Design Challenge

The urgency to curb drunk driving has become even more alarming when confronted with the sobering reality- 37 lives are lost in the US daily due to alcohol-related accidents. Despite a strong aversion and a collective awareness of the dangers, the persistence of this issue stems from high-functioning individuals with alcohol abuse problems continuing to drive. Also, there is a critical lack of understanding about BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) levels, which leads some to believe they are capable of driving safely. A solution to address these issues effectively is imperative to prevent further tragic consequences and ensure the safety of our communities.

Peek Into The Solution

Design Process

Research Findings

We initiated our research by conducting interviews, collecting data to scrutinize individual perspectives. Subsequently, we employed affinity diagrams to distill essential insights, shaping them into comprehensive user requirements.

Contextual Interviews

In our study, we enlisted 8 participants fitting our user description—current Cornell undergraduate and graduate students engaged in social events with alcohol, including those with their cars on campus. An integral part of our interview protocol was securing informed consent, emphasizing complete anonymity through assigned pseudonyms. This precaution was crucial given the sensitivity of the topic, ensuring participants felt comfortable being candid, particularly when discussing past instances of drunk driving. This approach aimed to align with our research goal of comprehensively understanding the dynamics surrounding alcohol-related social events and driving decisions among our chosen demographic.

Analysing Data with Affinity Diagrams

The team transcribed 240 minutes of conversation to extract valuable insights, categorizing them into critical areas such as experiences, safety strategies, personal stances on drunk driving, cultural beliefs & perspectives, and demographics. These categories were then further subcategorized for a more detailed analysis.

Having categorized them into distinct clusters, we extracted five pivotal insights unanimously resonating with all participants, infoming our design decisions later.

Building Personas

After gaining our insights, we refined our problem statement -
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"A student who consumes alcohol needs to address their pressing concerns, including enhancing access to transportation services like Uber, ensuring better friend tracking capabilities, improving safety standards for drivers and providing a reliable means for testing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels because they want a secure means in Ithaca to travel safely to and from social events where alcohol is consumed, ensuring their safety and peace of mind."

Meet Lily - our persona to better understand the problem from her perspective.

Structuring the App

For our initial sketches, we explored different features we could possibly integrate into the app. We also built a car key using cardboards and paper to mimic an actual key. The key's functionality allows users to share their location without any mobile device and acts as a portable breathalyser.

Testing Our First Prototype

For this prototype, we focused on putting our proposed features together and designing a cleaner interface. Instead of detailing all the screens, we wanted to get the general features of the product out to testing to see its relevance. We 3D printed the key and tested this prototype with 4 users.

User Feedback

We tested the prototype with four users—two fitting our target group and the other two meeting most requirements for inclusion. All of our users said that they would highly recommend the interface to their friends. However, all users gave us feedback on how the usability of the product can be further improved by simplifying certain features.

Back To The Drawing Board

After receiving sufficient feedback, we decided to rethink our overall flow. It was clear that we needed just a  few more accessible interface. Instead of expanding to have more features, we narrowed the product down to its essentials. Nevertheless, we integrated the majority of user feedback into our design.

Final Prototype

Reflections

Creating a new, modern experience for alcohol consumption challenged me to combined the best practices for UI with a customized user experience and a physical product (car key) with a comprehensive understanding of the BAC levels, how certain features influence user decisions, how the experience should be tailored for each user, and the car key itself!