Initial problem discovery

Women feel uncomfortable stepping out alone in public places after dark.

I saw this image go viral on social media - women now tend to use this method to check in on each other when walking alone at night instead of saying “goodbye. ”
Why are they doing so?
Remember the last time you were followed by a stranger in an alley?
Remember the time when you were insulted by a frantic person on the metro? Many times, women are vulnerable because there are subject to so many threats in the city.
And the truth is, a woman should have been allowed to travel in the city alone.

Research & Define

Understand the problem spaces

Why am I focused on women?

1. They EXPERIENCED
1 of 3 women globally, experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes. (Source: Unwomen)
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2. They PERCEIVED
9 of 10 women in some cities around the world feel unsafe in public spaces. The extent to which women feel unsafe after dark is significantly greater than men. (Source: Census 2021, Office of National Statistics)

What impact perceived safety?

• Social Presence
The absence of others increases fear
• Time
Women feel less safe at night time.
• Physical Cues
Women are afraid of enclosed/entrapping places, with no exit/single way in and out.
• Personal Characteristics
Fear decreased over time, with growing familiarity with the city and neighborhood.
• Demography
Women who are young, urban, students, ethnic minority or with a higher education degree, single, and live alone is more vulnerable.
• Perceived Information
When faced with unpredictability, individuals seek information to reduce conflict, surprise, and arousal. (Miller, 1980.)
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Assessing 4 popular competitors

To gain insights into the current solutions and competitive landscape, I performed a competitive analysis of four popular applications in the market. The market offers three types of safety applications, namely Information APP, Tracking APP, and Emergency APP, all of which are location-based and provide services based on the user's location. During the evaluation of these apps, I discovered that all of them provide emergency features with an easy-to-use button to assist users. Safety-related information is also abundant in applications that aim to inform users about potential risks. However, a limitation of information apps is their lack of customization, which can cause frustration among users if the information overload occurs.

Hear from potential users

I developed a set of questions to collect qualitative data to gain participant input and recruit interview participants. And I received a total of 33 responses:
• 33 Females
• Aged 18-55
• From 6 countries
• 93.9% experienced safety-related issues

In order to have a better understanding about users, I conduct interviews with 7 users that across a variety of ages, cities and occupations, try to uncover their deeper thoughts, feelings and needs. I defined the questions I’m attempting to get answers throughout the entire research as following:‍

1. What are the usual circumstances in which people feel unsafe?
2. What are the things/elements that impact people’s sense of safety?
3. What do people usually do to make themself feel safe?
4. What kinds of safety-related support people expect to get?

Affinity map, main insights will be summarized later on

During my analysis of the results, I discovered that users had two distinct types of safety-related experiences: those that occurred in their daily lives and those that arose while traveling in other cities. To better understand these experiences, I divided users into two distinct groups: locals and travelers. Using empathy maps, I was able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of each group's unique perspectives and needs, allowing me to develop more tailored solutions that met their specific requirements.

Key insights

Final solutions

Key values: Precautions + Emergency responses
• Before going outside, users get real-time safety situations provided by the APP and adjust their plans accordingly.
• When emergencies occurred along the trip, users use voice control or tap the SOS button to send an alarm to loved ones and emergency responders.

Customizable alert center
Subscribing an area is an interesting part before users get notified about situations. This feature allows users to subscribe to alerts on areas that matter to them, for instance, their home, workplaces, or their daughter’s high school. They don’t need to spend time checking alerts of incidents that occurred 50 miles away from them.

Two incidents display mode: list and map
When users subscribe to the areas they want to keep an eye on, they can view incidents that have occurred within those areas on the map or in the listing. An incident can either be followed or shared. They are also notified by push notifications on the locked screen (if allowed). Busy people who don't have time to check the APP will find this method convenient.

Build safety network
When users add their loved ones to the contacts, they can see their location in real time, share incidents information with them, and get notified when they trigger SOS.

SOS triggering: response to your panic
APP listens to users at all times. An individual can preset a "safe word" (multi-language supported) and use it whenever they feel they might get into trouble. Alternatively, they can trigger SOS by tapping the large SOS button on the screen. This will notify them of the status of emergency responders in real-time.

Recap

Lessons learned

I was alway thinking: how we can leverage technology to increase women’s safety? Patro as a concept is something that I believe all women would greatly benefit from. I’m extremely grateful to have this project as the first point of my UX journey. Here’s a few things I’ve learned:

1. Control the scope through prioritizing.
I started ideate a bunch of promising solutions but soon realized it’s not a sustainable way to implement them at once. Since in real project, times are scheduled and resources are limited. Started with too many features might make the project spiral out of control and go far away from initial goals. So, I learnt to prioritize the most crucial features at MVP stage.

2. Too many permission requests - like contacts or location - make users uncomfortable.
‍Despite the product being heavily dependent on accessing permissions, I found that adding neutral options could lower users' hesitation. For instance, allows their location to be tracked only when using the app, or allows adding contacts solely through inputting a number.

3. Find order from disorder.
It is an interesting part I haven't played with in the past, but have really learned from, and enjoyed in this project. As a result of user interviews and usability testing, I gained a great deal of insight, and through the process of synthesis, I was able to uncover patterns from them, and the disorder became ordered.