Problem Statement: Although individuals across the United States are increasingly connected to each other through websites and digital applications, a large number of people do not know their neighbors in their local physical space. Pew Research reported in 2010 that only 43% of Americans surveyed knew most or all if their neighbors, with almost a third (28%) responding that they did not know any of their neighbors. Social isolation and a lack of connectedness has been associated with poor health outcomes across a wide spectrum of age groups. In particular, older adults which experience social isolation are at a higher risk than the rest of the population for many diseases, cognitive decline, reduced immune system functioning, and depression.

Meanwhile, many homes have fruit trees or vegetable gardens with material which goes unused because individuals do not have the interest or ability to harvest the fruits and vegetables growing on their property. This unused, or underused, neighborhood harvest is a largely untapped resource in the battle against obesity in the United States, in which more than one-third of adults classified as obese.

Develop an electronic intervention which connects individuals within the context of a neighborhood environment through the common task of harvesting and sharing backyard produce, with particular attention to connecting older adults to their local neighborhood community. A secondary goal is to increase the use and consumption of fruits and vegetables within neighborhood communities.

A link to my interactive digital prototype with an iPad frame is located here: http://yaqvgi.axshare.com/ipad_body.html

The link to my prototype without the iPad frame is located here: http://yaqvgi.axshare.com/login.html

The following is an overview of the steps in my design process.

Step 4: In this step I sketched out many different use scenarios to help me determine what functions the app should include.

Step 5: After I created several different potential design solutions and interface ideas, I took my ideas to my classmates for commentary and suggestions.

Suggestions from classmates included expanded biographies for users to build community and a map to show nearby harvest helpers/individuals needing assistance.

My classmates also provides suggestions which helped me refine the app’s search interface.

Step 6: During this step I evaluated different design options using Questions, Options, Criteria (QOC) Analysis. In this process, I posed to myself a question related to how an essential function of the app should appear, provided options, then evaluated the options by criteria created from focusing on user needs and classmate feedback.

"Questions, Options, Criteria" (QOC) design space analysis charts

Wireframes Figures1-3 show three potential wireframes with features outlined in the QOC design space analysis. Ultimately, I used aspects of each of the wireframes in the paper prototype which I created next. The wireframes served as a helpful planning tool for constructing interactive elements in the paper prototype. They also gave me a concrete way to discuss the potential benefits of different design choices with colleagues.

Step 8: With feedback from user testing, I developed my final digital prototype. The user interface for my final digital prototype was developed on Adobe Illustrator and then put together on Axure.

A link to my interactive digital prototype with an iPad frame is located here: http://yaqvgi.axshare.com/ipad_body.html

The link to my prototype without the iPad frame is located here: http://yaqvgi.axshare.com/login.html

Functionality: My final design has five main interactive components:

1. “Volunteer to Harvest”: An area in which individuals can search for individuals who need help harvesting their backyard produce or create a posting offering harvest services. 2. “Request Help”: An area in which individuals can search for help harvesting their backyard produce or post for others to help them. 3. “Exchange produce”: A place for users to find and exchange produce with other individuals in their neighborhood. 4. “Recipes”: A place for neighbors to exchange and post backyard produce recipes. 5. Mail: An area of the app in which the users receive and respond to in-mail from postings and communication within the app.

Registered users log in using their email and password and are directed to this central landing page. From this page, the user can access the four main core components of the app which allow them to volunteer to harvest their neighbor’s backyard produce, request help in harvesting their produce, exchange their produce, or view and share recipes.

Design flow- New user: When new users first open the Garden Gatherers app, they can access the new user creation page by clicking the hyperlink under the regular login labeled “create new account” (Figure 1.). This takes users to a screen in which they can enter their name (first only), address, email and password. The first name of the user is used to identify them throughout the app’s interface, the address is used within the app to find other users near them, and the email and password are used later to log into the app. After submitting this information the users are taken to a profile screen in which they can fill out their profile information (Figure 1.).

Volunteer to Harvest: When users select “volunteer to harvest” they are taken to a screen in which they can search for neighbors that need harvest help by the produce they need harvested (the “Search by Produce” button) or create a post to volunteer their services in helping others harvest (“Create Posting” button) (Figure 2. Overall Process Flow). Search by Produce: If users select “search by produce” they are taken to a screen in which they can enter the produce they want, or leave the default of “any” selected. The user may then choose a distance from one to five miles from a drop-down menu. Once users submit this search, they are presented with a map showing the locations of individuals in their area who need help with harvesting produce, and the amount of their harvest that these individuals are willing to share for harvest help. If users select someone from the map, they are presented with an expanded view of the post. Within this screen the user may respond to the individual then return to the search/post help screen. Create Posting: If users select “create posting” within the app they are taken to a screen in which they can volunteer to help harvest produce. Users can choose the produce they would like to harvest or leave it to the default of “any.” The user then creates a message and posts it for those who need harvest help to see.

Request Help: If a user selects “Request Help” from the main landing screen, the process flow is parallel to that within “Volunteer to Harvest” section, allowing users to “search for a helper” or “create a posting” (Figure 3.).

Search for a Helper: When users select this option they can enter up to three items of produce they need help harvesting. After submitting the search, a list view is returned of helpers, organized from closest to farthest away along with user-generated ratings of helpers and their conduct (provided to prevent treats from “trolls” and individuals with malicious intents). Users can select one of these individuals and are taken to a screen with an expanded view of the posting, with the option to respond.

Create Posting: This section’s flow mirrors that of “create posting” in the previous section.

Exchange Produce: If a user selects “Exchange Produce” from the main landing screen, they can input the produce they have to exchange and the produce they want along with distance up to five miles and submit a query. The user is then presented with neighbors with produce matching their request on a map view similar to that in the “Search by Produce” section of “Volunteer to Harvest” (Figure 4).

Recipes: If users select “Recipes” they are taken to a section in which they can search for recipes by backyard produce ingredient or submit his own recipes. The user flow for searching and posting recipes mirrors that of the “Request Help” section.

Profile: The user’s profile can be selected from any section of the app by selecting the profile icon at the top right of their screen. From the profile section, the user can check messages which are sent to them as response to posts (or their own responses), edit their profile, or delete their current postings. Postings are automatically set to disappear after one week (Figure 6.).

Users would also be able to access their messages from any screen in the app by selecting the mail icon at the upper right of the screen. When there is a new message for the user a red circle would be displayed next to the mail icon, with a number indicating the amount of new messages which they have (Figure 6.).