GR1 - Project Proposal and Analysis
Problem Statement
Members of a dorm community, including both those involved in management and usage of the dorm, need a convenient way to keep track of information about the dorm. This includes information about dorm facilities and their availability, living conditions of residents, and information about dorm-wide events and maintenance. Dorm management staff have difficulty conducting smooth operation of dorm resident inflow/outflow, as well as physical maintenance of the dorm; the necessitated use of paperwork and decentralized tools make these tasks inconvenient.
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Group Members: Viet-Tran Nguyen, Sumit Gogia, Daniel Martelly
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User Classes
- 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
- Dorm Resident
- Regularly uses dorm facilities
- Keeps track of dorm events
- Keeps track of dorm maintenance
- Monitors living conditions of other residents
Conclusions
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Breakdown of Some Common Tasks
1.
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Physical Maintenance
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Basic breakdown
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- Dorm management is alerted to maintenance requirement.
- Management files maintenance report.
- Dorm management sends request to staff for maintenance.
- Staff makes repairs to affected parts of dorm.
- Staff informs management of issue and resolution.
- Management files report on maintenance conduction.
- Delivery man delivers packages
- Desk worker logs packages into computer system
- Student is alerted to new package
- Student picks up package
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Key points of communication
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- Management informs maintenance staff that maintenance is required.
- Maintenance staff informs management of maintenance conduction.Packages for a student is waiting at front desk
2. Moving in to a room
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Basic breakdown
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- Room must have been cleaned before new resident is allowed to move in
- Dorm manager sends email to desk workers giving the all clear
- Resident receives email saying they are cleared to move in
- Resident physically meets desk worker to check in and receive key
- Resident moves in
- An email is sent to resident after a week to check up on them
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Key points of communication
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- Room is cleaned
- Room is available for moving in
- Room has been moved in to
- Check up email has been sent
Interviews
Users include the classes mentioned as interview subjects. Essentially, they are all people who need to keep track of dorm facility availability, usage, and maintenance, as well as living conditions of the various residents, though at varying levels.
Dorm Manager
The dorm manager was is hired as a full-time employee to manage a couple of buildings including Next House and Tang. He is in his late thirty and is a very dynamic individual. He started to work at 8am and end his day at 3pmresidential dorm. His primary tasks are to manage maintain the dorm condition including desk workers, janitor, and mechanics. He also in charge of coordinating with the dining to ensure the whole building is secure and students’ roaster are up to date. In order to do all of these tasks, he uses three to fours different software packages provided by the housing web developer in addition to spreadsheet and paper works. In addition, he also reported to send/receive more than 100 emails a day for communication.
Requirements
's physical condition, and oversee the moving of long-term students in and out of the dorm. He does this by recording information in paper reports, as well as using decentralized software tools for communications with staff and updating building information.
Requirements
- Prefers Prefer to have centralized tools to manage his house/dorm including keeping track of student move in/move out during school year
- Prefer Prefers a modernized and visual display instead of dense text, spreadsheet, or paper-based documentation.Want to have a tool/application to manage the facilities/dorm properties when people checkout items.
- Want an alternative way where students can supply pictures to report problems with facility to make it easier for him to identify the problem.
- Wants a way to keep track of all the current maintenance being done in the dorm.
Desk Worker
This desk worker was is hired from outside of MIT to work approximately 8 hours a day at a dorm on MIT campus. He is in his late twenties and is comfortable using computers. As a desk worker, he has various small tasks between which he must switch between often. His highest priority task is to watch the door and ensure that non-residents check in with him first. If non-residents are on a guest list, they are allowed to pass through after signing in. Otherwise, non-residents must wait until a resident picks them up. Another important daily task is to mediate package delivery to students. Desk workers receive packages on behalf of the student, and then alert the student so that may pick it up at their convenience. One task which the desk worker thought was particularly confusing and inefficient was facilitating moving in and out of rooms. Organizing information about the state of the rooms such as current occupant and necessary repairs is desired. Currently, this task is done using paper, excel spreadsheets, and communicating through email. Other tasks include sorting mail, giving spare keys, renting out various items, and locking up the dorm piano every night.
Requirements
- 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.
Dorm Resident
This user makes personal use of dorm facilities such as exercise equipment, refrigerators, and mailing systems. They also monitor important dorm-wide information such as dorm event announcements and dorm maintenance announcements to participate in dorm activities and prevent disruption in plans respectively, as well as physically check on living conditions of friends and other residents they may need to get in contact with.
Requirements
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- Packaging System (are desk workers present?)
- Laundry (are dryers/washers taken or usable?)
- Exercise equipment (do we have a treadmill and is someone currently using it?)
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- Mail System (has my mail been shipped/arrived, where in the world is it?)
- Laundry (how much time until my clothing has dried?)
- Personal cooking (will my brownies ever finish baking?)
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- Room's semester occupancy (is this someone's address?).
- Room's current occupancy (is the person living here available?).
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to help house management by aiding the house manager in his tasks, except serving as a more accessible liaison. Typically, they are the one that dorm residents come into contact with first when initiating moving in/out, before the manager is contacted, and also manage information when the house manager is busy conducting various other tasks, such as by checking students' move statuses, exchanging their keys, and toggling card access.
Requirements
- Needs a visual tool for looking over room occupancy information.
- Needs an organized, electronic tool for keeping track of which students are moving where.
- Needs a way to notify management and be notified by management of student move process.
- Example Key exchange
- Needs to be able to file reports on maintenance in absence of manager.
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.
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