Team “My Backpack”

Danielle Gadbois

Ahmed Al-Marzooqi

Mazen Kiki

Zoey Mau

User Feedback Report

        Our user testing report was a little out of the ordinary, and not what we expected. It is very different going from testing our friends, to testing random strangers and trying to convince them we are not trying to sell them anything. In this write-up, we will detail a summary of the user testing process, the emotions our design evoked from users’, and the modifications we made from the amount of feedback we received. We will explain why these changes were important and also highlight what went well in communicating our conceptual model, versus what did not.

        We were able to find 6 users to test our product. This was not without rejection however. Several times, one of us would approach somebody and say, “Hey, how’s it going?” And they would not look our way while continuing to walk and responding with “Good, thanks.” Several times it looked like we were selling something, and for this reason, their immediate reaction was to shut us down. Other times, we could maybe get one question in before they walked away, so we started to try and prioritize this question to, “What do you think of this product / Would you use it?” A lot of the time they bluntly said “probably not”, or that they didn’t really see the purpose in investing in it. We realize it looked pretty bad, as it was a “looks-like” prototype with minimal functionality. With this we realized we needed to make several changes.

The users that took the time to speak with us let us know problems with the backpack and the umbrella. They wished the backpack was bigger and easier to get on, if it was in fact going to be used as their carrying items object, they wanted it to be functional. Additionally they pointed out problems with the umbrella; it’s too tall, unable to close it, too big, doesn’t protect from sun when walking towards sun. The backpack could also use an alternative type of zipper, different than a normal backpack. This way they can reach all compartments. These changes are all critical to our design. We wish to make a product that only adds to our users’ farmer’s market experiences. In its current state, it is not hands free and only takes away from the experience. For this reason, all of the suggestions we received are valid and will take into account.

The experience was not all terrible, in fact we received some good feedback. They could understand the insulation we put in there and appreciated the potential it had to provide a hands free farmer’s market experience. Because we targeted our persona of young adults, in a kind of hipster clothing, we received good feedback on the colors and design of our backpack. Additionally, we visited this past Sunday on a particularly hot day, and they appreciated the fact that it provided them shade in some directions. It is significantly cooler in shade, and not only were the users cooled, but the products they purchased stayed at the desired temperature as well.