GR1 - Task analysis

User analysis

The users would be MIT community members, especially the undergraduate and graduate students. For security reasons, the users should be able to prove their identities by using MIT web certificates.

Characteristics:

• mostly 18-25, male and female, English-speaking
• computer literate
• may be financially tight
• may not necessarily have many opportunities to socialize due to heavy courseloads
• high email use, but unlikely to go to the website frequently
• don’t want to spend a lot of time on the website
• don’t want to have to register (use MIT web certificates for automatic detail-gathering)

Needs:

• want to save money on transportation
• have busy schedules, wants to save time and energy by driving or taking cabs to places
• interested in meeting new MIT people

Personae:

1. Aly is an MIT sophomore who goes home to Florida at the end of every semester. She always buys cheap flights and they normally leave in the early morning before the public transportation system operates, so she takes a cab to the airport. One day, to her surprise, she met another MIT student in Logan Airport and they both realized that if they had known that they were traveling at the same time, they could have shared a cab and saved $20 each.
2. Bo is an MIT graduate student who loves cooking, but going to the supermarket to buy groceries is a hassle because it is far away and carrying the groceries home is cumbersome. He would like to rent a Zipcar to solve the problem, but he wants to find someone else to go with him so that he can share the cost of the rental and gain new friends.
3. Carrie is an MIT freshman who wants to visit Walden Pond over a weekend but all her friends are too busy to join her or may not be interested. She would like to find some MIT students she may not know yet to take a trip to Walden Pond with her.

Task analysis

1. Search for a ride share
   • GOAL: Find an already-advertised ride share with a destination and time within certain boundaries.
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate and have an outing and time frame n mind.
   • SUBTASKS:
     • enter keywords for destination (or choose from drop down list)
     • enter date and time range (optional)
2. Post a ride share
   • GOAL: Inform other users of interest in sharing a ride for a specific outing at a specific time. Other users can find the advertised ride share by search.
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate.
   • SUBTASKS: 
     • enter starting location and destination (e.g. from MIT to Logan airport) 
     • enter specific time, possible time range, or leave unspecified 
     • enter mode of transportation (taxi, Zipcar) 
     • enter expected cost for passengers 
     • remove ride share posting if desired
3. Communicate with Other Users
   • GOAL: Set up ride shares, exchange contact information, etc.
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate and find the ride share that meets his needs. 
   • SUBTASKS
     • navigate to user’s profile, click ‘message’, fill out form, and send OR
     • navigate to inbox
     • ‘compose’ new message to user
     • ‘reply’ to existing message threads
4. Set up a profile
   • GOAL: Advertise interests and favorite destinations to other users (i.e. I would be interested in a recurring ride share to Costco). 
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate. 
   • SUBTASKS:
     • list general desired destinations
     • notate access to car/passenger capacity
     • enter departure location (optional)
5. Invite Friends
   • GOAL: Invite other users or non-users to see a ride share posting. 
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate and select the posting to invite others. 
   • SUBTASKS: 
     • select ride share posting
     • invite other users to share the ride.
     • email non-users about the ride opportunity. 
6. Manage Account
   • GOAL: Update account details.
   • PRECONDITIONS: User must be logged in with MIT certificate and navigate to the manage account page. 
   • SUBTASKS: 
     • set up email notification forwarding
     • delete account

Domain analysis

A user can post and search for ride share opportunities to given destinations. Every user has an associated account, profile, and mailbox. The mailbox is used to communicate with other users about the ride share opportunities.