Visit OBX
Efficient digital solution for workflow optimization for Hotels
The project focuses on developing an innovative digital tool to streamline information management and enhance operational efficiency for Visit OBX hotel's, helping to optimize daily hotel workflows and improve employee productivity.
ABOUT CLIENT:
Visit OBX is a hospitality company dedicated to providing top-tier service to guests in the Outer Banks. Visit OBX offers a curated selection of 9 unique and affordable properties in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, providing guests with memorable and budget-friendly vacation experiences.
UX Designer, Hotel Manager, Business Analyst
User Interviews, Secondary Research, Competitive Analysis, Personas, Wireframes, High-fidelity prototype, Usability Testing
Figma, Miro
8 weeks
During my summer visit to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, I stayed at Hotel Blue Heron, one of the VisitOBX hotels, for about a week. While there, I noticed the day-to-day challenges the hotel staff faced, especially during peak season. Curious to learn more, I engaged in conversations with the employees and even had the opportunity to meet the hotel owner. Through these discussions, I gained valuable insights into the difficulties they were experiencing, from managing room updates to handling guest requests efficiently.
This sparked an idea to design a solution that could streamline their processes and improve overall efficiency. With the hotel owner's enthusiasm for exploring potential solutions, I began working on this project for VisitOBX.
Independent Mid-size hotels often struggle with inefficient, manual processes for updating room statuses and communicating between housekeeping, front desk, and management.
This leads to time-consuming tasks, delays in service, and difficulty in managing operations effectively.
Visit OBX caters to two distinct guest types: contract guests and regular guests. Contract guests receive customized services and rates based on their specific agreements, which introduces unique challenges in managing and updating both type of guests information to housekeeping and maintenance teams efficiently. For example, contract guests have different check-out times and stay-over services.
This complexity highlights the need for a tailored solution to streamline these processes.
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Designed a digital application for tablets and iPads, focusing on optimizing housekeeping and room inspection processes, including amenities, to ensure real-time updates to the supervisors.
Introduced features such as room status updates digitally and simplified reporting of room conditions and different hotel amenities.
Conducted usability tests with Visit OBX hotel managers, supervisors, front desk staff, housekeepers, and maintenance teams. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the hotel chain owner was highly impressed with the solution's potential.
During my brief stay in the Outer Banks, I conducted in-depth user research and on-site observations, followed by remote collaboration. I prioritized essential functionalities like housekeeping and room inspections, strategically deferring additional feature enhancements for future iterations.
Handling two distinct guest categories—contract and regular guests—added complexity to the information management system.
Ensuring seamless communication between housekeeping, front desk, and management was challenging.
Creating a system that is both easy for hotel staff to use and robust enough to handle complex tasks was a challenge.
Conducted 25 user interviews with hotel managers, front desk supervisors, housekeepers, maintenance staff, and accountants to gain firsthand insights into their tasks, observe the challenges they face, and better understand their expectations for an improved system.
I discovered that all the roles—from management to housekeeping—sought a more efficient way to access and update information. Centralizing data and streamlining these processes would save significant time, allowing staff to focus on enhancing other areas of the hotel and delivering exceptional hospitality.
Analyzed various articles and reports focused on revenue projections, industry comparisons, and emerging trends in the hospitality sector. This research provided key insights into the operational challenges and potential opportunities for small hotels in improving efficiency and guest services.
Hotels market in the US is anticipated to experience a rise in revenue, contributing the most globally.
Forecasted total revenue generated through online sales in the Hotel market.
Created a flowchart for market trends in the Outer Banks based on primary/secondary research and observations, focusing on factors such as customer preferences, emerging market trends, local special circumstances, and underlying macroeconomic factors.
We identified key themes and systematically organized the collected data around them. This approach allowed us to clearly define the challenges faced by Visit OBX.
The personas were developed to represent key users in the hotel’s operations, based on direct interviews and observations.
Digital application optimized for housekeepers and supervisor/manager with easy-to-use buttons and a simple, easy-to-navigate interface for quick updates while moving between rooms. This ensures real-time room status updates, streamlined reporting of conditions and amenities, and seamless communication between staff and management, boosting efficiency and setting the stage for future system expansion.
Housekeepers can instantly update room statuses for both regular and contract guests, ensuring smooth service with minimal delays.
Front desk staff or management can assign priority tasks directly through the app, eliminating the need for manual communication and allowing housekeeping teams to focus on the most urgent needs.
Issues like missing or broken amenities can be reported instantly through the app with photo documentation. Complaints are automatically routed to the appropriate teams, ensuring quick response and efficient tracking of resolutions.
