MS2 - ISIS3510-S1-G15/Backend GitHub Wiki
Table of contents
Selected problems
After reviewing all the problems posted on Padlet and commenting on the ones that caught our attention, we decided to investigate the following four:
- Second hand clothing
- Parking lots
- University gastronomic offer
- Campus interactive app
Interview Structures
For the interviews in this Micro Sprint, we are using the Stanford d.school’s “Interview for Empathy” method, since its goal is to understand people’s actual thoughts, emotions, and motivations in order to identify their genuine needs. Unlike a traditional survey or interview, this approach avoids closed-ended or binary questions, does not suggest answers or solutions, and focuses on asking for specific stories rather than general opinions, which reduces interviewer bias and reveals real behaviors, contradictions, and inconsistencies that often hide the most valuable insights. Furthermore, its progressive structure (breaking the ice, building trust, eliciting stories, exploring emotions, delving deeper with follow-up questions, and wrapping up) allows the conversation to flow naturally, just as a genuine chat with a friend would, making it easier for the interviewee to share honest and detailed information rather than superficial or socially desirable answers.
Description of the selected interview structure
Second hand clothing
1. Introduction
Hi, my name is [name]. We are students from Universidad de los Andes working on a project for our Mobile Applications Development course. We are trying to understand what people do with clothes they no longer use, including how they decide whether to keep, sell, donate, give away, or dispose of them. We are interested in your personal experiences and decisions. There are no right or wrong answers. Would it be okay if we take notes / record the conversation so we can remember your answers accurately?
2. Build Rapport
Tell me a little about your relationship with clothing. For example, how important are clothes in your daily life? Tell me about the kinds of situations in which you stop using a piece of clothing. Possible neutral probes: What normally causes that? How do you notice that you are no longer using something? Tell me about an example.
3. Evoke Stories
Tell me about the last piece of clothing you decided you no longer wanted or needed. Let the participant tell the story first. Follow-up probes: What was the item? Why did you stop using it? What condition was it in? What did you do with it? Why did you choose that option? What happened afterward? Tell me about the last time you got rid of several pieces of clothing at once. Follow-up probes: What caused you to do it? How did you decide what to keep and what to remove? What different things did you do with the clothes? Why did you choose those options? Was there anything you wanted to do but could not? Tell me about a time when you wanted to donate or give away clothes. Follow-up probes: What motivated you? How did you decide who should receive them? What did you do to find where to take them? What information did you need? What difficulties did you encounter? What happened in the end?
4. Explore Emotions
Going back to the experience you described, how did you feel about getting rid of those clothes? Follow-up probes: Why did you feel that way? Was it easy or difficult to let them go? Did the condition or value of the clothes affect how you felt? Was there any part of the process that frustrated you? Tell me about a time when you kept clothes even though you were not using them. Follow-up probes: Why did you keep them? What stopped you from getting rid of them? How did you feel about having them there? What eventually happened to them? Tell me about a time when you threw away clothing. Follow-up probes: Why did you decide to throw it away? What other options did you consider? Why did those options not work for you? How did you feel afterward?
5. Explore Behaviors and Workarounds
Show me or explain what you did the last time you tried to find somewhere to donate or give away clothes. If possible, ask the participant to show any website, social media account, chat, search, or organization they used. Follow-up probes: Where did you look first? Why did you look there? What information were you trying to find? Was the information clear? What information was missing? What did you do when you could not find what you needed? Tell me about the last time you gave clothes directly to another person. Follow-up probes: Who was the person? How did that happen? Why did you choose to give the clothes directly to them? Was that easier or harder than donating them somewhere else? Tell me about a time when you considered selling second-hand clothing. Follow-up probes: What made you consider selling it? What did you do? What difficulties did you encounter? Why did you continue or stop? Tell me about a time when you received or bought second-hand clothing. Follow-up probes: How did you find it? What made you comfortable or uncomfortable with using second-hand clothing? What influenced your decision? What was the experience like?
