Author: Jacob

Date: 3/9/17

Mark, Olivia, and I took a visit to the Boys and Girls Club main campus to gain further insight on the issues that they are facing. After walking into the facility, I realized what a great place they have for these teenagers. Unfortunately, the attendance is at about 20 kids a night compared to more than 100 some years ago.

We had the chance to interview Camille, an important leader of the club. During our talk, we asked the following questions:

“How many kids currently attend the club and what do they partake in when they are here?”

“What do you think the biggest problem is for kids attending the club?”

Regarding the first question, Camille stated that the number of kids is usually around 20 a night compared to over 100 when they had better transportation. She showed us the different rooms within the club where kids have a chance to do homework or go and partake in athletic facilities. My favorite part of the club from what I have seen was the big basketball court that they have. Having a court like that should bring in a ton of teenagers from around South Bend.

Camille answered the second question by stating that transportation is by far the biggest problem that the club is facing. She currently drives a van that is able to pick up a few students but she is only able to make one trip every day because she has responsibilities at the club as well. She told us that if we could figure out a way to get better transportation for these teens, the number of attendees will sky rocket.

The gallery day was a huge success for our group. We were able to talk to a couple of the leaders within the Boys & Girls club, and show them what we have worked up thus far. We started by showing them the many different views people have on the club, focusing mainly on the current teenagers that either do or don’t attend. We came to the conclusion that transportation is the biggest issue that the club faces in trying to get more teens to attend. They currently have only one van that is able to make a single pick up. Our goal moving forward is to find out a way that the club can get more vans or have a bus system work in order to get these teens to their destination.

Design Goal: What have you learned about the target customers? What ends (functional, emotional, psychological, social) does the design need to fulfill for the target customer?

 

From our research, we have found that teens will attend the Boys and Girls Club for a multiple of reasons. Whether it is to get some homework done or take part in athletic activities, many teens see the biggest benefit of attending the club is the social aspect. Instead of being home alone and bored, these teens will go to the club to hangout with friends and meet new people. Our design is focused on getting more teenagers to ultimately attend the club by creating more awareness and finding out a solution to their current transportation issue.

 

User Perceptions: How important is your proposed offering to the target customer’s well-being? Are there aesthetic attributes necessary to succeed with the target customer? Are there reputational aspects involved? What are the key research insights?

 

As we market the Boys and Girls Club, we wish to show teenagers all the different benefits they will obtain by joining. It is important for kids to join because instead of being bored and possibly making bad decisions, they can instead better themselves and meet a ton of new friends. Regarding the reputational aspects, we asked some teenagers why they don’t attend the club. One of the most common answers we received was that “It is for little kids.” We weren’t very surprised by this, noting the name of Boys and Girls Club. As a proposed solution, we stated to Camille, the head of the Boys and Girls Club in South Bend, that they should try changing the name when you are dealing with teenagers so to not scare them off. After gathering an abundance of research though, we found that transportation is the biggest issue in getting more teenagers to attend the club. Camille stated that when they were supplied transportation, more than 100 kids would be coming to the club every day. As of now, the club only has one van that can make pick ups and the number has dropped to about 25 kids a night.

 

Problems/Needs/Opportunities: What are the target users preferred outcomes as they engage with the offering? What pain points does the target user experience with existing options? What gaps exist with existing options that may hamper the target user’s ability to achieve preferred outcomes? What are the newly emerging needs or aspirations of the target user?

 

The target users in this case are the teenagers that want to attend the club. Their preferred outcome is that they are supplied with transportation so they are able to get to the club. Some current pain points that these teenagers have to deal with are having to pay local transportation in an attempt to reach the club, while some will even have to walk to try and get there. Camille told us about a teen that once got jumped on his way to the club. We know that kids are not going to try and walk to the club if they feel that their safety may be in danger. Next to that, the weather in South Bend tends to error on the side of horrible and no kid should have to be walking in the freezing cold or rain just to try and attend a club. In regard to paying for local transportation, no kid at such a young age has a job that could be constantly be paying for bus fares. While a couple kids are fortunate enough to have a car, they aren’t legally allowed to be driving more than one passenger, which causes a serious problem for these teens. Ultimately, these teenagers need to have transportation that they could use immediately after school in order to get to the club.

 

Functional Attributes: Does the design of the offering need to accommodate specific use-case scenarios? List them in order of importance to the target customer. Does the design need to address compatibility or standards issues?