Employees can update room statuses and report issues with just a few taps, eliminating the need for paper forms or physical check-ins with the front desk.
The wireframes were designed to create a clear, functional layout that visually represents the key features of the housekeeping application.
Prof. Ben Fawzi BenMessaoud, Ph.D
2 UX Researchers. 2 UX Designers, 2 System Architects
User Research, Data Analysis, Literature Reviews, Competitive Analysis, High-Fidelty Design, Usability Testing
Figma, Miro, Adobe Suite
24 months
1] To begin, type anything into the chatbox to wake up FazBot.
2] Asking about topics available will reveal a list of options.
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3] Choose a topic and FazBot will provide assistance regarding the chosen.
Designing a digital system to streamline the daily updating, accessing, and management of information
The goal is to analyze the game by using different psychology theories, and re-design the game to overcome the disadvantages based on the critique of the game.
Slim Volleyball is a simple volleyball game which can be played with 3 arrow buttons (left: to move left side ; up: to jump ; right: to move right side). This game can be played by one or two players. The player can go, left and jump to pass the ball to the other side. The player earns points when the ball lands on the opposite side of the opponent. The ball gets directions according to body hit area of the player. The player can touch the ball multiple times.
To analyze the game, I have used the psychology theories from from Skinner, Deci and Ryan, and Proctor and Van Zandt.
I have tried to understand the different concepts from the theories and note the advantages and disadvantages according to it.
According to Operant Conditioning theory from Skinner, a behaviour is more likely to be repeated if itis followed by a positive consequence, known as reinforcement. Reinforcementcan take many forms, including food, praise, or money, and can be eitherpositive (adding something desirable) or negative (removing somethingaversive). On the other hand, a behaviour is less likely to be repeated if itis followed by a negative consequence, known as punishment. Punishment can alsotake many forms, including electric shocks, scolding, or fines.
Following observations are drawn from the different concepts from the Operant Conditioning theory by Skinner:
According to the Self-Determination Theory by Ryan and Deci, a good game should have competition, freedom, motivation and connection (social media) with other players. If a game has all of these criteria’s, the game can attract more players and keep them engaged in playing the game for longer period of time. When these needs are met, people are more likely to experience intrinsic motivation, or the desire to engage in an activity forits own sake, rather than for external rewards or punishments.
Following observations are drawn from the different concepts from the SDT theory by Ryan and Deci:
According to the Retention and Comprehension theory by Proctor and Van Zandt, there are four stages of information processing: encoding, consolidation, retrieval and comprehension. Recalling/collecting the appropriate data from the memory is crucial for successful performance.
Following observations are drawn from the different concepts from the Retention and Comprehension of Information theory:
To redesign the Slime Volleyball game, I have used the concepts from “Game Design Workshop” and “The Art of Game Design: A Deck of Lenses”. The disadvantages are redesigned to make the game more intuitive and user-friendly.
The design changes can improve the autonomy of the game. Players can choose their court and have real time experience while playing the game. Logo can give unique image to the players and differentiate the game from thesimilar games.
The design changes can improve the relatedness and autonomy of the game. Players can choose their own ball and player appearance. This can affect the “Operant Conditioning” (Positive Reinforcement) and help the players to improve their gameplay performance by observing their moves in a more realistic way.
The design changes can increase the autonomy and competence of the game (Self Determination Theory). Players have the freedom to choose the difficulty level and can improve the competence as there are different levels in the game which can gradually increase the gameplay of the player.
The design changes will give players some more competence. After completing the challenges, the players can be rewarded with some points (intrinsic motivation). The variety of challenges can improve the skills of the player and get more familiar with the game.
Players can be awarded with trophies and badges which can increase their interest in playing the game and completing more challenges and competition. Rewards can also be shared on different platforms if the player wish to show them to friends/followers.
Awards that are given after completing long term challenges(competition) increase the motivation (intrinsic) to play and promote the game.
According to Self Determination Theory, motivation plays a major role in the game and awards can drive the motivation. It can also decrease the “Negative Reinforcement” (Operant Conditioning) as the player will be in touch with the game regularly to win the rewards. Players can fell that they are learning something when they win the rewards.
The aim of this project is to help user easily manage and track their home's electricity consumption, so that they can consume energy more efficiently and spend less money.
Making a sustainable and energy-efficient living is not an easy task and making it affordable is even harder. Electricity Conservation is a global problem, and users are not aware of how to save it. Our project IMENCO - Impactful Energy Consumption will help users conserve electricity more efficiently and contribute to a more sustainable environment.
