Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: I know there are some people who are drivers (i.e. bus drivers, taxi drivers, Uber drivers, etc.) who must focus on the road. I have never been in any of these modes of transportation and saw the driver using his or her phone. It is these drivers’ job. They are like everyone, who can get distraction, but their job is their motivation. They share a lot in common with others, but because it is their job specifically they (hopefully) do not use their phone while driving unless it is music or GPS.

What: When discussing this issue with people, many said they would use the product. However, I noticed they said they were more likely to use an app/not use their phone if there was a good incentive like Starbucks or coupons/buy-one-get-one offers.

Why: For the outsiders’ need, I think they do not have one for this product exactly. Perhaps when a driver is not driving for work, they would need to use the app. Other than that, I do not think they would have this as a huge need.

Inside the boundary:

Who is In: Young adults, teenagers driving, adults who all drive

What the Need Is: A good motivation for people to stop using their phone while driving

Why the Need Exists: not many people use apps to stop using their phone, people use do not disturb yet still check their phones, people toss their phone to the side, but sometimes try to reach for it again.

Outside the boundary:

Who is Not: Taxi drivers, Uber drivers, Lyft, bus drivers, etc. People who do not drive themselves, passengers.

What the Need is Not: Cannot stop all phone usage, people will still text no matter what, doesn’t fully stop the problem

Alternative Explanations: If a driver a person hired is using their phone while driving, then they can get reported to the company they are working for.  

Solving the Problem - 8A

My opportunity is for people using their phone and driving. It is for all the people who have a driver’s license and use their phones. With technology advancing, more people are prone to using their phone while driving. There needs to be a system or program in your phone that knows who the driver is and to stop them from using their phone except for GPS.

There are some programs now, but I do not believe people know about them, nor do I think they are efficient. I would sell an app that allows access to all music playing programs and GPS/map apps. If the driver is going over a certain speed limit, everything else in the phone would be disabled. I would make sure there wasn’t a notification for any messages. The only way people would be allowed to get notifications while driving is by phone calls. Any other form of messaging, such as Facebook messages or texts, would not send a notification to the driver.

To make people feel motivated to stop using their phone while driving, there would be incentives. If an app teamed up with certain brands/companies (i.e. Starbucks) to give incentives, I believe there would be less people using their phones while driving because they would have a good motivation to not using their phone. For example, if a person were to drive 50 miles without using their phone that entire time, they would receive a free Starbucks drink or a coupon.

Testing The Hypothesis, Part 1

The Opportunity: Many students are not motivated to stop texting and driving because in the end it is easy to grab your phone and continue to use it. Other than not risking their lives or their passenger’s lives, there isn’t a great motivation to not use your phone while driving. Snapchatting, texting, emailing and FaceTiming is extremely dangerous.

            The Who: Students who operate their phone while driving

The What: Students continue to use their cellphones while driving. It distracts from the road and is especially dangerous at high speeds and in bad weather.

The Why: In the moment students don’t realize the dangers and put other drivers in harm’s way. Some students think, “Oh it’s a quick message,” “No one is on the road,” or they use the voice texting for messages and even that can be dangerous.

Testing the Who: Students that drive as well as anyone who drives needs motivation to stop using their phone while driving.

Testing the What: Not everyone uses their phone while driving. Some people use their phone at stop lights, stop signs or during traffic. The temptation to use your phone for a moment is always there. Some people will drive short distances and not use their phone, but for longer drives it is harder.

Testing the Why: Students/young adults are very into social media and try to multitask while driving. Some justify using their phone for work or sending out important messages. There are some apps that stop you from texting and driving by deactivating it, apps that notify parents if their kid is using their phone and different apps for different cell carriers. Points are not enough. There are things to stop people from texting and driving, but I am unaware of something that motivates people or gives them a goal to not text and drive.

Interviews Summary: After interviewing five different people of different ages and genders, I believe that my opportunity is still possible, but the opportunity needs to be structured a bit differently. I learned from the interviews that there are certain apps out there that stop people from using their phones and driving, but not many that motivate people to stop using their phones. I also learned it is all ages that have difficulty not using their phone in while driving, not just young adults and teenagers. For the 3 younger interviewees, they would use their phone less if they had a reward in the end. For the two older, they did not mind if there was an award or not. It might be better to aim towards all ages, but specify possible rewards/motivation to age groups.