6. Question Statements and Look for Inconsistencies
Use these depending on the participant's responses. Earlier you said [statement]. Why is that important to you when deciding what to do with unused clothes? You mentioned that you prefer donating clothes, but you also described keeping unused clothes for a long time. Can you tell me more about what prevents you from donating them? You said that you care about avoiding waste, but in the situation you described you threw the item away. What made that option the most practical at that moment? Why do you think you chose [specific action] instead of another option? If you could change one part of the process of giving a second life to unused clothing, what would you change? Why?
7. Wrap-Up
Thinking about the experiences we discussed, what is the hardest part of deciding what to do with clothes you no longer use? What is something you wish you knew when trying to donate, sell, or give away clothing? What would make it easier for you to give usable clothes to another person or organization instead of keeping or throwing them away? Is there anything about unused or second-hand clothing that we did not discuss but you think is important for us to understand? Thank you very much for your time and for sharing your experiences with us.
Interviewer Reminders
During the interview: Ask about real past situations, not hypothetical behavior. Use “Tell me about the last time…” whenever possible. Ask why even when the explanation seems obvious. Encourage stories rather than short opinions. Do not tell the participant that the proposed solution is to connect donors with charities. Do not ask whether they “care about sustainability”; ask about actual behaviors instead. Avoid moral or judgmental wording about throwing clothes away. Do not suggest answers. Allow pauses and silence. Pay attention to guilt, attachment, inconvenience, uncertainty, distrust, and other emotions that emerge naturally. Look for inconsistencies between environmental intentions and actual disposal behavior. Follow unexpected behaviors or workarounds because they may reveal more useful opportunities than the original hypothesis.
Parking lots
1. Introduction
Hi, my name is Jerónimo Vásquez. We are students at Universidad de los Andes and we are working on a project for our Mobile Applications Development course.
We want to better understand your experience traveling to the university by car or car-based transportation and finding parking near Universidad de los Andes.
There are no right or wrong answers; we are interested in learning about experiences that have actually happened to you.
Would you be comfortable with us taking notes or recording this conversation so we can accurately remember your answers?
2. Context
Question 1
Briefly tell me about yourself and how you usually travel to Universidad de los Andes.
If necessary:
- What are you studying?
- What semester are you in?
- Where do you usually travel from?
- How often do you come to the university by car?
- Do you usually drive your own car or travel with someone else?
3. Main Experience
Question 2
Tell me about the last time you came to Universidad de los Andes by car and needed to find parking.
Follow-up questions:
- Where were you coming from?
- What time did you arrive?
- Where did you try to park first?
- How did you decide where to park?
- What did you do if the first parking lot was full?
- How long did it take you to find a parking space?
- What happened next?
- Did finding parking affect your arrival time to class or another activity?
4. Emotions and Difficulties
Question 3
How did you feel while looking for parking, and what was the most difficult or frustrating part of the experience?
Follow-up questions:
- Why did you feel that way?
- Was there any particularly stressful moment?
- Did you feel uncertain about whether you would find a parking spot?
- Was price, traffic, safety, or distance a problem?
- What information did you need but did not have?
5. Current Behavior
Question 4
Before coming to the university by car, what do you normally do to decide where you are going to park?
Follow-up questions:
- Do you check any app or website?
- Do you ask friends or other students?
- Do you check traffic before leaving?
- Why do you use that source?
- What information is useful to you?
- What information is missing?
- What do you do if the parking lot you normally use is full?
6. Choosing a Parking Lot
Question 5
Tell me how you decide which parking lot to use when there are different options near the university.
Follow-up questions:
- What is most important to you when choosing a parking lot?
- How important is safety?
- How important is distance from the university?
- How important is price?
- How important is knowing that there is an available space?
- Would you choose a more expensive parking lot if it were safer or closer?
- Are there parking lots you avoid? Why?
7. Specific Difficult Experience
Question 6
Tell me about a specific time when finding parking near the university was especially difficult or frustrating.
Follow-up questions:
- What happened?
- Where did you try to park?
- Was the parking lot full, closed, or unavailable?
- What did you do next?
- How long did you spend searching?
- Did you have to park farther away?
- Did you arrive late to class, an exam, or another activity?
- How did the situation finally end?