5 UX Dsigners
User Interviews, Research, Affnity Mapping, High-Fidelity Prototype, User Testing
Figma, Miro
8 weeks
The primary research helped us in understanding the complexity of the problem and its impact on the individuals by collecting data directly from the potential users. We used two methods for primary research: Interviews and Surveys
We conducted 12 interviews: 2 per team member. The interviews were with international students in US, family members and working professioanls.
We found that most of the users were excited to know thier real-time electricity consumption along with controlling the devices remotely.
5 out of 12 interviews told that they are not taking any significant step towards electricity conservation and sustainability.
For Secondary Research, we read multiple research papers and articles on topics related our problem space: electricity consumption, carbon emissons, global warming and smart home appliances. We gathered important insights as follows:
Using the data from the interviews and surveys, we created an affinity diagram, which validated our background research findings.
After analyzing key findings, we segmented our users into two personas in order to streamline the design process and further design accordingly.
We had two brainstorming sessions to come up with different ideas and solution. The first session was a 40-minute session where each team member were putting their ideas according to different categories. This helped us to know the new possibilities and solutions to solve user prolblems.
The second brainstorming session helped us to think of problem-solving in a broad way. We explored new topics and and brainstormed how they are related to sustainability.
Existing Users can sign-in and directly go to the home screen. New users can use sign-up option, where they will be asked to enter the location (zipcode). The app will detect some smart devices and user can add them to the app.
Dashboard screen display the suggestions, weekly energy usage limit, insights, rooms and devices, and tips of the day to conserve electricity.
User can quickly check the status of the devices of a particular room from this screen and control it.
User can add room to the app and further add devices in the room. The app will ask to add members who will be using this room and have control on the devices.
User can add devices to the specific rooms. There are two options for the user to add devices: manually entering the details of the device and scanning the barcode on the device.
Real-time insights displaying total consumptions, savings and tips on how to better maange electricity. Users can also check deatils of energy consumption of a partticular day.
Planners with suggested prompts on how to consistently follow methods to save wastage of electricity. User can watch their conservation journey and future goals.
The project focuses on developing innovative tool for art price estimation and strategies to enhance organic growth, helping Cohart to empower artists and elevate their presence in the art market.
About Client:
Cohart is a vertical social marketplace dedicated to empowering artists and art collectors. It provides a platform for artists to showcase their work, connect with buyers, and manage their careers, while offering collectors a trusted venue to discover and acquire unique pieces.
3 UX Deginers
User Interviews, Secondary Research, Competitive Analysis, Sketches, Low/High-Fidelity Prototype, Usability Testing
Figma, Miro, Balsamiq
8 months
The modern art world is experiencing a profound shift, with traditional pathways for artists to showcase their work, build communities, and manage their careers becoming more fragmented and difficult to navigate.
We designed an art-price estimation tool for artists and introduced features like social media sharing and achievement badges to boost organic user growth and enhance engagement and visibility.
I conducted a final prototype test with 25 artists. The prototype not only helps artists price their work more effectively but also enhances their visibility on social media platforms. Additionally, it fosters connections within their artistic community, providing the motivation and support they need to thrive creatively.
It was a challenge to research and identify the key pricing factors for various types of artwork. Each art type required thorough consultations and verification with industry experts to determine the appropriate parameters.
Pricing art involves multiple factors, including an index number based on the artist’s experience. For emerging artists with exceptional talent but little market exposure, determining an appropriate index number posed a significant challenge.
It was challenging to test the art pricing formulas and prototype with artists of varying experience and expertise. Despite time constraints, our team successfully conducted tests with artists at different skill levels to validate the formulas.
I conducted 6 user interviews with various stakeholders, including digital artist, photographer, illustrator and canvas artists to gather firsthand insights into their experiences and expectations.
We found that most artists believe the marketplace should enhance security against art theft, facilitate networking within diverse artistic communities, ensure fair pricing for emerging artists, and increase visibility for new talent alongside established names.
For secondary research, we reviewed numerous articles and research papers focused on the current art market, digital platforms for artists, and future market projection. We gathered important insights as follows:
Distribution of sold lots across different price segments in the US in 2023:
We analyzed current and historical data to understand global art market dynamics and the distribution of market contributions across regions, focusing particularly on the dominant role of the US.
Projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the art market by 2027
We studied direct competitors and market leaders to uncover strategies and trends that shape the art industry.
We formed various themes and systematically arranged the collected data accordingly. This process helped us clearly define the different aspects of the art market, ensuring a thorough understanding of both challenges and opportunities.
From the examination of user behaviors, needs, and pain points, we have crafted a persona that encapsulates the diverse challenges faced by independent visual artists without a gallery.
