our planet.
Driven by social impact, "UniMate" supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 11,12 & 13.
_edited.jpg)
dddddddd_edited.jpg)
CONTEXT
The COVID pandemic that hit the world in 2019 and the following years were not so easy. One thing that emerged out of this pandemic was the value of life, and the value of each other. Helping out, reaching out to fulfill a person’s needs. What they might seek, you might have. "COVID taught us that it's the community that survives". Relating to the power of community in the NID community in the R&D Campus situated in Bangalore. Resource sharing was what kept most of us alive and well. There was borrowing, and there was the lending of items ranging from stationary, medicines, sugar, salt, water, and whatnot. However, as the pandemic receded, this borrowing and sharing declined, and resource sharing was lost.
UniMate is a service that lets you share resources as a borrower and lender from people within your student community, strengthen intra college relations and promotes a sustainable way of living.
VALUE PROPOSITION
Why?
When a person enters college, there are a lot of costs associated apart from tuition and housing. These include -
-
Technology and electronics
-
Clothing
-
Transportation
-
Traveling home
-
Books and supplies
-
Health insurance and medical costs
-
Dining out
-
Wi-Fi and other online learning expenses
-
Emergencies
WHY ?
BREAKDOWN
Since gaining higher education is a hefty affair, in colleges, a lot of borrowing and lending of items happen. Apart from college fees, there are various miscellaneous items that a student requires while pursuing a college degree. Especially in hostels and shared living spaces of students, a lot of items are shared to support each other throughout the journey of college.
When does one borrow or lend ?
Not everybody can afford the item
Many items are used only once
In case of urgent need situations
Many items are hoarded unnecessarily
Items take a lot of space
Items have not been used by the owner anymore
avoiding unnecessary purchases
for trying things out
Who does one really go to ?
Friends
Classmates
Others
What if ?
there was a way that people could fulfill their borrowing needs from people other than the current people that they go to?
DESIGN PROCESS
DISCOVER
Brainstorming
Secondary Research
Primary Research
DESCRIBE
User Persona
Empathy Map
User
DEVELOP
DELIVER
​Service Proposal
-
Vision of service
-
Key Features
-
Service Attributes
-
Service Features
-
Key Offerings
Service Definition
Service Journey
Service Blueprint
Research
Discover
BRAINSTORMING
easy
quick
neighbors
item lost
not returned
not used in years
economical
family
one time
Borrowing
​Borrowing
what if I need it?
mishandling
friends
Borrowing
Lending
unaffordable
Do I know you?
damage
forgets to return
care of item
urgent requirement
previous bad experience
communication issue
re-lending without consent
impatient lender
false accusations
trial
no security
no credibility
pressure to lend to friends/family
I started by putting all the thoughts that come into my mind when we think about the activity of borrowing and lending. We attempted to do this activity as a rapid brainstorming session from the perspective of a lender and a borrower.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Understanding the users
Lender
Someone who to gives something to someone for a short period of time, expecting it to be given back:
Borrower
Someone who gets or receives something from someone with the intention of giving it back.
Identifying items exchanged in a college ecosystem
Items with shared ownership
Stationary
Tools
Pet
Sports
Photography
Kitchen
Personal
Tech Items
Travel
Books
Makeup
Furniture
Musical Instruments
Household
Clothes
How do people borrow or lend items currently?
Personal or group chats are most commonly used to borrow or lend items within the student community.
Shortcomings of the existent methods of borrowing and lending
The reach of the existing channels for borrowing and lending is different.
Analysing competitors in the market
Performing a preliminary study of the existing products in this area. I looked for product features that are solving the needs and pain points of the Users and identified the relative strengths and weaknesses
Feature
Item Tracking
Re-Lending
Profile Rating System
Location/Map
Transaction History
Product Listing
Friends List
Community Feed
Notification System
Nearby Products
Social Networking
Liking/Wishlist/Reacts
Public Messaging
Private Messaging
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Primary research was conducted to gather in-depth insights into the borrowing and lending activities in a college ecosystem. The following methods were used for conducting primary research -
22+ In-depth semi-structured interviews
Questionnaire Survey
The Research goal was to "understand the perspective of a borrower and a lender"
Research Findings -
KEY INSIGHTS
1. The "WHO"
Identifying the person from whom you are borrowing or lending is very important
2. The "WHAT"
What kind of item is being shared plays an important role in the decision making
3. The "WHY"
Identifying the purpose of the use is quite important for people in deciding whether to lend to lend or not
4. The "WHERE"
Knowing the status of the item,its location,who is it with is important
Describe
USER PERSONA
After conducting various user interviews to understand the user in their activity of borrowing and lending, the consolidated two personas one for a lender and one for a borrower were created.