8. Closing
Question 7
If you could change one thing about the experience of finding parking near Universidad de los Andes, what would you change and why?
Question 8
What information would help you make a better decision before arriving at the university?
Question 9
Is there anything about your experience with parking near the university that I have not asked you about but that you think is important?
Thank you very much for your time and for sharing your experience with us.
University gastronomic offer
1. Introduction
Hi, my name is [name]. We are students from Universidad de los Andes working on a project for our Mobile Applications Development course. We are trying to understand how students and other members of the university community discover, choose, and experience places to eat or drink around the university. We are interested in your real experiences rather than right or wrong answers. Would it be okay if we take notes / record the conversation so we can remember your answers accurately?
2. Build Rapport
Tell me a little about yourself and your experience eating or buying food around Universidad de los Andes. Tell me about how you first started discovering places to eat around the university. Possible neutral probes: What do you remember about that? How did you find those places? Why did you choose them? Tell me more about that.
3. Evoke Stories
Tell me about the last time you had to decide where to eat or buy something around the university. Let the participant explain the complete story. Follow-up probes: What were you looking for? What did you do first? What places did you consider? How did you learn about those places? Why did you choose one over the others? What happened after you arrived? Were you satisfied with your choice? Why? Tell me about the last time you tried a new place to eat or drink near the university. Follow-up probes: How did you discover it? Who or what influenced you to try it? Why did you decide to go there? What expectations did you have? What happened when you tried it? Did you go back afterward? Why or why not? Tell me about a time when you wanted something specific to eat or drink but did not know where to find it. Follow-up probes: What were you looking for? What did you do? Who did you ask? What information did you search for? What happened in the end? Did you change what you originally wanted?
4. Explore Emotions
Going back to that experience, how did you feel while trying to decide where to go? Follow-up probes: What made you feel that way? Was there anything frustrating about the process? At what moment did you feel unsure? What made the decision easier or harder? Tell me about a time when you were disappointed with a food or drink choice around the university. Follow-up probes: What were you expecting? What actually happened? What information would have helped you make a different decision? How did that experience influence what you did afterward?
5. Explore Behaviors and Workarounds
Show me or explain exactly what you did the last time you searched for somewhere to eat around the university. If possible, ask the participant to show what they used on their phone. Follow-up probes: What did you search for? Where did you search? Why did you use that source? What information were you looking for? What information was useful? What information was missing? Tell me about the last time someone recommended a place to you. Follow-up probes: Who recommended it? Why did you trust that recommendation? What did they tell you about the place? Did you actually go? Why or why not? Tell me about a place you know today that you think many people around the university do not know about. Follow-up probes: How did you discover it? Why do you think other people do not know about it? What makes that place worth knowing? How do you think people currently discover places like that? Tell me about a time when you chose a place mainly because it was easy to find or conveniently located. Follow-up probes: What other options did you consider? Why did convenience matter in that situation? Would you have chosen something different if you had known about more alternatives? Why?
6. Question Statements and Look for Inconsistencies
Use these depending on what the participant has already said. Earlier you said [statement]. Why is that important to you when choosing a place to eat? You mentioned that you like trying new places, but you also said that you often return to the same ones. Can you tell me more about that? You said that [source] is how you find places, but in the experience you described you relied on [different source/person]. Why? If you could change one part of the process of discovering food options around the university, what would you change? Why?
7. Wrap-Up
Thinking about everything we discussed, what is the hardest part of choosing where to eat or drink around the university? What is something you wish you knew before deciding where to eat? Is there anything about discovering or choosing food places around Universidad de los Andes that we did not ask about but you think is important? Thank you very much for your time and for sharing your experiences with us.
Interviewer Reminders During the interview: Ask about specific past experiences, especially “the last time…” Ask “Why?” frequently. Encourage complete stories. Do not mention a proposed restaurant-discovery app during the main interview. Do not suggest possible answers such as price, location, reviews, or opening hours unless clarification is absolutely necessary. Avoid yes/no questions. Allow silence. Pay attention to expressions, hesitation, frustration, excitement, and other nonverbal cues. Follow unexpected topics if they reveal relevant behaviors or needs. Look for contradictions between what the participant says they value and what they actually describe doing.
