As part of Week 0, all year groups were in the studio for a day long group activity. This included first, second and final years along with some masters students. After a quick intro, we were split into groups consisting of 2 from each year. We were given a location in the university and a task/challenge to complete at that location.

My groups location was the Starbucks in the reception of the main building. Following the steps we were given, we then had to come up with a modification we would make to that location. It was clear that Starbucks was a very heavy footfall area, even in the short time that we observed it. This then had an impact on the staff who were under pressure, in particular as there was a consistent queue. As a result of this, two of the stakeholders we interviewed were customers and both experienced a rushed and negative interaction. The location was very open planned with lots of space, so it gave us a good opportunity to make modifications.

Looking at the area, there was a menu on the wall behind the till, however this used a small font, which I struggled to read. It added pressure to one of the customers we interviewed as she had to order on the spot and struggled to read the menu. We also noticed that there was very limited digital interaction. This in particular was strange, as it was a university environment, whose main consumer would be young adults, who are very familiar with technology. So this was an area we felt could be a good place to add modifications.

After completing the relevant tasks, we moved to the challenge of adding something to the location to improve the issues we found. Taking the lack of digital interactions and the main clientele who would be using it, we came to the conclusion that adding in self-service kiosks would help solve some of the issues we found.

This was an interesting group project as it was in a short time frame and with people I hadn’t met before. Also, that I hadn’t known what the project was until it started. It was good for getting back into the way of thinking after finishing placement over the summer. It was nice to see the other year groups as this hadn’t been an option before.