Posts Tagged Market Research
Determining the App’s Platform
Posted by Ashiru Ali in Contextual Factors and Research, Engineering on 22/03/2015
Web-based or mobile-based application?
A vital consideration to our project is determining which platform to use, as it is generally considered that this has strong implications on usability, ease of use and who might use the app [3]. Based on market research and evaluation of similar apps, there tends to be a wide range of platform usage. This means we are free to choose a platform that suits our app the best, rather than being restricted by what is considered to be a market normality. Firstly, we should compare platforms, and secondly we will conclude with which suits our project the best.
A web application is a piece of software that runs on a web browser (mobile and desktop), written with any of various browsers supported programing languages [1] while mobile applications are software designed to run on mobile devices [2]. Mobile applications are required to be installed and usually platform or operating system specific; mobile apps designed to run on one OS cannot run on another OS without significant changes to the software due to difference of source code programing language etc.
One of the main advantages of web applications is that they run without distributing or installing any software[1], mobile applications on the other hand provide access to the innovative features of mobile devices such as location services, network services, camera, microphone etc. that extends the operability of the application in more useful ways than it is, on a web app. The ubiquity of mobile computing which has shown no signs of slowing[5], makes it important for applications to have mobile versions, while this can be capital and resources intensive it also has the potentials to reach a maximum number of users.
After a careful research of the deliverable features of TravelSafe, the group decided to start it off as a web application with APIs that mobile versions of the application will be incrementally built around. An Application Programming Interface (API) is a way for an application to use and/or exchange data with other applications over the internet [3], some applications like Facebook open their APIs for free while other are rather closed for reasons beyond the scope of this post. TravelSafe will make its data available via an API, which will be used to design the mobile versions of the app for all the popular mobile operating systems as well as extending the functionalities of the web [4].
The TravelMate Web based application will serve as a data and user configuration repository, a separate post has been made on this blog about TravelMate’s data sources (click here), please refer to that post for more details. We are aware that the web version of this application will be limited in implementing the neat granular “Nice to have” features such as voice commands, location detection etc. however it will implement all of the important features such as safest route generation, Alert Pushouts etc. The mobile version of TravelMate will then use the data provided by the web version’s API to extend the functionality of the application by adding all the “nice to have” features listed above, this way we reach a wider population in a very limited time.
This post represents that the group has chosen appropriate economic and social Contextual Factors that directly link to the marking criteria, and are vital to understanding what requirements the product will have in terms of technological platform. This is based on market analysis, evaluation of existing app technology, and identification of platform limitations. There is evidence that questions and the short-list of app features have been chosen intelligently (by reference to literature and analysis) to produce a conclusion of professional quality, leading to a successful product.
This post additionally represents Engineering decisions. This is based on the Contextual Factors and literature review the group have tailored the product to incorporate a platform which has been identified as being useful, technologically reliable and with ease of access. This dictates future engineering steps, illustrates how and why the product has been influenced in its design, and shows how engineering may help solve problems.
Written by Ashiru.
[5] Cambridgescholars.com, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/58105. [Accessed: 26- Apr- 2015].
Target Audience and Pricing
Posted by Emily Pearce in Contextual Factors and Research on 12/03/2015
After the initial meeting where the group decided on the application to create, the next step was to look at the kinds of people who would use it and what they would use it for so that the group could further look into the features of our application and the potential price point for the application.
These are the main audiences the group have discussed so far:
- Tourists
- Locally: people who are visiting a new state or city
- Globally: anyone going to a new country
- People new to an area e.g. when you move house
- Travellers, such as groups of young people on a gap year
Tourists will be those on booked holidays, such as weekends away or two week breaks abroad and would mostly use features such as the ability to store their holiday information, maps of the local area and information on health concerns and local customs. People new to an area could use the application to discover local restaurants or entertainment venues, as well as find safe routes through the city. Travellers would use the features such as the ability to store their itinerary for the trip so they don’t have to worry about losing it, as well as plan where to go next. As well as this, they could use the application to provide basic translation so that they could speak the local language and ask for help.
