PATHZ
Role
Project Manager
Head UX-Designer
Tools
Figma
Procreate
Overview
PATHZ is a way-finding application that provides users with limited mobility realtime data on obstructions, the clearest routes, and accessibility-rated activities to explore in urban neighborhoods and cities. This was designed as part of my Assistive Design class at Tufts University during Spring 2021.
Challenge
People with limited mobility struggle navigating outdoor sidewalks, often due to unsafe weather conditions and obstructions blocking the way of passage. Because of this people with physical disabilities, such as wheel-chair bound users, are often excluded from public spaces and experience deep isolation.
Approach
My team researched what solutions were available on the market for a problem such as ours. We found apps like BOS:311, Google Maps, and Waze, which offered helpful information, but not a solution. There was still a gap we had to research and fill in order to provide our users with a beginning-to-end solution. To learn more, we interviewed wheel-chair users and listened to their personal accounts. Oriented by personal experiences, we began to ideate a solution for our users.
STAKEHOLDER NEEDS
From our research, we identified that our users would need the following when using our app:
• The safest and fastest route
• Real-time reporting of obstructions and accessibility data
• Obstruction clearing service
• Crowd-sourced data
• Emergency contact and share location feature for increased safety
• Confidentiality and privacy
• Clear and easy to use interface
Then, I developed low-fidelity drawings of how our app should look and its workflow. Shown below is the landing page after signing in, along with the route finding feature, contribute data feature, local explore page, and emergency features.
LOW-FIDELITY MOCKUPS
User testing
From our low-fidelity prototype, we created a prototype on Figma. Then we conducted user tests with 20 students to test the usability and clarity of the application interface. We kept track of how long it took them to find certain features and recorded their thought process. After user testing, we iterated our design to come up with the final design below.
Final prototype
Discussion
I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project this semester. I am passionate about accessibility and advocacy for folks with disabilities, so it was a pleasure to work with my professors and teammates to come up with a solution for an issue that is often overlooked. I am eager to delve further into assistive technology as I continue my career.