Campus interactive app
1. Introduction
Hi, my name is Juan Felipe Ochoa. We are students at Universidad de los Andes and we are working on a project for our Mobile Applications Development course.
We want to better understand your experience moving around campus and finding different places within the university. There are no right or wrong answers; we are interested in learning about experiences that have actually happened to you.
Would you be comfortable with us taking notes or recording this conversation so we can accurately remember your answers?
2. Context
Question 1
Briefly tell me about yourself and your experience at Universidad de los Andes.
If necessary:
- What are you studying?
- What semester are you in?
- What were your first days on campus like?
3. Main Experience
Question 2
Tell me about the last time you needed to find a place on campus and did not know exactly how to get there.
Follow-up questions:
- Where were you trying to go?
- What did you do first?
- How did you try to find the place?
- Why did you decide to do it that way?
- What happened next?
- How did the situation end?
4. Emotions and Difficulties
Question 3
How did you feel during that experience, and what was the most difficult or frustrating part?
Follow-up questions:
- Why did you feel that way?
- Was there any particularly confusing moment?
- What information did you need but did not have?
5. Current Behavior
Question 4
The last time you needed help finding a place, what tool, person, or source did you use? Tell me what you did.
Follow-up questions:
- Why did you choose that option?
- What information did you find useful?
- What information was missing?
- What did you do if it did not work?
6. Other Campus Spaces
Question 5
Tell me about the last time you needed to find a place to eat, have coffee, study, or spend some free time at the university. How did you decide where to go?
Follow-up questions:
- How did you find out about that place?
- What was important when making the decision?
- Did you have any difficulty finding it?
7. Closing
Question 6
If you could change one thing about the experience of finding places or moving around campus, what would you change and why?
Question 7
Is there anything about this experience that I have not asked you about but that you think is important?
Thank you very much for your time and for sharing your experience with us.
Interviewer Reminders
- You do not need to ask every follow-up question; use them only when you need to explore something further.
- Ask "Why?" whenever something interesting comes up.
- Look for specific stories and recent experiences.
- Do not mention the idea of an interactive map.
- Do not suggest answers.
- Avoid questions that can be answered only with yes or no.
- Let the interviewee speak and allow brief moments of silence.
- Pay attention to emotions and contradictions between what the person says and what they actually did.
Interviews
Below is the podcast-style audio summary of the six interviews conducted by the members of this group:
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/df758148-080c-42d1-bcad-89715abbc0bf
University gastronomic offer - Kevin Hernandez and Alejandro Franco
Both interviewers used the same interview script shown above, only changing the interviewer's name in the introduction.
Audio of the interview - Kevin Hernandez
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who)
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finding diet adequate meals and restaurants. | She has dietary restrictions since she's a vegetarian so she can't eat in every restaurant. | She discovered most of her preferred restaurants by walking around and by social media recommendations. | Since she can't eat at every restaurant she has to look for restaurants that offer a vegetarian while being a tasty and balanced menu. | Ana: A vegetarian student who sometimes eats out and values diet adequate restaurants with a good quality, price and variety. |
| 2 | Exploring new recommended restaurants | She likes going to new restaurants that she watches in social media and others | She searches through her social media or Google Maps to find new interesting restaurants she wants to try | She finds amazing some restaurants offer vegetarian substitutes at a good price to everyday meals like pizza, hamburgers, Mexican food, etc. and she likes to eat out at new restaurants to find new meals she might like | Ana: A student seeking new restaurants and who values restaurants that offer regular meals at a great price and that have into account her dietary restrictions. |
| 3 | Bring home-made food instead of buying lunch | She prepares her own meals that fit her dietary restrictions and heat them up in the campus microwaves | She cooks at home when she can so that she doesn't have to spend money on lunch. | Money sometimes is tight and the gastronomical offer is not always good enough variety or price wise considering she looks for balanced meals. | Ana: A student with an special diet who not always finds good meals around campus and who values balanced and tasty meals. |
| 4 | Rush hours and price/quality balance alternatives. | She often realizes vegetarian alternatives take more time to prepare and do not always meet her taste and quality/price balance expectations. | When she orders at a new restaurant she has to be aware that she might not like the food or that the price could be higher than she initially expected. | Restaurants sometimes offer vegetarian alternatives just to comply to demand or to have those items in the menu but they don't always take into account taste, time availability or quality/price balance balance in their offer | Ana: A student that not always has the time or money to eat a good restaurant and who has to work with the usuals instead of being able to try new places due to those restrictions. |
