UX Research Case Study
How can 3D maps improve emergency evacuations?
Overview
Role: User Experience Researcher.
Sponsor: Crisis Technology Innovation Lab.
Stakeholder: LOCI.
Team : Bhavsar Dharshi, Gowda Ruchitha, Mittal Tinkle, Rajpura Nisarg, Sanghvi Ami.
Duration: 4 months.
The Process.
This was not a predetermined process. The problem statement, roadblocks and a lot of drama led us to choose this path for our research. I look forward to sharing our journey with you.
Stakeholder Interview
Working of LOCI:
LOCI converts 2D floor plans and evacuation maps into 3D digital twin of the environment. They provide personal training videos and virtually orient them to their surroundings
We got in touch with the stakeholders of LOCI Joni McKervey and Nicole Reisinger under the guidance of professor Kate Kapalo to understand the working and goals of LOCI
#Research Question 01
Is there a need for LOCI's 3D map in emergency evacuation during fire incidents?
#Research Question 02
What features should LOCI's 3D maps include to help better evacuation?
Literature Review
Points of Focus
- Wayfinding behavior during emergency evacuations.
- How do signages such as exit signs and boards affect evacuation?
Major Papers Referred
- “Wayfinding and Evacuation in Fire Emergencies: A Literature Review” by Abidin İnanç Seyhan and Süleyman Özdemir.
- “The Role of Wayfinding in Evacuation from Buildings” by Daniel Nilsson and Fredrik Nilsson.
- “Effects of Signage on Wayfinding and Evacuation Behavior in a Fire Emergency” by Youngsoo Kim and Hyejin Lee.
Key Finding 1
Group mentality during fire emergencies can influence wayfinding and evacuation, as individuals tend to follow their friends rather than seeking the shortest route.
Key Finding 2
People with disabilities may face additional challenges in wayfinding and evacuation in fire emergencies.
Key Finding 3
Participants who were provided with a combination of pictorial signage and floor-level signage were able to quickly and efficiently evacuate.
Subject Matter Experts
Semi-structured interviews with two officials from the University dormitory: Assistant Director of Facility Operations, and Associate Director, Housing Operations.
Goals
- Understand challenges with the current practices.
- Possible improvement areas that authorities are currently discussing.
- Ways in which students do not comply with standard practices.
Key Finding 1
Disabled residents have no option but to stay put and wait for trained personnel to help them evacuate in the event of fire. This is due to lack of specific training.
Key Finding 2
Residents with pets often exhibit chaotic behavior during evacuations, as they frequently rush back inside to retrieve their animals. This behavior suggests a lack of training in safely evacuating with pets.
Key Finding 3
The current evacuation drills lack dynamism and fail to provide residents with an opportunity to offer feedback for improvement. Incorporating a means to assess whether the intended goals have been achieved would provide valuable insights.
Student Interviews
Demographic
We recruited 4 participants who live in IUPUI dormitory. 2 participants were residents for a long time, they represented the population that is familiar with the space. The other 2 participants were new to the place, representing students who moved in recently and need assistance navigating around the dorms
Goals
- Determining the number of iterations required for a participant to memorize the route is crucial to understanding the learning process and retention of the route.
- Identifying the specific segment of the video that aided them in route matching and recognition can provide valuable insights into the essential elements a 3D map should include to facilitate route recognition.
Tasks
- All participants were presented with a video recording depicting an exit route, serving as a representation of the 3D map, from their dormitory.
- They were then instructed to memorize this route, and subsequently tested on their ability to recall and navigate the depicted path when exiting the premises.
Questionnaire
- Following the completion of the tasks, the participants were interviewed and asked a series of questions pertaining to their past experiences with fire drills, including their frequency of attendance, perceived usefulness of the drills and any instances of absence.
Answering Research Question 01
Is there a need for improvement in emergency evacuation methods during fire incidents? Yes! here’s why,
Based on the comprehensive analysis of literature reviews, interviews with subject matter experts, and student task interviews, several critical areas have been identified where significant improvements are needed in fire drills.
Online Attendance Tracking: Implementing an online platform simplifies tracking student participation in drills, overcoming the challenges of offline methods.
Personalized 3D Maps: 2D maps limit training effectiveness; 3D maps, incorporating custom routes from dorms, provide more accurate and personalized guidance for students.
Emergency Contacts as Trained Aids: For disabled residents, assigning emergency contacts within dorms as trained individuals expedites response times, enhancing the efficiency of evacuations.
Dynamic 3D Maps: Unlike traditional drills, 3D maps can simulate real-world obstacles, preventing bottlenecks and overcrowding for more realistic emergency evacuation simulations.
Specialized Training for Pet Owners (USP): Recognizing the unique needs of residents with pets, an online platform offers additional training sessions and immersive experiences, ensuring preparedness for evacuating with pets.
Roadblocks, Inconvenience, limitations and DETOURS
We were unable to find participants with disabilities. Our assumptions regarding their inconvenience was not backed up.
IUPUI does not allow pets in dorms, how would we find out better ways to help them? :/
Lack of portal to receive feedback had an affect on us as well. In the sense that, we didn’t receive many survey responses. That’s right, we designed a survey and I cannot talk about it much!
Competitor Analysis
Challenge:
We found that no single competitor possessed excellence in all the features LOCI desired to incorporate into their application.
Solution:
We made the decision to categorize the features of LOCI into five distinct categories and identified one competitor for each respective category.
Answering Research Question 02
What features should LOCI’s 3D maps include to help better evacuation?
The following competitors and their successful features should be included by LOCI along with the findings of student interviews.
Minimalist 3D map with greyscale that uses darker tones to represent depth and slowly upgrade the map once the user is familiar with it by adding.
Waze has a dynamic information on roadblocks to help the user adjust their route. This feature can be used by LOCI to represent blocks in the event of fire.
Duolingo includes a gamification factor and adapts based on users learning curve increase performance and consistency.
Loci can use method to decide when they should add new features.
Forgetting curve addressed with reminders, spaced-out lessons, quizzes, and progress tracking They keep you engaged, test your knowledge, and track your progress, all while staying motivated.