We prioritized the insights by consulting with our client and incorporating their feedback. From this collaborative process, we decided to focus on developing a solution that assists artists in pricing their artwork accurately and enhances organic user growth.
We constructed the problem statement based on the prioritized pain points that we identified from research.
We designed an art-price estimation tool for artists and introduced features like social media sharing and achievement badges to boost organic user growth and enhance engagement and visibility.
The tool utilizes art-specific data such as medium, size, and market trends to provide artists with personalized and confident pricing recommendations.
The feature awards badges to artists who complete specific tasks, motivating them to engage actively and enhance their visibility on the platform.
The feature lets artists post artwork directly to stories, including personal moments and motivations, with links for easy access and enhanced visibility.
We conducted a thorough review and analysis of existing tools and articles on art pricing in the market to develop a specialized art pricing formula tailored to each type of art.
Due to confidentiality agreements, I am unable to share the specific formulas for each art type and their workings.
The price estimation tool features a "Need help for pricing" button that initiates a user-friendly process where artists select their art type, input specific details, and then view a graphically represented estimated price. Additionally, the tool includes a "view similar art" option for comparing past sales of comparable works, and provides artists the flexibility to accept or decline the pricing suggestion.
The Achievements section is located under the artist's profile, displays tasks that artists complete to earn badges, which also help determine their artist level.
This allows artists to easily share their artwork directly to social media stories. This tool integrates options for adding personal anecdotes or motivations alongside the artwork, enhancing the posts' engagement potential.
The aim of this project is to assess the cognitive growth of a kid. Cognitive development is a complex and gradual process that begins at birth and continues throughout a person's lifespan. Our project CRAYON consists of two tests to assess the kids conitive growth.
First test is a questionnaire which is completed by parents based on their observations of their kid. Second test is for the kids where they play a few games to assess their cognitive development.
4 UX Designers
User Interviews, Research, Affinity Mapping, Wireframes, High-Fidelity Prototype, User Testing
Figma, Miro
5 weeks
The primary research helped us in understanding how parents think about their kids. Observations by parents can help them better determine where their child needs improvement.
We conducted 8 interviews: 2 per team member. Majority of our interviews were conducted with mothers of 3-7 years old kid.
We noticed that those kids who didn't show growth as a normal kid kept their parent tensed.
Majority of parents were in favour in indulging technologies for their child's cognitive growth and educatioin. However, they also wanted the use of technology upto certain limit.
For Secondary Research, we read multiple research papers and articles on topics related our problem space: cognitive development, disability in kids, cognition recognition, kids learning process. We gathered important insights as follows:
Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) found that 17% of children aged 3–17 years had a developmental disability.
We studied different cognitvie assessment theories like Piagets Theory and Mullen Scale of Early Learning to know how a kid develops his cognitive abilities and how they are examined.
Using the data from the interviews, we created an affinity diagram, which validated our background research findings.
We brainstormed and came up with several cognitive development game ideas for children over the age of four using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, which typically concentrate on a variety of skills like gross motor, visual reception, fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language.
Through research, we attempted to study cognitive development in children. We analyzed the children's learning capabilities and patterns across several developmental domains.
To assess child's cognitive growth, we decided to conduct an examination which consists of two tests:
Using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, we developed several cognitive assessment game ideas for children over four. However, the app advises the parents to seek further assistance from a doctor when the cause of the child's problem is a neuro developmental disorder.
We evaluated our prototype through expert evaluation individually which offered us unique perspectives along with new flows in the app. We also conducted user testing to identify usability issues. We finally iterated the final design based on the feedback received by the user testing.
Existing Users can sign-in and directly go to the home screen. New users can use sign-up option.
Home screen consists of test brief, featured videos and quick reads.
Parents have to add their kids profile on the application to assess thier cognitive growth.
The app will ask to select the pre-existing disabilities of a kid, floowed by few questions.
In the first part of the test, the parent need to answer questions based on their everyday observation of their child.
In the second part of the test, the kids will be asked to play games. As part of the first game, called "The Lost Eggs", the kid has to draw the path that will lead the character to the desired destination.
In the second game "The starry night", kids are assessed based on their ability to count the number of identical items (planets, satellites, meteors, etc.)
In the game "Sand and beach", kid has to drag and drop the objects to the correct empty block.
After completing all the tests successfully, the result of the test is displayed with details. Parent can share the result directly with the doctor if the results are not satisfactory.
The aim of this project is to address the issue of food security in the state of Indiana, USA. This project involves the designing of a comprehensive business strategy model that incorporates cutting-edge IoT technology and intuitive interface design to enhance the overall functioning of the business.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that all residents have access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food, regardless of their income level or geographic location in Indiana.