Audio of the interview - Alejandro Franco
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who)
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managing meal choices based on available break time between classes | Karin adapts where and what she eats depending on the duration of her breaks ("huecos"). | If she only has 30 minutes, she grabs quick, immediate options near campus or the sports center; if she has 3 or more hours, she eats with friends at sit-down spots farther away. | Her time between classes is extremely valuable. Walking too far or waiting in long lines during short breaks directly wastes her limited rest and study time. | Karin: a Uniandes student who must constantly optimize her schedule and meal decisions based on class gaps. |
| 2 | Discovering new food spots around campus | She explores places to eat through physical exploration, word-of-mouth recommendations, and social media. | She walks through nearby streets and alleys, relies on direct recommendations from classmates, and occasionally checks Instagram or Google Maps for specific cravings. | Information on nearby restaurants and street vendors is fragmented across various channels, making it difficult to find reliable spots quickly without peer input or physical trial. | Karin: a student seeking convenient, trustworthy local food options without a centralized, student-tailored directory. |
| 3 | Bringing home-cooked meals to campus instead of buying food | She prepares meals at home and brings them to campus to heat up using the university microwaves. | She cooks in advance, carries her lunchbox, and uses campus microwave stations, opting out of buying meals from local vendors. | She feels frustrated by past negative experiences with commercial options around campus, such as small portions, high prices, greasy food, and a lack of healthy, high-protein choices. | Karin: a student prioritizing hygiene, healthy nutrition, and good value for money to avoid bad dining experiences. |
| 4 | Navigating peak-hour rush, long wait times, and quality uncertainty | She faces uncertainty and annoyance when purchasing food during peak student hours or when searching for specific food items. | She often compromises by choosing whatever option is immediately available due to time constraints, despite doubts about whether the meal will justify the cost or wait time. | The lack of real-time information regarding queue times, pricing, table availability, and food quality creates friction and stress when all students leave class simultaneously. | Karin: a student experiencing time stress and decision fatigue. Campus-area vendors: local food spots facing peak-hour crowd congestion without real-time communication tools. |
Second hand clothing - Sofia Alcalá
Transcription of the interview:
Interview Second Hand Clothing.docx
Audio of the interview
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e940782b-a3b5-4f13-be97-5149584f1fd3
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who)
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donating clothes to acquaintances in Venezuela | Jacqueline gathers clothes she no longer uses or that have gone out of style and donates them to people she personally knows. | She acts confidently and proactively: she reaches out directly to people in her existing network who she knows can use the clothing, based on their size or family needs. | She feels a sense of responsibility to give her clothes a second use rather than discard them. Having lived there her whole life, she has an established trust network that makes this process feel natural and low-effort. | Jacqueline: a Venezuelan woman with a broad, well-established network of relatives and acquaintances in her home country, some with children or her same clothing size. |
| 2 | Trying to donate clothes at churches in Bogotá | Jacqueline visits several churches in Bogotá hoping to donate clothes, but at every one she is told they do not accept clothing donations. | She approaches this the same way she believes should work, going in person to institutions she assumes should be interested in receiving donations, but is turned away each time. | She likely feels frustrated and confused, since this approach used to work in her home country. Without a personal network in Bogotá, she doesn't know a better way to find a real recipient. | Jacqueline: a migrant without an extensive social network in Bogotá, still new to the local religious/community context. Church staff: an institution that, for unexplained reasons, does not accept clothing donations. |
| 3 | Trying to donate clothes for earthquake relief in Venezuela | After an earthquake in Venezuela, Jacqueline tries to donate clothes so they can be sent to affected people, reaching out to foundations for this purpose. | She actively seeks out organizations she believes are equipped to help with disaster relief, but is again told they cannot receive the clothing. | She is motivated by a mix of wanting to help a community she still feels emotionally connected to and giving unused clothing a second life. The repeated rejection compounds her prior frustration. | Jacqueline: a person with an active emotional bond to her home country, which was affected by a natural disaster. Local foundations: social-aid-oriented organizations that, at that moment, are not managing clothing donations. |