Jeff Lewis states that “Travel is listed as the seventh most popular app to download with the most successful apps being planning, photography, social, deals and bookings, maps/navigation (particularly offline maps), TripIt, itinerary planning and recommendations” [1] and statistics show that “60 per cent of smartphone users downloaded travel apps, and 45 per cent used the apps to plan and research their trips”. With smartphone users forecast to surpass two billion next year [2], this provides a huge market for travel applications and in an already competitive market, it is important to stand out from the crowd. Because of this, the group has decided to match the pricing point of other applications – free.
The group did consider other options, such as free for a set period of time or set number of users in order to gain a user base, however this idea was discarded as it was felt that it would hinder word of mouth. This was the same case as freemium models, as the group thinks that it is important to not mislead the user and provide them with the best tool possible. Having said this, the freemium model is a fallback plan should the group decide to change our pricing structure.
This post represents that the group has chosen appropriate economic and social Contextual Factors that directly link to the marking criteria, and are vital to understanding what requirements the product will have in terms of target audience and product pricing. These are based on market analysis, evaluation of existing products, and identification of app features. There is evidence that these have been chosen intelligently (by reference to literature and analysis) to produce a conclusion of professional quality, leading to a successful product.
References
- Mickaiel, I. 2011, Mobile the new black for travel, ZDNet [Online] [Last Accessed Mark 2015] [Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/article/mobile-the-new-black-for-travel/]
- Curtis, S., 2014, Quarter of the world will be using smartphones in 2016, The Telegraph [Online] [Last Accessed: March 2015] [Available at:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/11287659/Quarter-of-the-world-will-be-using-smartphones-in-2016.html]
Written by Millie.
Similar Applications
Posted by Emily Pearce in Contextual Factors and Research, Innovation and Creativity (Idea) on 05/03/2015
As part of the research the group conducted into the market and the features we wanted to include, the group wanted to find out what is already out there. There are huge numbers of articles referring to the best travel apps, but below is a breakdown of some applications available on different platforms and that each have a different feature that is going to be incorporated into TravelSafe. At the bottom of this posts are links to related articles from a number of different sites and contributors identifying the top travel applications.
Journi [1]
- social network for sharing posts (pictures and notes with geolocation) to a shared timeline
- can invite friends and family and send them automatic updates in real-time via web/app/email
- further sharing to Facebook and Twitter
- Apple only, Free
- weaknesses: lack of geographical ties or tagging, no offline resources, no travel information.
StaySafe [2]
- GPS tracker app that emails or texts the users exact location to emergency contacts if you don’t check-in (e.g. after working, socialising, travelling alone)
- Works with “sessions” – need to have checked in by end of session
- Apple and Android, £4.99
- weaknesses: No offline resources, no user input to improve safety ratings, expensive.
AroundMe [3]
- finds nearest restaurants, banks, gas stations, book hotels
- Apple and Windows phone, Free
- weaknesses: No real time updated information, no travel information, no offline resources.
EmergenSee [4]
- With just a click of a button, you can transmit video, audio and GPS to your selected friends and family so that they can hear, see and track what’s going on. They can alert authority if you can’t
- Apple and Android, Free
- weaknesses: No user input to improve datasets, no travel information, no offline resources.
TripIt [5]
- consolidates all your travel reservations (hotel, air, car rental etc.)
- Can share itinerary with friends and family
- Apple, Android, Blackberry, Free
- could link this to travel alerts and updates?
- weaknesses: No specialised travel tool such as a route generator, no safety ratings.
AllSubway [6]
- maps for subway and metro in cities around the world
- Apple only, 79p
- weaknesses: No safety information or tips, no offline resources, competes with paper copies in a city.
