Blog

Modified from the Udacity Course: Introduction to the Design of Everyday Things Introduction: Your Task: This project consists of creating a conceptual model for a mobile time­bank device that fits in your wallet. A time­bank allows people to exchange their time for another person’s time. To keep things simple, everyone’s time has equal value: my hour is worth the same amount as your hour. This is an open­ ended project with many creative directions that you can take it. Follow the instructions below and think big. Payments or exchanges have been around for a long time. And digital payments – or digital wallets – are becoming increasingly popular. We are going to take the idea of a digital wallet and give it a twist. You’re going to construct a conceptual model for a new time-bank mobile device. So, what’s a time-bank? Instead of using money as a means of exchange, it uses how much time people have worked. The time-bank allows people to exchange their time and expertise for another person’s time and expertise. To keep things simple, everyone’s time has equal value. My hour is worth the same amount as your hour. The time-bank device is up to you to design. It may have a credit card sized screen with a touch interface and fit in a wallet, or can be something else if you like. The device works by keeping track of how many hours you have expended for other people. Then, if you need something done, you can hire someone else to do it for you. If it takes them 4 1/2 hours to do the task, you pay them with 4 1/2 hours from your time-bank account. The time-bank device indicates how many hours of credit are in a person’s account. Consider Alice. She might need some task done. The device helps find all people who have advert

ised their availability to do Alice’s task and the amount of hours they charge for the service: call these people the “Service providers.” Then, the device indicates which service providers are affordable, given the amount of hours in Alice’s time-bank. Alice then selects a service provider: let’s assume she selects Bob. The device then informs Bob of Alice’s acceptance of his offer and provides the means for Alice and Bob to correspond in order to agree upon the specifics. Once the task is complete, Alice’s device provides a way of transferring hours from her account to Bob’s, where Alice’s device now indicates “less” hours are in her account. The time-bank device indicates just how many hours of credit are in Alice’s account, just as at the start, except it now reflects the lesser amount due to the transfer of hours to Bob. 1. Create a conceptual model of the above time bank system. First, in less than one page, explain how the system would work. You can be creative here. Briefly describe how the above time bank tasks could be accomplished using examples from each of the four different interaction types: For example: One way that “exploring” could be incorporated is by using a GPS sensor. Let’s say that Alice’s work is location specific. Alice needs Bob to fix her sink. The GPS might be used to determine if/when Bob arrives at the specified location to carry out the contracted work. 2. Create a pictoral/graphical representation of the conceptual model. There are many different ways to model the system, so feel free to use balsamiq, which I have shared the license code with the class in this module. One example of a conceptual model is attached to this assignment. Submit your conceptual write-up as a word doc here.