Lender
“I used to share things with my friends and it’s good for all. Although I don’t think I will be able to share clothes with anyone”
Goals
-
To live and learn in a friendly community
-
To be able to help others
Frustrations
-
Lending to some one unknown or out of my circle
-
Sense of pressure after lending an expensive item
Tushar Saxena
24, Student
Bangalore
As a student who’s studying away from home for last five years, my friends are important in my life. They have helped me in times of need where my family was unavailable. It is important to me to have a sense of community within NID. I am happy to share resources to help others as I feel that I can also receive help when needed.
Borrower
“As a hosteler, I am very used to borrowing and lending from a very young age. It allowed me to connect with my friends and to understand each other better”
Goals
-
Being a good companion among our gang and community.
-
To be a support for many students like himself.
Frustrations
-
I get frustrated when people get more concerned about their products, even if we are taking good care.
-
Borrowing from impatient people may end up bad
Sakshi has spent half of his childhood in a boarding school where sharing and living was a basic living principle. Hence, she sees borrowing and lending in a more holistic way than an act of pity. The same borrowing and lending had taught him how to share and live together which he shares with as many people as possible.
Sakshi Verma
24, Student
Hyderabad
EMPATHY MAP
A consolidated empathy map was put together for a lender and a borrower to better articulate the research findings.
Borrower
Requests for an item from a friend
Speaks humbly and convincing the lender
Item will be available with someone
Will someone give it to me?
Only known people might respond
SAYS
THINKS
DOES
Waits for someone to respond
If nobody responds, purchase of the item occurs
FEELS
Avoiding purchase of new product
reducing unwanted business
making new friends
Lender
SAYS
THINKS
DOES
FEELS
Asks for the purpose of use
Instructing about getting back the product
Duration of usage of the item
Will I get it back?
Will my item be handled properly ?
What if my item is damaged?
Gives instructions for the item usage
Gives instructions for the item usage
Item to be handled properly
Item to be returned in time
Asks for a penalty in case of item damage
USER JOURNEY
User Journey of a borrower who requires an item urgently
The below journey is of Akshay who has an urgent requirement of a cutter to complete prototyping of his design project.
While working there arises a need of certain things like thermocol cutter and thermocol
.png)
thinking whom to ask - a close friend personally or directly in a group.
.png)
asking in a group and personally to friends
.png)
He recieves the object he required
User journey of a lender - who has an item sitting in his closet unused
The below journey is of a group of friends who have a board game that is now not being used but is very popular among the students.
A group of friends A,B,C & D decide to purchase a board game CATAN
The game was very popular at one point in time, but as the pressure for each semester increased, the game nights started happening less and less, and now it just lies in the cupboard.
The junior batch arrives and a person (F) from the batch asks for CATAN.
Initially reluctant, A gives the board game to the junior since he is from the same community(NID).
A: It has been a month, can I have my game back?
I dont have it.I gave it to G.I gave it to H.I gave it to............
We shouldn’t have lent it.
After mapping out the User journeys from a perspective of both a lender and a borrower, various pain points we identified that could be used as points of leverage to design the service.
ECOSYSTEM MAP
After mapping out the user journeys we created an ecosystem map recognizing the various actors and channels involved.
KEY INSIGHTS
1. There is a stark difference between a mindset of a borrower and a lender in the exchange that happens.
2. Especially in the Student community, a lot of borrowing and lending happens for personal and academic purposes.
3. In close communities like that of a college campus, where people know each other directly or indirectly, this resource sharing happens but on a limited scale.
4.Especially in the Student community, a lot of borrowing and lending happens for personal and academic purposes.
5.A lot of unnecessary purchases of items happen to fulfill certain needs.
6.Many hobbies and talents go unexplored due to a lack of certain resources for individuals.
This reluctance to borrow and lend stems from the core contributing factor i.e "TRUST"
Develop
SERVICE PROPOSAL
Vision of Service
A resource-sharing service that promotes community building and a sustainable way of living.
