To further meet the APPlying APPtitude brief, I created a short survey to get an idea of the type of users that would be interested in the GigMates app and ideally what features they would like to see within the app. The survey received 18 responses over a week and the responses are as follows:
The purpose of this question was to gauge how often my userbase actually go to concerts and events. The majority (55.55%) go more than once a year, with a mere 22.22% going less than once a year. These results indicate that the event section of the application should take a strong prominence.This question was used to determine how prominent the discovery of other people going to the same events should be – whilst most people go to events with the same people, there is a small niche (22.22%) of people who don’t, which I could capitalise on within the app.Again, this question was used to determine how prominent the discovery features should be. The majority of responses (72.22%) never attended a concert on their own, and a small group (22.22%) did. I can draw the same conclusion from this question – the discovery feature can capitalise on this small group.The vast majority of responses indicated that they would be interested in downloading this app for it’s primary feature – meeting other people going to the same concerts as you.The same conclusion can be drawn from the responses from this question – the connection between users should be the primary feature of the app.This question was used to gauge what economic model the app should take. Realistically, I wasn’t going to set a price for it, but in a real-world context these answers were to be expected – a small amount would, but the vast majority wouldn’t (or would depending on the price, which I imagine would have to be quite cheap). This indicates I should leave the app completely free to download, with potential in-app advertising (though nothing too intrusive!)The final question was used to indicate what my focus should be whilst developing the app. Half of the responses voted for how easy it was to use, whilst the other half were split between how it looks, how much it costs and (stated by the ‘other’ response) how useful it will be. This indicates my focus should be on ease of access, though I need to make sure it’s actually useful and that it looks and performs well on a mobile device. I don’t need to worry about how much it costs as said above.
Overall, these responses have given me a solid direction in which to take the further development process of my app. From what I’ve gathered, I need to focus on the social aspects of the app – in particular, connecting music lovers – and suggesting relevant events to them. I don’t need to worry about a strong economic model as this app is just a prototype, but the responses indicated no price-tag would be best. Finally, my focus should be on the ease of use of the app, but the app should also look and perform well.
BA (Hons) Graphic Communication - Journal 