CORPORATE BUSINESS DESIGN PROJECT

DURATION: 23 July 2012 – 23 August 2012

NID FACULTY GUIDE: Deval Kartik

INDUSTRY GUIDE: Abhay Mangaldas

ORGANISATION: The House of MG

PROJECT: uEXPLORE

PROJECT TEAM: Alissa Nagel and Neal Collins

PROCESS:

Selection of Area

Contact Organization - Access

Secondary Research

Understand (live) Project

Map problem areas

Propose solutions

THE

PROJECT

Ahmedabad

Heritage

Conservation towards making it an

organised UNESCO

World Heritage City

THE PROJECT

PROJECT AREA

uExplore – a web

based application

for heritage mapping

of Ahmedabad;

through a House of

MG initiative.

AIM

To help in the

creation of

uExplore – identify

problem areas and

suggest applicable

solutions for the

website

ABOUT

It is web based

application that

will help to map all

the heritage sites of

Ahmedabad for the

users to explore,

share and learn.

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

Discover the identity and facilitate personal transformation

through exploration of heritage

Strengthen global identity and transformative learning by

engaging with local community in heritage restoration and

conservation

Connect people of a city by the means of an e-platform to what

already belongs to them (tangible and intangible heritage), and

provide a medium for further exploration and sharing

Facilitate the growth of Ahmedabad towards becoming a well-

documented UNESCO World Heritage City

VISION

Map the various tangible heritage sites and intangible culture of

Ahmedabad under one system

Sustain use of the multiplatform technological tool to communicate

and aid the exploration of this heritage

Support the use of this tool for education of young locals in

understanding Amdavadi heritage

Facilitate use of this platform as a tourist’s reference and a traveller’s

diary

MISSION

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

Use the alpha version of the website and give feedback about interface

Suggest improvement for

Visual look of the website

Heritage site categorisation

Better usability of the website functions

Project differentiation

Ideate towards a potential partnership list and business model

PROJECT GOALS

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

School students Understand local heritage and their stories

Share their perspective of local heritage

School teachers

For education purposes

Tourists Locate places to visit, Plan local trips, and organise based on categories

Create their own travel stories and recommend to others

Researchers/ Students/ Locals Get information on category-wise heritage sites

Map personal interpretation of the heritage

Share information

TARGET USERS

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

As on 10 August 2012 WEBSITE

As on 20 August 2012 WEBSITE

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

FEATURES

WEBSITE NOT INTUITIVE

GOOGLE MAPS USER INTERFACE

FEATURES

PLACEMARKERS

FEATURES

INFO WINDOWS

FEATURES

MAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLACE

FEATURES

OPTION TO SHARE PLACE WITH FRIENDS

FEATURES

uEXPLORE OPTION

SIGN IN/ SIGN UP OPTION

SAVE A MAP

PLAN TRAVEL

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCAL WEATHER

SEARCH SITE

FEATURES

uEXPLORE OPTION

SIGN IN/ SIGN UP OPTION

SAVE A MAP

PLAN TRAVEL

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCAL WEATHER

SEARCH SITE

FEATURES

uEXPLORE OPTION

SIGN IN/ SIGN UP OPTION

SAVE A MAP

PLAN TRAVEL

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCAL WEATHER

SEARCH SITE

FEATURES

uEXPLORE OPTION

SIGN IN/ SIGN UP OPTION

SAVE A MAP

PLAN TRAVEL

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCAL WEATHER

SEARCH SITE

FEATURES

uEXPLORE OPTION

SIGN IN/ SIGN UP OPTION

SAVE A MAP

PLAN TRAVEL

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCAL WEATHER

SEARCH SITE

FEATURES

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

New idea – such a platform for heritage mapping does not exist in our

country till now

Supported by HMG – strong organisation already involved in heritage

conservation initiatives

Use of already established database like Google maps, so no need to

collect location data from scratch

International team handling the project – broader perspectives

Research based concept - cannot be copied easily

STRENGTHS

Each team from SIT involved only for 6 months – break in continuity

since each new teams comes with a new perspective

Unorganised data about heritage sites

No locals – students, institutes or residents involved currently in data

collection

Local perspective missing in the Version 1 of the website

Limited time frame

WEAKNESSES

Can become a traveller’s blog or a tourist’s guide, competing with

websites like Lonely Planet and trip advisor, but heritage specific

Can become a scalable and reproducible business model

Since the project is about Indian Heritage, the team can collaborate

with big Indian corporates for financial support and business design

Collaboration with schools can help make this a great education tool

OPPORTUNITIES

Quite similar to Google map – can become obsolete if not

differentiated properly

Data authentication and updation can become a challenge since

there is no local team

Project might die down if collaboration with SIT ends or international

teams stop taking interest

Incomplete or incorrect communication about the functions of the

application may lead to confusion, and the website not being used properly.

