Milestone 1
Scope
For our project, we decided to focus on augmenting the workplace environment. Within this, we are specifically focused on office-style workplaces; we are not interested in work environments like research laboratories, retail stores, restaurants, etc. When approaching the idea of augmenting the workplace, we thought about two potential topics - improving the relationships between people within the workplace, and improving the physical workplace.
Observation
We did five observations (in the form of interviews) with different people who work in an office environment. In order to learn more about their work places, we asked the following questions:
- Describe your current office environment. (Desk/office layout, kitchen space, common areas, etc.)
- How would you describe your office culture?
- Describe your relationships with your co-workers.
- In what ways do you communicate with them?
- Think about the last the last conflict you faced at work. How did you solve it?
- Think of a time that you felt a close bond with a co-worker. What led to this feeling?
- Think about the last time you collaborated with a co-worker. What did this process look like? Could it have been improved in any way?
- In an ideal world, what one thing would you change about your work environment?
We performed group analysis on the data collected from the above question. Our analysis revealed one common workplace phenomenon, and several other findings that may be situational, or tied to a specific workplace environments. 4 out our 5 interviewees indicated that there were issues with noise level in the work environment. This phenomenon occurred in two different work contexts. The first was a workspace shared by more than one organization, and the second being shared workspace of individuals in the same company. Communication between coworkers on this issue was not reported during our interviews. Instead, participants stated that headphone use or shifting their workspace was the common solution to this situation.
Other important findings pertain to the physical environment of shared workspaces. We found that individuals who worked in the desk or cubicle environment looked for ways to augment their space to make it feel more comfortable or usable. These two findings in particular generated the ideation process you will see below.
Other important findings pertain to the physical environment of shared workspaces. We found that individuals who worked in the desk or cubicle environment looked for ways to augment their space to make it feel more comfortable or usable. These two findings in particular generated the ideation process you will see below.
Ideation
Based on the results of each of our observations, we did individual brainstorming to come up with several ideas for how we could augment the workplace. We then moved on to group brainstorming, where we consolidated our individual ideas, and came up with new ideas as a group. After this, we voted for each idea to narrow down our list of ideas to the three that we thought were most promising. For each of these three ideas, we moved forward to sketching.
Proposals
Status Display
Shows whether a coworker is available or not
Shows whether a coworker is available or not
Allow us to introduce this idea with a short story:
You want your product manager to review your design work, and you run across the office to their desktop to see if they are available and it turns out aren't there. The deadline is so close! Where have they gone? What are they doing now? How long will they come back? You call/text your product manager and it turns out they are in a meeting which you wish you hadn't interrupted.
Status Display shows coworkers’ current status so that you know if your product manager is having lunch, or on the phone, or in a meeting, or away from desk (if other information is not present). Status information about the coworker you want to reach can be aggregated from sources like their phone, or calendar. (Location data from the phone, or meeting/event information from their calendar, for example).
You want your product manager to review your design work, and you run across the office to their desktop to see if they are available and it turns out aren't there. The deadline is so close! Where have they gone? What are they doing now? How long will they come back? You call/text your product manager and it turns out they are in a meeting which you wish you hadn't interrupted.
Status Display shows coworkers’ current status so that you know if your product manager is having lunch, or on the phone, or in a meeting, or away from desk (if other information is not present). Status information about the coworker you want to reach can be aggregated from sources like their phone, or calendar. (Location data from the phone, or meeting/event information from their calendar, for example).
Sound Monitor
Monitors noise levels to show how loud employees are being
Monitors noise levels to show how loud employees are being
Working in an open office can mean facing distractions from co-workers socializing or listening to loud music. Distractions make for an inefficient work environment. Sound Monitor senses how loud an employee is being, so they know when they might be disturbing others. If someone continues to be distracting, anyone in the office can anonymously set that employee's light to flash - letting them know that they should quiet down. This helps improve the workplace by managing noise levels in a non-confrontational manner.
Office Window
Adds ambiance to enclosed office spaces
Adds ambiance to enclosed office spaces
Office workers are in the office for more than 40 hours a week, and their work environment is one of key factors influencing their mental state and productivity. To this point, famous software companies tend to provide relaxation and comfort in the workplace to attract the highest level talent. But even the best companies reduce costs by utilizing the cubicle or group desk design for their workspace. We learned in our interviews that these kinds of workspaces can be oppressive and uncomfortable for employees. Some office workers feel their workplace is sterile and in need of comfort improvement.
Office Window is a virtual visualization of the outside world in a picture frame to improve working atmosphere and feeling of comfort. It brings the beauty of nature to the interior workplaces. The goal is to reduce anxiety and increase productivity in the workplace. The faux window streams the videos that can be live content, or pre-recorded footage by users. The visualizations would consider realtime factors of the outside world (temperature or colors) or even the users’ preferences. It has a speaker, a fan underneath, and can have different smells so it’s truly simulating having an open window. It can be connected to your calendar to change the videos based on your schedule.
Other abstract ideas include:
Office Window is a virtual visualization of the outside world in a picture frame to improve working atmosphere and feeling of comfort. It brings the beauty of nature to the interior workplaces. The goal is to reduce anxiety and increase productivity in the workplace. The faux window streams the videos that can be live content, or pre-recorded footage by users. The visualizations would consider realtime factors of the outside world (temperature or colors) or even the users’ preferences. It has a speaker, a fan underneath, and can have different smells so it’s truly simulating having an open window. It can be connected to your calendar to change the videos based on your schedule.
Other abstract ideas include:
- Feed plants in outside of the virtual window.
- A bird randomly comes to your window to remind you to take a rest.