Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity:

In busy parking garages and parking lots, it is difficult for drivers to find an empty parking spot in a reasonable amount of time, while also paying full attention to the surroundings, because of the large number of cars and the limited amount of spaces.

Who: Drivers who park in busy parking garages/parking lot

What: They are unable to find parking spots in an efficient amount of time

Why: There is currently no way to display where open parking spots are to people entering parking lots/parking garages

Testing the Hypothesis:

Who: Drivers who are constantly parking in busy parking garages and parking lots need this. Not all drivers face this problem regularly, but many do during peak times of the year or attending busy and popular locations. For example, many college students face this problem as there are limited places to park on campus for a large number of students and faculty.
What: Observing the issue, not all parking garages or parking lots are a problem year-round or during certain times of the day. Typically, parking becomes more of a problem during a time when a lot of people are at one place, like at stores during the holiday season. Some places also do not face the terror of parking because they may have a constant flow of people coming and going, whereas a place like a university does not have such a steady flow as a lot of people do not move their cars throughout the day if they have no need to drive anywhere.
Why: The reason that finding an open parking spot is so difficult is due to the lack of enough parking spots and the excessive number of cars in one area, and this stands for everyone who faces this issue.

Interview:

Interview #1:

This interview was conducted with a University of Florida student, who lives on campus and believes that parking is a major issue here. She explains that whenever she has to move her car from a parking spot at the university she fears not being able to find a parking spot wherever she is going or when she is returning back to her dorm. The interviewee explained that even though there are a lot of different places to park on campus, it feels like there are a lot more people than open spots. She feels that sometimes finding a spot takes such a long time that she ends up walking, though she would rather drive.

Interview #2:

In this interview, I found that the issue of finding a parking spot was relevant to a large amount of people as I interviewed an adult male who explained that parking was one of the worst parts of driving. The man lives in a popular area where walking is not an option. He experiences this problem often, but especially during busy seasons or busy times during a day. For example, he found himself searching for an empty parking spot for such a long time when going Christmas shopping at the local mall, that he considered leaving and going back home. He feels that a display/app for determining where open spots are would save him a lot of time.

Interview #3:

This interviewee is a freshman at a small private college. She has to experience the terrors of finding a parking spot every day, when returning back to school from a long night at work. She has explained that one time, she had to circle the parking lot for over fifteen minutes to try to find an empty parking spot or someone leaving the school. She explains that she never really experienced this problem until entering college and believes that is a dominant problem in busy areas, with a lot of people who generally stay in one place without a constant flow of traffic arriving and leaving.

Interview #4:

This interview was conducted with a senior citizen, who still drives frequently. He, personally, has not had to experience the difficulty of parking in a busy parking lot or parking garage in a long time, but he does believe that it is a problem in certain areas. He explained that he did not think every parking garage/parking lot needed it, but believes it may be a better opportunity for cities, college campuses, and airports. The interviewee believes that the traffic going in and out needs to be studied of each parking garage or parking lot that could be a candidate before the opportunity was implemented as he does not think it is as great as a need in some parking lots or parking garages.

Interview #5:

In this interview, I had the opportunity to interview a male who lives off campus in college. He has experienced the issues of searching for a parking spot in a busy area and finds it hardest to find an empty spot when he is commuting to school. He enjoys driving himself to school, but explains that he needs to leave a lot earlier than his class actually starts just to ensure that he gets a spot and is still on time for class. He believes that my opportunity would be a great solution to the problem and would allow him to get more sleep and save him a lot of time before going to class.

Reflection:

Based on the interviews, I had the ability to gain a new perspective of my opportunity. I found that the opportunity does exists for many age groups, but it prevails for college students as there are a lot more people and cars than there are places to park. I also learned that the opportunity may not be a universal opportunity and might be a waste of money in certain areas or at specific times throughout the year. For example, in interview #2 even though the adult male does face the issue, it seems that he faces it more during holiday seasons and therefore, the solution may not be needed year-round. From the interviews, I learned that my opportunity would be most needed in areas that are busier and receive a lot of traffic like college campuses, airports, and cities.