 

Our design offering will attempt to find a way to get transportation to these teenagers in need. This transportation will need to accommodate the following: free of charge, straight from school, and a safe ride. In the eyes of the teenagers we asked, they see the transportation being free as the most important thing. Our solution to the transportation issue will have to follow a few standards. Some standards may include a safe seat for every teenager that gets on the bus or van, as well as making sure that every teenager that gets on the bus has their own seat and are not doubling up in an effort to get more people in the bus.

 

Constraints: What are the confines of our project work? What limitations might there be based on costs or requirements?

 

While attempting to find a solution to the transportation issue, we must be aware of some of the related limitations. As of now, these teenagers don’t have a productive way for getting to the club. We can’t just go and buy vans or buses for the club because it is simply too much money, which the club can also not afford. One of our proposed solutions to this problem that we are working on is involving Notre Dame on the issue. Students can currently ride local buses for free when showing their Notre Dame identification card. We believe that Notre Dame can put forth some effort and pay the bus organization a set amount monthly, stating that they must allow these teenagers to ride the bus for free if they show them their student ID.

Camille

Date: 3/9/17

Type: Expert Interview

Location: Boys & Girls Club Main Campus

Team Participants: Mark Harrel & Olivia Newey

User Characteristics:

-Middle aged

-In charge of the club at this location

-African-American

-Has a daughter that goes there everyday

-Drives a van to pick up some students

Memorable Quotes:

“Before transportation was an issue, we would have over 100 students coming into the club.”

“We only have one van and I am the one that has to drive it.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Boys & Girls Club main issue is transportation.
2. The Boys & Girls club have another issue where they do not have many employees or volunteers.
3. Kids will be better off if they attend the club.

Key Insight: The Boys and Girls club need to find a way for the teenagers to get to the club. If they do, there will be many more students coming into the club and bettering themselves. Many kids want to go there for the social aspect but can’t go because they don’t have a ride.

 

Nick

Date: 3/15/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: Phone

Team Participants: Conducted Interview alone

User Characteristics:

-current teenager

-athlete

-good grades

-caucasian

Memorable Quotes:

“I don’t go to the club because I don’t see a need for it.”

“After school, I go straight to practice and workouts. Then I have to get home to do my homework.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Athletes are less likely to attend the club
2. Kids will only go to the club if they feel there is a need
3. Many teenagers think that the Boys & Girls Club is for little kids and not teenagers like them

Key Insight: Athletes and kids who already have really good grades probably won’t attend the club because they don’t see much of a need. With that said, some will still attend for the sole reason that they like the social aspect.

 

Mike

Date: 3/15/17

Type: Individual Phone Interview

Location: Phone

Team Participants: Interview conducted alone

User Characteristics:

-has attended the club for the last 3 years

-likes to go to the club because of the social aspect

-will rarely do homework there

-Caucasian

-teenager

 

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Social aspect is main reason for attendance
2. Many go to the club because they would be bored at home otherwise
3. Many kids wish for more kids to attend because they want to meet new people

Memorable Quotes:

“I like to go to the club because it is a fun and safe place for me to hangout after school.”

“Going to the club is way better than being bored at home.”

Key Insight:

Some students will attend the club for the sole reason that they won’t be as bored. Mike doesn’t live in a neighborhood so it is very rare for him to hangout with friends when home unless someone can drive him to his friend’s house. This makes the club a perfect place for Mike to be after school.

 

Immersion Experience:

For my immersion thus far, I was able to go to the club and talk to Camille and some teens that attend. Moving forth, I intend to keep attending the club every couple of weeks and volunteer for a little bit. When I am there, I plan on playing sports with the kids and talk to them about their futures.

Key Insights: 1. The kids will often attend the club for the social aspect and meeting new people. Next to that, it will keep them from being bored at home. 2. After talking to Camille, the biggest problem is definitely the transportation. If there comes up a way to fund their transportation efforts, many more kids will be better off.

 

Analogous Immersion:

Our team plans on coming up with different activities that the kids can do when they attend the club. For example, we were thinking of having a 3 vs. 3 basketball tournament, with the winning team being rewarded some sort of a prize. On top of that, we are looking into different possible ways that the Boys and Girls Club can be given more vans or better transportation efforts.

1. Why do you think people attend the Boys & Girls club? Why don’t some people attend?
2. What do you think the main benefits of Boys & Girls club are?
3. Do you think the name makes teenagers not want to attend?
4. If you had kids, would you send them to the club?
5. What is the difference between the Boys & Girls club and a normal daycare?
6. Why do you attend the Boys & Girls club?