4 UX Designers
AgriNovus Indiana
Figma
3 months
Food insecurity is an increasing concern in Indiana, impacting a substantial part of the population. According to Feeding America's 2021 Map the Meal Gap report, 11.6% of Indiana's residents, approximately 761,080 people, faced food insecurity in 2019.
FoodFetch connects food-insecure individuals with nutritious groceries using EBT credits. By partnering with local restaurants, FoodFetch lets users place bulk orders, sourced through trusted vendors.
With just a few clicks, users can select a nearby restaurant, order, track, and pick up their groceries—making access to healthy food simple and convenient.
This solution not only streamlines access to healthy food but also leverages existing infrastructure to support communities in need.
I conducted user testing of our final prototype with 11 diverse participants, including restaurant manager, EBT cardholders, senior citizens and students, to gauge its potential impact on their daily lives. Here's a summary of the key findings:
Finding data on grocery stores and restaurants in Indiana's food deserts was a major hurdle. Our solution, FoodFetch, relies on restaurants to provide groceries to residents in these underserved areas, making accurate location data essential.
Designing a business model for FoodFetch was difficult, as even a small fee increase could deter low-income users. Additionally, the limited use of EBT credits in Indiana added complexity to creating a sustainable and accessible solution.
Time constraints made it difficult to thoroughly test the prototype with a wide range of restaurant owners. Coordinating schedules and obtaining valuable feedback from the limited participants added complexity to the testing process, affecting the depth of insights we could gather.
We read various articles and research papers for environmental analysis to examine and evaluate the external factors that can affect a business, such as market forces, key trends, industry forces and macroeconomic forces.
I conducted user testing of our final prototype with 11 diverse participants, including restaurant manager, EBT cardholders, senior citizens and students, to gauge its potential impact on their daily lives. Here's a summary of the key findings:
We interviewed
2
Ex-SNAP Users
2
SNAP Users
3
Non-SNAP Users
Two of the participants are regular users of food pantry
1
Supermarket Manager
Based on the interviews conducted, it was revealed that the primary challenge faced by individuals is accessing fresh groceries, mainly due to inadequate public transportation. There is a scarcity of grocery stores that accept EBT as a payment method in the suburban regions of Indiana.
Additionally, since many people are employed in low-paying jobs, they cannot afford to own a private car or pay for the high delivery fees charged by various supermarkets.
Individuals who use SNAP benefits are reluctant to pay any additional fees, even if it is just one dollar, for any kind of service.
For Secondary Research, we read multiple articles on topics related our problem space: Food Insecurity in Indiana. We some gathered important insights as follows:
We have obtained certain numerical data from both the FIA (Food Industry Association) and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
We constructed the probelm statement based on the pain points that we identified from the persona.
We created the customer journey by taking into consideration both the scenario and the pain points of the persona.
As a team, we conducted a Crazy 8 brainstorming session and collectively generated 32 ideas for ideation. Out of 32, we selected top 3 ideas to present to our client.
After selecting our top 3 ideas from the brainstorming session, we created storyboards to depict the flow of a user's interaction with the solution. We then consulted with our client, seeking expert advice and feedback on the three solutions.
Following the feedback we received, we made the decision to move forward with the idea "FOODFETCH". We then began developing a business model and strategy to bring this idea to fruition.
Our team designed both a customer journey diagram and a table to illustrate the customer experience for our business.
We have successfully integrated IoT (Internet of Things) technology into our business operations. Now, when our partner vendors deliver a bulk order to the restaurant, a fetcher scans the RFID tags and updates the database accordingly.
Our team designed a business model canvas to help us better understand and visualize our business strategy, key partners, activities, resources, customer segments, value proposition, cost structure, and revenue streams.
To gain insights into our business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, we conducted a SWOT analysis.
Our team delved into the process of creating, delivering, and capturing value for our business. We explored the benefits for restaurant owners, which led us to develop a strategy for attracting partners to our business. Additionally, we addressed the challenges of navigating regulatory restrictions that may impact our operations.
Designing a high-fidelity prototype allowed for detailed exploration and evaluation of user interactions.
To identify any potential usability issues, our team carried out mobile demos and user testing. Based on the feedback received from the user testing, we made iterations to the final design to improve its overall functionality and user experience.
FoodFetch allows restaurant owners to sign up and become registered with the FoodFetch. Through the FoodFetch, the restaurant can receive orders in bulk.
Customers can order groceries from the nearest restaurant that has partnered with FoodFetch. The application enables customers to locate the nearest restaurant and place their order using EBT credits.
The Fetcher scans the RFID tags and records the information in the application. This allows customers to be notified when their ordered groceries are ready for pickup.
