User Feedback - Product Validation

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On Friday I was lucky enough to be put in contact with Bruce Parr - a resident of Halston Road, one of the side streets running off Dominion Road near the Chinese District. Bruce heard about my project and was keen to get in contact and see my proposal for himself which was very useful for me coming to the end of the project.

I met with Bruce in an informal interview at the Big Beat Cafe on Dominion Road, and later Diana Elliot also a resident on Halston Road.

First I asked Bruce about his views on walking the side streets at night and any general experiences he had to share. Key insights I noted included:

-Streetlights only on one side of the street, focus on road and leave side walk pitch black - only four lights actually work on Halston Road

-Events at Eden Park draw danger and crime (car break ins at dark, litter etc) when people park their cars in the side streets and walk to the stadium

-Leaves drop from foliage in Autumn and become a regular unseen slipping hazard in the dark

-Cracked and raised footpaths raise another tripping hazard at night, the area has a large elderly population which create a common problem

-The development of the nearby Warehouse car park into apartment complexes will cause more people to park on side roads in future

-Residents narrow driveways force extra cars to park on the road, becoming difficult to access and vulnerable to vandals

-Service Alleys between side roads (i.e. Queens Ave and Halston Road) are completely dark, used by locals as through fare

-Local police do not attend house or car alarms at night anymore due to resource constraints, and a simple light would help a lot

At this stage Diana joined us. I showed Bruce and Diana a small gallery of my proposal, and asked them for their thoughts and how it may be improved:

-From what I gathered both Bruce and Diana were very impressed, and keen to see my proposal go through into real life.

-The "Floodlight" lighting was favored over the "Mr. Bean Spotlight" option, but it was still seen as an interesting novelty

-The high practicality aspect was appreciated in my proposal - as well as the high difficulty of someone stealing the light.

-Bruce suggested the floodlight reach back to the road, so people can see what they are doing with their parked cars in the dark, but other wise the light would solve all the problems as listed earlier.

Lastly, a murder down a Dominion Road side street on a dark footpath in 2014 as mentioned, which would back up my proposal even more.

Overall, this valuable meeting with my two prominent users gave me great confidence going forward with the pitch. The desire for my product is now validated by a plethora of reasoning. I now know my proposal would be appreciated and well received if AT were to take it on into development.