The problem

What is the problem?  There are four main problems that people face when they need to overcome the loss of a belonging.

1. Lack of trust in the community. We don’t know who we can trust.

2. A safe place to ask for help. There are no lost and found offices everywhere.

3. Sometimes there is the intention to help, but it is so hard to reach people

4. There is no feeling of collaboration and help.

Context research

Urban Areas: High-density cities experience more frequent loss of items due to crowded environments.

• Public Transportation: 25%
• Events/Public Gatherings: 20%
• Parks and Recreation Areas: 15%
• Retail Stores and Shopping Malls: 12%
• Airports and Hotels: 10%
• Restaurants and Cafes: 8%
• Schools and Universities: 5%
• Fitness Centers: 5%

Trust Issues: Hesitation to trust strangers with lost items is common.

Community spirit: The U.S. has a strong culture of volunteering and community support, which is beneficial for a lost-and-found app.

Privacy concerns: Users are concerned about sharing location or personal information; strong privacy controls are crucial.

Causes of loss

Distraction
40%

Crowded Spaces: 30%

Inadequate Storage: 15%

Rush: 10%

70%

of U.S. adults use social media

85%

of U.S. adults own a smartphone

Approximately 67% of U.S. households own a pet, and 15% of pet owners report that their pets have gone missing at least once.

7% 

Lose their phone annually.

6% 

Lose their keys every year.

10 millions

Americans report losing a wallet or purse annually.

30%

of lost items in public places are not reported.

Age group

Young Adults (18-34 years old)are most likely to lose items (50%), due to social activity.

Elderly Adults (35-54 years old): 30% of reported lost items are often related to work or travel.

Life style

 

High Activity Levels: Individuals with active lifestyles, including frequent travel and social activities, are more likely to losing items.

Economic status:

High income

Community Engagement:

Interest in community-driven solutions and collaborative platforms.

Tech Adoption: 

High usage of smartphones and social media platforms 

Target research

Empathy map

What they think and feel?

  • Keep my belongings safe.
  • Frustration and distress about not having anyone to ask for help.
  • I won’t recover my belongings.
  • Worried about the consequences (time, money, and effort).
  • Hoping for a more honest and collaborative approach.

What do they see?

  • Constant risk of being robbed.
  • Lack of collaboration and willingness to help.
  • Poverty and scarcity.
  • Lost and found offices are only available in private places.
  • Uncertainty about where to go or whom to ask for help.

What they hear?

  • Negative opinions.
  • Hopeful comments.
  • Ideas about the whereabouts.
  • News about robbery and insecurity.
  • Negativity.
  • News, radio, and social media.

What do they say and do?

  • There may be a mental block when trying to find a solution.
  • Ask for help from people around them.
  • Call friends and family.
  • Turn to authorities or official places.
  • Feel anxious.
  • May not be able to think clearly or find obvious solutions.

Efforts

  • Patience.
  • Security concerns about fraud and theft.
  • Privacy of personal data.
  • Frustration due to uncertainty.
  • Risks of not being helped or heard.
  • Visibility.

What do they say and do?

  • Finding or returning an object.
  • Forming a community that seeks a common benefit.
  • Helping the community.
  • Raising awareness of a problem.
  • Mass distribution of an announcement.

Primary Users:
18-34 years old.

Why: This group is highly active, making them more prone to losing items.
Tech-Savvy: Comfortable using apps and social media platforms.
High Engagement: Likely to engage with a social app.

Secondary Users:
(35-54 years old):

Why: Often involved in work-related activities and travel, increasing their likelihood of losing items.
Value Convenience:
Appreciate practical solutions that simplify their lives, such as an app that facilitates lost and found.

Pet Owners:

Why: Approximately 67% of U.S. households own pets, and about 15% of pet owners report losing their pets at least once.
High Emotional Investment: Pet owners are likely to use an app to recover lost pets and may engage with features related to pet recovery.

Note

Information and data obtained from online and digital sources, as well as from surveys and interviews conducted

Market research

Jobs to be done

Main JTBD

Recover

Lost 

Items

Help users easily recover items they have lost by connecting them with the right people who can return the items.

Related Needs: Ease the process of reporting and finding lost items, ensuring trust and privacy.

Return

Found 

Items

Allow users who find items to return them to their rightful owners in a secure and effective manner.

Related Needs: Offer a reliable system for identifying and contacting the owners, and facilitate communication between finders and owners.

Other JTBD

Foster Trust and Security I Encourage Community Collaboration I Enhance Visibility and Engagement I Enhance Visibility

Let the creativity fly

Crazy 8

I executed the ‘Crazy Eight’ strategy to stimulate my creativity and find the best possible solution to solve the problem.

Story board

Customer journey map

cjm-erik
cjm-zara

User flow

Architecture information

Sketching
wireframes

Prototyping

Low-Fi

After reviewing the user preferences, sketches, and the AI, I finalized the Lo-Fi digital wireframes that contemplated all the screens and their functionality. One of the biggest challenges we faced, was realizing that I needed to add more features than originally planned to give the users a smoother experience within the app.

Check the prototype

Goal

Test the ease of navigation.

Test its intuitiveness.

Test its features.

 Test understandability.

Participants

Students and employees between 25-30 years old. 

Methodology

Online moderate usability test.

Tasks

  • Watch the intro and tell me what is the app about
  • Open a new account
  • Update your personal
    information
  • Check one of your active chats
  • Transfer your rewards to your bank account 
  •  Dive into the track feature and tell me what it is about       
  • Check your last posts
  • Close your account
  • Post your “missing dog” Look for your dog on the corkboard, recover it and give a review to the person that rescued your pet. 

Contrast to enhance readability.

Use more precise terms.

Out

comes

1. Complement with additional animations.

2. Retain key features in the menu.

Update the home screen with features that add value and are relevant to users’ goals: posting and searching.

The main takeaways of the project was to keep it simple, using classic elements to create familiarity and ease, which enhances intuitive use. Over 140 screens were developed and tested with real users in a controlled setting, resulting in no major changes needed. The main challenges were related to animations, an aspect we wanted to include in the project, which was resolved by using specialized software like After Effects. For future projects, it’s recommended to invest more time in the prototyping and testing phases rather than in research and empathy, this will help for further mastery of the necessary tools and software.