| 4 | Clothes accumulating in storage, unable to donate or throw away | Jacqueline has been accumulating unused clothing for seven years, storing it all in her storage room because she hasn't found anywhere to donate it, and she refuses to throw it away. | She keeps holding on to the clothes, letting them pile up, without taking a final action, even though it's creating a real space problem at home. | She feels a strong aversion to wasting something still usable, both because it could benefit people with fewer resources and because of her environmental values, but this emotional resistance, combined with the lack of a real donation channel, creates a growing, unresolved dilemma. | Jacqueline and her immediate household: the home where the physical storage space is affected by this unresolved situation. |
Parking lots - Jeronimo Vasquez
Transcription of the interview:
Interview.Parking.Lots.Jeronimo.Vasquez.docx
Summary of the interview - podcast-style
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fd92366e-2eae-4ebc-a922-9e20bf7a2d15
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who)
Interview 1
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Searching for parking before an early class | The student usually drives to Universidad de los Andes around three times per week. When arriving between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m., finding a parking space becomes difficult because many nearby parking lots are already busy or full. | He first checks whether the university parking lot has available spaces. If it is full, he drives to other nearby parking lots and may have to circle the area three or four times before finding a place. | He needs to park close to the university because he often carries a laptop, models, and a backpack. The uncertainty of not knowing whether a parking space will be available makes the experience stressful and can cause him to arrive late to class. | A fifth-semester Universidad de los Andes student who lives in Chicó and usually drives to campus three times per week. |
| 2 | Arriving late to an exam because the usual parking lot was unavailable | The student had an exam at 8:00 a.m. and arrived near the university at approximately 7:40 a.m. However, the university parking lot was closed because of an event, so his normal parking option was unexpectedly unavailable. | He spent around 25 minutes driving around and searching for another parking space. Eventually, he had to leave his car farther away around Calle 19 and walk quickly uphill to the university. | He did not have prior information that the parking lot would be closed and had no way of knowing which nearby parking lots still had available spaces. This uncertainty directly affected his academic activity because he arrived approximately ten minutes late to his exam. | The interviewee, other drivers searching for parking, and the university parking facilities affected by the event. |
| 3 | Checking traffic and parking information before leaving home | Before driving to the university, the student tries to anticipate traffic and parking conditions. However, there is no single reliable source that tells him whether a parking space will actually be available when he arrives. | He checks Waze for traffic conditions, sometimes looks at Google Maps, and messages a friend to ask whether the university parking lot appears to be full. | He uses several different sources because he wants to reduce the risk of wasting time looking for parking and arriving late. His behavior suggests that existing information is fragmented and does not provide real-time certainty about parking availability. | The interviewee and friends who may already be near the university and can informally share information about parking availability. |
| 4 | Choosing between price, safety, and proximity when parking | When several parking options are available, the student must decide where to leave his car based on different factors such as safety, distance, availability, and price. | He prioritizes safety first, proximity to the university second, and availability third. Although price matters, he is willing to pay more for a parking lot that is safe and close to campus. | Parking farther away may require walking uphill while carrying several items, while cheaper parking lots may feel less secure. For this reason, he values reducing risk and inconvenience more than simply choosing the cheapest option. | The interviewee as a student driver who regularly compares nearby parking alternatives around Universidad de los Andes. |
Interview 2
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Using Wheels instead of public transportation | The student normally travels to Universidad de los Andes using TransMilenio, but approximately twice per week he uses Wheels, usually when traveling with friends. | Instead of driving his own car, he joins friends and uses a car-based transportation option to reach the university. | He chooses this alternative mainly because of comfort and safety. Traveling with friends can provide a more convenient experience than using public transportation. | A 21-year-old male student who mainly uses TransMilenio but occasionally travels to the university using Wheels with friends. |