Driving transition through low waste, community-powered student life everywhere
Key Offerings
An Open and Transparent resource-sharing platform that enables:
Reduces costs of Buying and environmental costs related to purchase /Storage/EOL
Increased social interaction within new communities and a sense of Kinship
Motivation to help even unknown people without risks or uncertainty​
Sense of Community and support among users
Key Activities
Here the activities mentioned are taking into consideration the two main stakeholders - Lenders and Borrowers
Borrower Activities
Search
Search for a product near you and find out who has it
Verify
List yourself and get verified on the platform
Request
Request for the item from a lender
Enjoy
Enjoy the received item
Lender Activities
List items
List items in your profile that you wish to lend
Respond to requests
Respond to borrow requests for your items
Give instructions
Set you own terms and conditions of use of your item
Guarantee
Guarantee to in case of any mishaps.
Service Attributes
Community Building
Service will allow the users to interact and help new people
-
New people in the community can receive help faster and with assurance
-
Reduces Social Friction
-
Improved Sustainability
-
Conflict Resolution and feedback system for improved service
Flexibility
Service will allow the user to be flexible in Lending and Borrowing
-
When to request an item
-
When to collect and return
-
Individual or group request
-
Borrowing from outside your circle
-
Easier decision making
-
Efficient planning for both parties
Transparency
Service will allow the users to have good visibility of items.
-
Who has items available?
-
Status of Requests
-
Who is the person borrowing or lending
-
What is their user level
-
Clearer communication and terms and conditions
-
Item Tracking
Accountability
Service will allow for clear accountability through a social platform
-
Status of Item
-
Different Needs/Terms for different categories
-
Penalty system for risk reduction through IOUs.
-
Ability to add custom terms
Service Features
List an Item
A lender will list items by adding the following details -
-
Item photos
-
Item details
-
Specific instructions
-
Terms and Conditions
Borrow an item
​A borrower may borrow an item via -
​
-
Searching for an item
-
Posting a request for an item
-
Browsing for the item​
​​
Lend an item
-
​A lender may lend an item via -
-
responding to a borrowing request sent by a borrower
-
responding to an item request posted in the community​
Chat
-
To facilitate direct communication,a borrower and lender can connect via chat option.​
-
Details of time, place and any other concerns can be addressed here
Pickup of item
-
At the time of pickup of the item, the borrower will scan a QR code provided by the lender.
-
Images need to be added by the borrower in the app to complete the transfer.
Return of item
-
To return the item, a QR code will be generated on the app screen of the borrower.
-
The lender needs to scan the QR code and add current images to complete the transaction.
Track item
-
A history of all the transfers that occurred for the item will be kept as a record that can be accessed by the lender and borrowers.
-
The current status of an item will be indicated by the most recent image uploaded.
Re-lend
-
A borrower may re-lend an item on approval by the owner of the item to the next borrower.
-
The next borrower is now responsible for the return of the item
Plan an event
-
A borrow request for multiple items for an event could be placed in the application.
-
Multiple lenders can respond in order to complete the request.
Jointly owned items
-
Items with multiple owners can be listed in each member's profile.
-
The item could be blended when more than half the members agree to the transfer.
Conflict Resolution
-
Moderator/ Support provided for settling Disputes and or issues
-
Feedback and rating system for Individuals at each transfer.
-
IOU cards to resolve minor mishaps.
Deliver
SERVICE DEFINITION
UniMate is a borrowing and lending service that focuses on risk mitigation of the process of resource sharing to promote community building. Our motto is to minimize the consumption of new products and work towards a sustainable future by reducing the carbon footprint that comes with each unnecessary purchase.
SERVICE BLUEPRINT
SERVICE JOURNEY
A video prototype was created of the proposed service.
* The service was tentatively named - DEDO at the time. Please excuse us for this blunder.
TAKEAWAY
-
​​Trust is Key: Recognized trust as vital in user experience highlights its role in improving service adoption and satisfaction.
-
The potential that this service has in reducing the unnecessary consumption of resources, reducing unnecessary buying or products, and reducing your carbon footprint is a disruptive design idea that could change the whole perspective of consumption.
-
It is also important to enjoy the brainstorming activity. I throughly enjoyed this one.
-
In a short span of time, coming up with a service design that is not only very less resource intensive but can actually be implemented is something that I feel proud of.
Thank You :)
You may also like -
bottom of page