Spamming and misuse of the functions

THREATS

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

Too many layers of interface Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Icons (Visual language) not communicating the usage of the function

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/ home page Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function saved a screen shot of the selected area, no editing is possible by the user User cannot add their placemarks or data yet – they can only add their

location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Too many layers of interface

Checkbox for all functions

Design of the website not intuitive

No visual theme for the Ahmedabad connect

The tagline of the project does not go with the visual theme of the welcome/

home page

Information needs to be more interactive

Too many colors – distracting

Save Map function currently only saves a screen shot of the selected area,

no editing is possible by the user

User could not add their placemarks or data – they could

only add their location

WEBSITE INTERFACE

Categories are not clear, and overlap each other

No theme for data presentation

Sources of information missing

No standardisation in data collection

Questions: Who will manage the website?

Who will verify data about each site?

Who will form/ head the data collection team in the long run?

Can external sites be linked to this website?

DATA MANAGMENT

No Unique Differentiator established

Lack of clarity about the project aims/ direction (due to change in

teams from SIT)

No distinct identity and visual theme for the project

No Organisation structure

OTHER ISSUES

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

COLOUR SCHEME FOR uExplore

Earthy colour scheme – 4-5 colours

Textures

IMPROVE PLACEMARKER ICONS

Same colour - differentiate only by the icon graphic

The shape/ contour can be varied for each icon graphic

For version 2 – can have small 3D placemarks instead of the current 2D

ones

CHECK BOX FOR SELECTING CATEGORIES

“Roll over” system

Single click selection – without the check box

Change the list drop down sign from (+) to (v)

VISUAL INTERFACE

PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE WEBSITE

All pictures should come from the same source

The photos must follow a visual theme

INFORMATION WINDOWS For Version 1 –visual as a watermark, or an illustrated graphic strip

Font and formatting

Any other multimedia – like illustrations of the place, caricatures of the

guides etc. can also be added instead of just text and photos

VISUAL INTERFACE

TOP SITES FOR VERSION 1

Decide the top 20 heritage sites of Ahmedabad, and maintain data

consistency

uExplore FEATURE

Should generate information on the basis of certain pre-set categories –

like eating, historical, shopping, education, public convenience etc.

In version 2 users can be given the option to generate their own

uExplore sites on the map

SAVING AND SHARING MAPS

Option for user to add own Placemarkers

While Sharing – option of having Private or Public

Should incorporate Get Directions option to plan better

Sharing Idea through Facebook/ Social networks

DATA MANAGEMENT

REGISTRATION PAGE

Introductory screen - highlighting the benefits of being a uExplore

member.

Generate an automatic registration email that also includes the

highlights of being a uExplore member

“Know more” function should be present for the user to go back to at

any point of time during the use of the tool.

LINKING EXTERNAL SITES TO uExplore WEBSITE

like blogs of travellers, newspapers like Times of India for updated heritage

news, organisations websites like INTACH etc.

POSSIBILITY OF ADDING REVIEW BY LOCALS

DATA MANAGEMENT

CREATE A LOCAL TEAM

For:

Data collection,

Content management,

Graphics,

Interactive initiatives, Events etc.

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

With corporates like:

Reliance – since they have a strong Gujarat connect

Adani Group – biggest players in Gujarat

Nirma group

Organisations like Manav Sadhna

Institutions like NID, IIM, CEPT etc.

FINANCIAL MODEL

Needs to be developed

PROJECT SUSTAINANCE

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

CURRENT STATUS

NEW LOGO CREATED

CURRENT STATUS

FACEBOOK PAGE

INFO WINDOWS – Options reduced

CURRENT STATUS

INFO WINDOWS - uEXPLORE

CURRENT STATUS

INFO WINDOWS – Source mentioned

CURRENT STATUS

CURRENT STATUS

PLAN MY TRIP – Get Directions

CURRENT STATUS

Add Placemarks option

CURRENT STATUS

VISION | MISSION

TARGET USERS

THE WEBSITE

FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

SWOT ANALYSIS

PROJECT GOALS

PROBLEM AREAS

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

UPDATED WEBPAGE

Thank you