| 2 | Experiencing parking without having a parking agreement or monthly plan | When traveling by car with friends, the student notices that finding parking can be difficult when the driver does not have an established agreement, membership, or monthly parking plan. | Without a guaranteed parking option, they may need to search among different parking lots near the university until they find one with available space. | Having no established parking arrangement increases uncertainty and makes the process more time-consuming. The student therefore associates a better parking experience with already knowing where the vehicle can be left. | The interviewee, the friends he travels with, and the driver responsible for finding the parking space. |
| 3 | Looking for an alternative when a parking lot is full | When the parking lot they normally use is unavailable or full, the group needs to quickly find another place to park. | They search for another parking lot that they already know rather than looking for completely new alternatives. | Familiar parking lots reduce uncertainty because the group already knows their location and considers them reasonable alternatives. However, relying only on known parking lots limits their options when several places are full at the same time. | The interviewee, his friends, and the person driving the vehicle. |
| 4 | Prioritizing safety and price in the parking experience | When thinking about what could improve parking near Universidad de los Andes, the student identifies safety and price as the most important factors. | He evaluates parking mainly based on whether the location feels safe and whether the cost is reasonable. He does not actively search for parking information before leaving home because he is usually not the driver. | Even as a passenger, he perceives parking as a problem when it becomes expensive, unsafe, or requires a long search. This suggests that parking conditions also influence people who use shared or car-based transportation without personally driving. | The interviewee as a passenger, along with friends who use a car to travel to Universidad de los Andes. |
Campus interactive app - Juan Felipe Ochoa and Camilo Tellez
Both interviewers used the same interview script shown above, only changing the interviewer's name in the introduction.
Audio of the interview - Juan Felipe Ochoa
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6a6db90d-ec34-4168-aeaa-31eaf875d16f
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who) - Juan Felipe Ochoa
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adapting to campus during the first weeks | The student has been at Universidad de los Andes for around two weeks and has had a positive experience learning how to move around campus. She received a detailed campus tour during induction and also gets guidance from her sister, who already knows the university. | She navigates the campus with confidence because she already received orientation and has someone close to her who can explain where places are and how to reach them. | Her positive experience seems strongly related to having access to previous guidance. The induction tour reduced uncertainty, while her sister gives her an additional trusted source of information. This suggests that students without these resources may have a more difficult adaptation process. | A first-semester student who is new to Universidad de los Andes, supported by university induction activities and by her sister, who is already familiar with the campus. |
| 2 | Trying to find an unfamiliar classroom | The student and a friend needed to find a classroom in an area unrelated to her own degree program. They did not know where the classroom was, which floor it was on, or how to get there. | Instead of using a digital tool, they looked for help from someone who already knew the university well. They were not highly stressed because they had around twenty minutes before the class and treated the situation with humor. | They relied on another person because asking someone nearby was the most immediate and accessible way to solve the problem. Since they had enough time, the situation did not become stressful, but it still showed that unfamiliar areas of campus can be difficult to navigate without prior knowledge. | The interviewee, her friend who needed to reach the classroom, and another person familiar with the university who helped them with directions. |
| 3 | Not knowing that online campus-location resources exist | During the interview, the student learned that there are online images or maps that show locations inside the university. She said she did not know these resources existed and had never thought of using them. | She had been relying mainly on induction, personal guidance, and asking other people rather than searching for official or digital campus-location information. | The issue may not only be that information is unavailable, but that existing information is not visible or easy to discover for new students. If students do not know where the resources are, they are unlikely to use them when they need help. | A first-semester student with limited knowledge of the university's existing digital navigation resources. Other newcomers may face a similar discoverability problem. |
