5. The Workload + Personas and Scenarios

·       F 2/10: Blog Post, First round of personas and scenarios. Have reviewed/ critiqued.

·       M 2/13: Final proposed personas and scenarios. Have system chosen, and list of design artifacts required for that system.

·       F 2/17: Blog Post, Drawn wireframes for Scenarios 1 and part of 2. Have reviewed/ critiqued.

·       M 2/20: Finalized drawn wireframes for small group critique.

·       F 2/24: Blog Post, Possibilities for visual design.

·       M 2/27: More visual design, mocked up from wireframe layouts. Small group critiques.

·       F 3/2: Blog Post, Prepare Midterm Presentation of progress and system elements designed.

·       M 3/5: Midterm Presentation of progress and system elements designed.

·       F 3/9: Blog Post, More visual design possibilities. Have reviewed/ critiqued.

·       M 3/12: Spring Break- Begin designing screens for scenarios. (Work when able)

·       F 3/16: Spring Break-  Continue designing screens for scenarios. (Work when able)

·       M 3/19: Finalized visual design. Have reviewed/ critiqued.

·       F 3/23: Blog Post, Have screens reviewed/ critiqued.

·       M 3/26: Revise screens and begin animating in After Effects, write script for audio. 

·       F 3/30: Blog Post, Show finalized screen designs. Show Animations in progress.

·       M 4/2: Continue animating, have audio recorded.

·       F 4/6: Finish up animating, assemble audio and video elements.

·       M 4/9: 1^st draft of formal presentation. Refine presentation.

·       F 4/13: Blog post, Refine presentation. Begin practicing the presentation for final audience.

·       M 4/16: 2^nd draft of formal presentation. Refine presentation and presentation skills.

·       F 4/20: Blog post, Refine presentation.

·       M 4/23: Formal presentation day! Dress nicely, and have presentation prepared.

·       F 4/27: Blog post, Last day of class- process pdf and artifact documentation accepted. Final deadline is 5/7. 

I've also made my first round of personas to work with. I tried to cover a wide variety of options between the 3 of them to show a ton of different viewpoints and uses for the system. 

Persona #1: Paul (24)
Location: Overland Park, KS
Profession: Part time student
Reason for cycling: Practicality, Cost effectiveness
Bike type: Mountain bike (Used to conquer hills around college campus.)


Paul goes to college part time for business courses. His home is only a 10 minute distance from the campus, so to save
time and money on gas, he prefers to ride a bicycle to his classes. In the mornings, rush hour he fights with determined drivers racing to work, and is often late to class, unable to cross some intersections. The main streets around campus still don’t have bike lanes, and his complaints to the school faculty and student body can’t seem to get through the yellow tape the city places between cyclists and road safety measures.

Persona #2: Scott (36)
Location: Downtown Kansas City, MO
Profession: Works full time at local music hall
Reason for cycling: Exercise and recreation
Bike type: Road bike


Scott rides each night after work to burn off calories and to distress. He meets regularly with friends to ride around t hecity, and he actively participates in Critical Mass and other cycling awareness events. Having ridden on many bike lanes throughout Kansas City, Scott writes the department of transportation and reaches out to other bike riders to advocate for additional lanes and better driver/ cyclist interaction on the roads.

Persona #3: Amanda (29)
Location: Shawnee Mission, KS
Profession: Full time mom
Reason for cycling: Family activity
Bike type: Cruiser


Amanda spends each day with her son (age 6) and daughter (age 5). She strives to keep her children active and encourages them to spend time outside. When riding their bikes, the children stay within the neighborhood, but the family enjoys group rides in the evening to a local park. Without bike paths, the family has to ride their bikes along a busy street. Without bike lanes, the parents fear for their children’s safety.








With persona's in mind, I've constructed my first set of possible scenarios to animate in the final presentation as well. Each scenario at this point revolves around each of the 3 people, and tries to cover a different side or area of the system. 

Scenario #1: Scott wants to track his route at a Critical Mass event. DoT then views the day’s information.

·       Scott turns on his beacon.

·       Rides his route with hundreds of other cyclists.