Road Buddy [7]
- checks publically available police data on criminal damage, drugs offences, public disorder and violent crime and then plots a route avoiding as many as possible on Google Map
- Firefox OS only but planning to expand
- weaknesses: No offline resources, no user input to improve datasets.
SafeRoute [8]
- US only
- Android only, 60p
- provides GPS enabled crime statistics and safety levels for every city in US providing there’s enough crime data
- Provides safety levels for each zip code in some major cities
- Also has comments from users section
- Removed from app store due to pending patent infringements
- weaknesses: Not an original app, no user input, no offline resources, no travel information.
Conclusions
It is apparent through market analysis that a majority of travel and safety apps either do not charge for use, or charge a minimal amount. Therefore in order to keep within the trend of this market TravelSafe should do this is also, which will ensure that it fits the needs of the target audience. Another key trend with the apps evaluated is that often the name of the app corresponds to the basic concept of the project in a few words or less. Again, this is another consideration for the group’s own project, which the current name TravelSafe reflects well. Finally, a noticeable trend with the apps reviewed is that none of them feature more than a couple of definable features, such as emergency contacts input or travel information. This is where the TravelSafe app will find its niche market as it will combine multiple features where existing apps only combine two or three. In order to decide on these apps however, the group has asked for expert advice to help guide the project as the success criteria dictate that the project must not be subjected to extensive qualitative or quantitative tests at this stage.
Based on the weaknesses of these apps, the group are now in a position to create a short-list of app features which other apps in the market to not appear to fully meet. A large consideration for this list is for the TravelSafe app to utilise multiple features. The combination of these features will ensure that TravelSafe is unique, and offers something more than the others on the market.
This post represents that the group has chosen appropriate economic and social Contextual Factors that directly link to the marking criteria, and are vital to understanding what requirements the product will have. These take the form of market analysis, evaluation of existing products, and identification of app features. There is evidence that these have been chosen intelligently (by reference to literature and analysis) to produce a conclusion of professional quality, leading to a successful product.
In addition there is evidence of Innovation and Creativity which is shown via tailoring the group project to address existing weaknesses of app’s in the target market. Subsequently this shows that the product has gone beyond expectations by meeting a genuine gap in a market, which leads to a commercially viable product idea.
News Articles
“The World’s 50 Best Travel Apps” – David Clack (http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/1169/the-worlds-50-best-travel-apps)
“10 best travel apps for iOS and Android” – Jessica Naziri, 2014 (http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/best-travel-app-1278014)
“Best Travel Apps for 2015” – Alexandra Talty, 2014 (http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2014/12/11/best-travel-apps-for-2015/)
“Top 20 best travel apps: recommended by SkyScanner” – James Teideman, 2013 (http://www.skyscanner.net/news/top-20-best-travel-apps-recommended-skyscanner)
Written by Emily.
References
- Journi, 2015, Travel Blogging rediscovered [Online] [Available at: https://www.journiapp.com/] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- Safe Apps Ltd, 2015, Stay Safe – Smart Personal Safety [Online] [Available at: http://www.staysafeapp.com/staysafe-personal/] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- Flying Code Ltd, 2015, AroundMe – Because you’re going places [Online] [Available at: http://www.aroundmeapp.com/] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- EmergenSee App, 2015, EmergenSee Personal Security System [Online] [Available at: http://emergensee.com/] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- Concur Technologies Inc., 2015, Tripit – All of your travel plans on-the-go! [Online] [Available at: https://www.tripit.com/uhp/mobile] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- AllSubway, 2015, AllSubway [Online] [Available at: http://carmat.altervista.org/AllSubway.html] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- Warman, M., 2013, Road Buddy mobile app plots safe routes to walk home, The Telegraph [Online] [Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10047029/Road-Buddy-mobile-app-plots-safe-routes-to-walk-home.html] [Last Accessed: March 2015]
- GeoOasis Inc, 2011, SafeRoute, [Online] [Available at: http://www.geooasis.com/SafeRoute/] [Last Accessed: March 2015]