| 4 | Discovering places to eat, drink coffee, or spend free time | When choosing places to eat, have coffee, or spend time around campus, the student mainly learns about them through recommendations from people who already know the university, social media videos, and things she had previously heard about Los Andes. | She depends on informal and social sources of information rather than a single centralized source. Once she knows about a place, physically finding it is not a major problem for her because many options are close to the university. | Recommendations and social media provide practical and trusted information about places that may otherwise be difficult to discover. This suggests that, for food and leisure spaces, the main need may be discovering and comparing options rather than simply navigating to them. | The interviewee, other students or acquaintances who recommend places, and social-media users or creators who share information about locations around the university. |
Audio of the interview - Camilo Tellez
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c01630f7-8d9d-4a22-bc5d-5f44187cf646
Interview Situations (What–How–Why–Who) - Camilo Tellez
| # | Situation | What? | How? | Why? | Who? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Difficulty finding classrooms during the first days on campus | During his first days at Uniandes, Carlos could not locate several classroom buildings, especially ones located far from the main public-access paths. | He searched online for the building, looking at images to identify what it looked like, and then asked people in person once he had a rough idea, rather than relying on the official campus map. | He found the official map too complex to read, so he defaulted to image search plus asking around as a more intuitive, though slower, workaround. | Carlos, a second-semester Systems Engineering student at Universidad de los Andes. |
| 2 | Confusion finding a specific classroom (Building M / MS001) | Carlos needed to find classroom MS001 in Building M, near the math department, but the photo he found online showed the math department building instead, a different building located nearby. | He kept asking people in person until he finally located the correct building, since neither the map nor the image search gave him reliable information. | The mismatch between what he found online (a photo of a nearby but different building) and the actual physical layout shows a gap between the visual references available to students and reality on the ground. | Carlos and the people he asked for directions. |
| 3 | Recurring difficulty finding classrooms every semester | Even though Carlos now generally knows his way around campus, every new semester he encounters unfamiliar classrooms, such as "LSD 0-2," a partially underground room he did not know existed. | He estimates it takes him about two days at the start of each semester to relocate and get used to his new classrooms, repeating a similar process of searching and asking. | The campus has enough unusual or hidden classrooms that this "learning curve" resets every term, showing this is not a one-time onboarding problem but a recurring one throughout a student's time at the university. | Carlos, as a returning student who still faces this difficulty every semester. |
| 4 | Low perceived value of a wayfinding app despite the friction experienced | When asked whether an app to find buildings would have been useful to him, Carlos said he would only use it for about two days, or even just a couple of minutes, per semester. | He downplays the potential impact of a dedicated tool, saying it would not have a "big impact" given how short-lived the need is each semester. | This suggests his tolerance for the current workaround (asking and searching images) is high enough, or the pain is brief enough, that he does not see strong ongoing value in a standalone wayfinding tool — an important signal that the value proposition may need to go beyond just building location to feel worthwhile. | Carlos, evaluating the potential solution from his own point of view. |
Journey Maps
Canva: https://canva.link/f9ky1aeesxruy6a
Canva: https://canva.link/kj21v3uzpxfab49
Brainstorming Process
To begin the brainstorming process, our team first selected the problem area we wanted to explore. We conducted a group poll among the four previously identified alternatives: Interactive Campus, Parking Lots, Second-Hand Clothing, and University Gastronomic Offer. The University Gastronomic Offer was selected with the majority of the votes. After choosing the topic, we carried out a brainstorming session divided into two stages: divergence and convergence. During the divergence stage, each team member proposed as many ideas as possible without initially evaluating their feasibility, with the objective of exploring different ways to address the identified problem. Then, during the convergence stage, we discussed and organized the proposed ideas according to four categories: The Rational Choice, The Most Likely to Delight, The Darling, and The Long Shot, allowing us to evaluate the ideas from different perspectives.
After completing the convergence process, we were able to identify which ideas were the most relevant, feasible, engaging, and innovative for the problem we wanted to address. This process helped us move from a broad set of possible solutions to a clearer direction for our project. By combining the strongest ideas from the different convergence categories, we defined the basis for our final solution: a mobile restaurant directory that centralizes information about the gastronomic offer around Universidad de los Andes and helps students discover, compare, and choose food options more easily.
Prototype
The following video presents our low fidelity prototype for University Gastronomic Offer, explaining how each screen emerged from our team's brainstorming process, from divergence through convergence into the four idea categories.