·       At the end of the event turns his tracker off. (Scott portion ends)

·       DoT (Signs in) views the day’s cyclist numbers around the city.

·       Uses sorting options to view time of day, and roads with the most riders that don’t have a bike lane.

·       As a special user, the DoT employee puts a marker on that road showing that DoT has decided to put in a new bike lane there.

Scenario #2: Nick wants to find and ride with other cyclists traveling to his campus in the morning.

·       Nick is already signed in.

·       He starts on the map portion of the site, but touches the users side.

·       The map empties of routes and he is prompted to place a route he wishes to ride or select from routes he’s previously rode.

·       He selects his daily morning route to school.

·       The map displays his route, and he selects the time of day.

·       It then displays other users that ride on or near that route at that time of day.

·       He sends a ride request to another student and it’s accepted later that day.

Scenario #3: Amanda wants to find a safer route to the local park.

·       Amanda enters the application.

·       She comes to the map page, and opens her routes list.

·       She selects her family’s route to the park.

·       It centers on her route on the map, and she selects the safety sorting option.

·       It shows the safety rating of her street as posted by other users, and the safety rating of other nearby streets.

·       She adds her rating to the road.

·       Her rating changes the roads color to red, alerting DoT that that road is in desperate need of bike lanes.

4. Proposed Design Solutions

So these screens were taken from my most recent progress presentation to my peers. It shows possible design solutions to answer my challenge/ question, and it was agreed that the first 2 solutions seemed to have the most promise, and would work effectively between all audiences. I definitely agree, and look forward to working with one of these directions. But the other solutions are certainly valid options and were well worth the time in the concept phase.

The first solution uses a combination of a smartphone application, and smaller, more simple GPS units called “beacons” handed out by DoT. So let me take you through the system. The app users start by turning on there application at the start of their rides. The beacon users simply turn their beacon on. After their ride is over, they turn them off. As the riders ride their route, satellites track and record their route to the smartphone application.  These routes can then be viewed individually or amassed as a single density map that can be sorted by time of day. DoT can then view this information to better place new bike safety measures.

The second solution uses the beacons, paired with roadside meters that are placed on every street. The riders turn on the beacons, at the beginning of their route, and turn them off at the end.  As they pass these roadside meters, which can be small and hidden from view, the meters count the cyclists, and display this on a simple  gauge. DoT can then view these meters and if the needles point to a set max number, DoT can know that road needs bike safety measures.

Solution 3 lets them take manuel control of the mapping process. The cyclist rides their route without any sort of device. Once at home or somewhere with computer access, the rider can input their route information to the application with other information like time of day they ride, and perhaps even problems they encountered on their route. The application then takes their route information and adds it to the mass of routes from other active users which DoT can then view.

Solution 4 uses driver operated GPS units to build information for the application. The driver simply turns on their GPS unit as they drive throughout the day. As they drive, if they encounter a cyclist around them all they have to do is tap the screen of their GPS, taking minimal attention away from their drive. The GPS unit takes that cyclist and sends it to the satellite, which adds them to a daily count of cyclists on that road and in the local area. Companies like Garmin or TomTom then send this information collectively to the application. and DoT can view it to make changes around the city.

This option uses a series of tickets or handout tokens that are placed in and collected at kiosks around the city. This system would have cyclists come in to DoT to register their bike. Tickets are handed out to these cyclists. When on their ride, the cyclist takes the tickets with them and places them in small collection beens at intersections or near street signs. DoT then collects these on a  routine basis, and uses them to count how many cyclists are using which roads. If the cyclist needs more tickets, they can pick them up from DoT. These tickets would be made of a durable material. So they could be given to new registering riders to use.

3. The Map Aesthetic

So this post shows an exploration in researched density map solutions from population density to public transportation. There's certainly some interesting possibilities, and I must admit, the idea of a dimensional solution completely skipped my mind. It's a bit more complex, but definitely a possibility.

Here are some images I've found that somewhat reflect the vague ideas of what an effective map design might look like at the moment.

