Find Interviewer and Get their responses - Week 4

Contact company service for the Blind Community

After the project proposal was approved, I immediately create a survey form for the blind community. The survey form was created in English and Bahasa Melayu, in case I met someone who is more fluent in Malay.  

To find the blind community, I try to email Malaysia Association for the Blind (MAB) for asking their permission to interview the blind community. 


However, the company hasn't reply my message. So, I try to contact the service number provided on Facebook. Fortunately, the company picked up my phone. They said they had received my email and need take time for them to reply to my message. They promise me they will arrange an online meeting for me with the blind community. 

On 7 December 2022 which is Wednesday, I received their email. They arranged an online meeting with me on 8 December 2022.

Online Meeting

That online meeting was mostly about understanding why and what I was looking for in visually impaired people. I explained that I need to survey them to gain a better understanding of their habits and the difficulties they were facing. They arranged another slot for me to visit the center and do the survey which is on 13 Dec 2022. 

Besides, they also asked for my sketches to know my design plan so I showed them. They asked me to bring a sample on that day so the visually impaired people could better understand my concept. I explained that I was at an early stage and the plan had not yet been finalized, but they still asked me to bring it.

Discussion with supervisor

I told my supervisor the content of the online meeting. She told me not to bring a prototype there for them because what I needed currently is to investigate their lifestyle, and know about them. I agree with my supervisor's opinion. Therefore, I wrote another email to the center. 


Survey Day - 13 Dec 2022

As a visitor to the center, I bought some handcrafted cakes as a gift for them. In addition, the surveys are going well.


After completing the survey, I came up with a validated user persona and validated problem statement.  

Validated User Persona


Validated User Persona


FOR Ong Jing Hong

WHO wants to find things easily without memorizing 

THE special design device  IS a recommended device for him to record his memory

THAT provides find things without taking time to find them out


Researches Methodology 

Objectives

  • To understand the interviewees’ lifestyles.


  • To know interviewees take how long to memorize a thing.


  • To know about the interviewees’ struggle situation when finding the lost item.


  • To know interviewees organize their belongings in their living place.


Research Procedures 

  1. Visit those existing record products and do the comparison with them. 

  1. Explore record product features from the research.

  1. Craft suitable interview questions based on my research.

  1. Find interviewees and schedule a meeting with them.

  1. Review & Refine questions. 

  1. Interview users to get useful responses from interviewees.

  1. Organize & Analyse data.



Insights

  • 70% of them rely on many containers to put different items. 
  • 100% of them rely on certain item in certain place.
  • 100% of them are concerned about their certain extend of memorizing.
  • 100% of them rely more on hearing compared to touching. 
  • 100% of them have essential items which are white cane, working bag, wallet and keys.
  • 40% of them can memorize well and quickly when others tell them a series of numbers. 
  • 100% of them can recognise different people voice. 
  • 100% of them claim that sound is very important for them in their real life .
  • 100% of them agree that they take more time to find a lost item and familiar certain thing compared to normal people.



Interviewer Responses

First Interviewer


Summarize KeyPoint of the First Interviewer 


-When I walk around, I use my hearing and my touch. The majority of the time, I can use my hearing to hear cars on the road and water drains to identify the obstacles. 

-When we touch and filter, we will feel the shape first, if something item is in the box, we can’t know, just imagine what the item will be.

-Important items: kettle, the silver cup, rice cooker, white cane. 

-takes 2 or 3 days to memorize the way of walking back home, and walking to work.

-most probably basic items can be identified. Such as clothes, cash

-water glass put on table must be in intended spot, cannot be randomly placed on table or else unable to find.

-I have a certain spot for the white cane. There’s the situation I accidentally put my white cane in my house toilet. On the next day, I am unable to find it, so I have to touch every place in my house slowly. 

-really cannot find and then have to ask for help from someone. 

-The sound system is very useful for us. Cause we very depend on sound.




Second Interviewer


Summarize KeyPoint of the Second Interviewer 


-I use a voice-activated phone, when I want to take a photo, the phone will notify me such as “my face at bottom left, right.” The Al help me know my face is in which spot of the frame. 

-Light intensity will have very loud noise notify me.

-If no people are around in a room and just me, I can hear outside sounds and know their conversation.  

-I can recognize different people's voice

-I can remember the route from my office train station to KL Central Station. The KL station has many lines, and I can go to the one I want. But, I'm not particularly good at memorizing numbers.

-Basic items can be identified 

-Important items: Purse, keys, bags, and boxes for organizing my item.

-My friend came to my house and then randomly placed the TV controller, and I can't find it. 

- I always store my knives in Tupperware. My friend took it one day and never returned to a certain place. I use 2 to 3 days to find it back.

-The same situation happened to me too when I randomly place it. When the item is right in front of me, I keep touching the surrounding surfaces and cannot find it. The item that fell down did not make a sound, which made it difficult for me to find it.

-If I don't put the item back where it belongs right away, I'll forget where I put it.




Third Interviewer

Summarize KeyPoint of the Third Interviewer 


-If the items are very small. I cannot identify easily. Something within grape sizes.

-When I first arrive in a new location, I require assistance. But the next time, I'll be able to go on my own.

-When I go outside, my friend calls me from different directions, I can identify where are there, but not that far 

-When I first time come to a new place, I need someone to guide me. But the next time, I can able to go by myself.

-memorize different people's voice 

-Important items: magnifying glass, phone, working bags, documents

-If every object is grape size, I need time to identify which is which 

-Depends on my managing my belongings 

-If the situation in my house, I also rely on sound




Interview Questions & responses







Interview responses videos

first interviewer

second interviewer

third interviewer



Final Thought

After completing the survey on them,  I also took down their contact information so that I could easily contact them in the future. I now have a better understanding of their difficulties and inconveniences, and I can empathize with their situation and feelings as a result of this survey.

Close your left eye first, then open your right. The world in front of the blind is represented by the image you feel with your left eye. That's right, they can't see any color in front of their eyes, not even pitch black, a void. This is their daily reality: struggling to live in a void.


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