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Problem Statement
Dorm management staff need a convenient way to maintain have difficulty conducting smooth operation of dorm resident inflow/outflow, as well as physical maintenance of the dorm; paperwork and decentralized tools make these tasks inconvenient.
Group Members: Viet-Tran Nguyen, Sumit Gogia, Daniel Martelly
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- Dorm Manager
- Hired from outside of MIT to manage two buildings including Next House (primary) and Tang Building
- Keeps track of housing condition, desk workers, maintenance
- Using software provided by campus housing
- Tasks involve using both web application and paper
- Desk Worker
- Hired from outside of MIT to work approximately 8 hours a day at a dorm
- Tend to be in their late twenties
- Comfortable using computers Conclusions
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Breakdown of Some Common Tasks
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- As a desk worker, he has various small tasks between which he must switch between often.
- Highest priority task is to watch the door and stop non-residents.
- The most confusing task is keeping track of who moves in and out of which rooms when. Requires effective communication between multiple desk workers, dorm manager, and relevant student.
- The front desk has various items for rent. However, the current system is extremely poor in logging which student has rented what mostly due to it being prone to mistakes and therefore being unreliable.
- One of the most common tasks is delivering packages. This involves receiving the package on behalf of the student, alerting the student to the package’s arrival, and then student pick up.
- Other tasks: mail sorting, giving spare keys, locking piano at 11pm.
From these interviews, we conclude that dorm management staff typically want to have a centralized location to view and update information about the living condition of residents of the dorm, as well as view and update information about the physical maintenance of the dorm.