Now I don't believe that the map will be viewable by the cyclist unless they come to a stop in their route. Safety first of course. But while the application is mapping their route and is in motion, the screen will likely stay dark to save battery or perhaps show the application logo as a tiny form of mobile advertising. But all the same, I'd like the map aesthetic to be simple and readable at a glance.  Commuters in particular have places to be, and the user shouldn't have to spend a long time attempting to orient themselves. Color itself should also be limited. Most of the maps use a color coding system to show a huge area, but I think my color system might be more limited in cases where the user is plotting their route down select roads. So the map might be a single neutral color and the route might be mapped in something more vivid.

I also really like the idea of pins, and that they in a way represent a tap, a touch, a plotting of location in an instant. So maybe pins will find their way into the map design as well.

And of course I can't look at maps without stopping by good ol' Nicholas Felton's website.

I've also continued my research into bike lanes and the many options when installing one. This website in particular was a great help in understanding the many types of bike lanes, as well as the standard dimensions one requires. I've yet to find however a source that takes you through the process in considering when and where a bike lane is chosen to be put in. Considering this I might have to call in to the department of Transportation personally. I'll try establishing contact within the week since they have no email adresses listed.

I have looked at a few other community websites however to help me further understand local bike community events and stores I was earlier unaware of. Particularly smaller local shops that provide not only cheap bikes and parts to the community, but classes on proper care, riding, and repair. KCBike.Info was a great source that I'll be keeping a close eye on. I would love to interview some people to get some insider opinions on our city's bike lanes and road system.

One post however drew my attention right away on this community website. It seem's that on August 17th of 2011 there was a meeting at the Crown Center downtown discussing UMB and the city's cooporation in bringing more bike lanes downtown, particularly to Grand St..

The article reads:

"UMB Bank and the City are kicking off a big project to make Grand a truly grand street with new sidewalks, streetscape, natural stormwater retention, crosswalks, bike lanes, and maybe even bike sharing. There is even talk of fancy separated bike lanes like ones popping up in Chicago, DC, and New York."

There are also many great sites such as Bikely.com that have a full list of mapped out commuting routes posted by local bike riders. It's good to see that even without an application with simple and easy route plotting functionality that cyclists are still uploading and sharing safe route information to one another. 

2. Solutions and System Elements

The Audience

Without a doubt, I'm looking to target the Department of Transportation within Kansas City and the local bicycle community. A design system like mine needs to act as an intermediary between them. So lets look at just what either sides needs are and later in the post, I'll include possible answers to this design challenge. First let's revisit the question.



The New Question
“Through design, how can I convey the bicyclist community’s needs for road safety and advocate them effectively and clearly to the Kansas City area?”


We've seen this question before, but after focusing on my audience, it appears that rather than communicating to the entire Kansas City area, I need concentrate my system on the bike community and the transportation department. So here's a revised question I'll work with for now. 


"Through design,  can I create a tool, using information generated by the Kansas City bike community, that can be legally used by the Department of Transportation to more effectively place and regulate bike lanes throughout the city."




System Elements

So with the new question in mind I’ve researched a list of different elements used within the road system. In my senior presentation last semester, I proposed an iphone application specific for the bicycle rider. I still believe that this is an essential element to a design system for the bike lane issue, but the design faculty discussed the many other options and systems already in place on the roads. The system should work with not only cyclists, but also the other drivers on the road. So I'll be broadening my horizons a bit moving forward with possible solutions.

So newer technologies should work with items like those below, rather than disregard them.·     Road signs


·      Street signs
·      Street lights
·      Traffic lights
·      Vehicle exteriors
·      Printed maps
·      Markings on the road
·      Bike lights and reflectors
·      Iphone application for riders
·      GPS units for vehicles
·      Online traffic advisories

Possible Solutions

So with these many formats in mind, there are many options for some interesting concepts. It's difficult to use the systems already in place unless the Department of Transportation would already have accepted and used the application. The system needs to have an officiality to it, a sense of establishment, but at the same time should still reflect the bicyclist subculture. After all, the application tool is acting as their voice to the city.

1.     Mobile Application and Beacons: This solution has been the most discussed so far, and makes smart phone a central device in the system. The application used by the cyclist would be started at the beginning of each ride or commute and then turned off once more at the end of the ride. The phone’s GPS functions would record where the rider would travel, and at any point in time, the application would visually show every rider’s route on a single map. This shows not only where and when bikes are being ridden around the city, but the density of the cyclists on these roads. Ultimately this could be used by the city to review in the road selection process for adding new bike lanes and paths. But for any cyclist that doesn't own a smartphone, a more affordable "beacon" could be purchased from the Department of Transportation. This beacon would be fairly small, and attached to the bike. It's small enough to be hidden underneath the bike seat, and is weatherproof. With a small battery, it sends the cyclists location to the application for all to see. The beacons can even be used to track down stolen bikes.      
2.     Roadside bike density lights: These lights could be installed by the city on the sides of roads around the city. This solution would only need the beacon. When a cyclist with a beacon passes by this light, the light counts that cyclist. Throughout the day as these numbers accumulate in the light, the light color will change much like a meter from possibly a cooler color like blue or green to a more intense and urgent color like red. By looking at these lights around the city, the Department of Transportation can see just which roads are in desperate need of bike lanes.
3.     Mapping Website: This solution would be an online community where cyclists could plot their route. Points could be added along the route as well to include notes considering safety issues or road difficulty. These maps could be shared individually between users and amassed like the application. By nature, this option would be a tool further evolved by the biking community, and used by cyclists more so than the Transportation Department. Routes could even include a time from point A to point B, better helping commuters plot their route to work or wherever they need to go. 
4.     Driver Operated GPS: This solution is a bit unique in that it would rely on outstanding drivers to map out bike locations. This would be a feature built in to most GPS units such as Garmin. As the driver drives around the city, if they pass a cyclist, they could simply tap the screen of the GPS or speak  a key phrase like "bike rider". The GPS would then log add the rider count to the road they are driving on, and Garmin as an example could have this information online and readily viewable in a format that the Department of Transportation could easily work with.
5.     Cards and Kiosks: In this solution the Department of Transportation would give out cards to bike riders. Small kiosks along the road, possibly found next to street signs or traffic lights, would have a collection been where riders could place their cards. These cards could then be picked up and represent numbers of cyclists on the roads. After the information is gathered in weekly periods,  the Transportation Department could redistribute them to new cyclists, promoting a green cycle. 

(beacon/ bike gps unit)

(roadsides are great places for the density lights)

(GPS units in vehicles can track bikes as well with the tap of a finger.)

I’ll continue in considering new concepts and further branching the smartphone technology with environmental systems. Next I plan to get in contact with the Kansas City Department of Transportation to learn the process they go through when considering and adding bike lanes to roads around the area. The application needs to be an official sort of document that the local government can take seriously and can legally use as a tool for public safety.

1. The Self Initiated Project

Kansas City has made great strides in cyclist safety. Bike lanes are slowly making an appearance on some major streets, and other projects around the city have advocated somewhat to drivers the importance of giving bike riders their distance and being courteous while driving alongside them.

But the it must be difficult and frustrating to place these lanes and as a member of the biking community, I know that there were roads that would see far more use of these bike lanes. There is a disconnect between the cyclists of the community and the Kansas City Department of Transportation. Without the proper tools available, the city can't have have an up to date and accurate idea of just where bike safety needs to be implemented. It's a road left untravelled, and with so many that are teeming with bikes and vehicles alike, a project needs to bring both the KC bike community and local government together for increased safety and effectiveness.

So this questions sparked my degree project interest. It's a system, and it needs to target all of Kansas City, not only the local government.

"Through design, how can I convey the bicyclist community’s needs for road safety and advocate them effectively and clearly to the Kansas City area?"

 Certain groups within Kansas City have been established to bring attention to the problem. Critical Mass in particular has created events throughout the year that encourage the entire KC bike community to gather for one large ride. Sure it's about comrodery, but it's it's far more than that. Safety in numbers, and catching the public interest. But it's limited to these dates, and it doesn't assist the city any in figuring out where these desired lanes should go.

For my senior self-initiated project, I want to adress all of these issues by creating a system that embodies the voice of the bicyclist community and can work to better show where these bikes are travelling throughout the day and how often.