D&R EXPLORATION REPORT _ cycle 1

ID4250 Exploring Interactions 2012-2013 Interacting In Tomorrows Society _Social City 4205006 Young-In Park

Contents
D&R Exploration Plan Design Goal & Questions Research Questions Research Methods D&R Exploration Activities 02/10~04/10 Online Survey 07/10 Observation @ Schiphol 10/10 Observation & Interview @ Schiphol 17/10 Observation & Interview @ Schiphol D&R Exploration Results Survey Result Observation Result Interview Result D&R Exploration Conclusions Answers to Initial Research Questions Main Findings Conclusion

1/15

D&R Exploration Plan

Research Goal & Questions
I want to investigate current situation (objective) and feelings/thoughts of the users (subjective) so that I can get inspiration for rst idea generation.

Research Questions
I set the questions which I want to get answers for in order to achieve research goal. I expect these questions to be answered after the D&R research. Current situation (objective) 1) How long do they wait? / How earlier do they arrive at Arrivals Gate 2) Do people come together with others? alone? 3) Who are people waiting for? 4) What are people doing while waiting? Thoughts/feelings (subjective) 5) How do they feel? 6) Do they care/want to know others stories? Do they want to talk to others? 7) How do they feel about sharing stories?

Research Methods
1) Online survey 2) Observation 3) Interview

Online survey As research methods, I rst chose online-survey. Its quick and ecient because I can get answers from people who I cant meet or talk face to face. Its also an easy to compose questions in my intended way. It is expected to get me quantitative data of both objective and subjective experiences of people. | On-line survey (google survey form) | English and Korean versions. Answers of Korean version survey will tranlated to English afterwards. | Survey will stay on-line for 3 weeks. (It will be actively publicized for 1 week.) (01/10 ~ 21/10) | 5 ~ 10 minutes per person. | 20 ~ 30 people | Results will be on spread-sheet format.

2/15

Observation Observation will take place at Schiphol airport three times on dierent days and times. Main purpose of observation method is to investigate the current situation (objective facts). Numerical data like waiting time of each person, what people do while waiting and so on. Gathered data will be; numeric data - waiting time of each person, the number of people at one time, factual data - what people do while waiting, whether people come alone or together with others. These data will be written on notes and the observation will be video recorded. | Two times visit to Schiphol (07/10, 10/10, 14/10) | 1 hour each | Result will be written data, photos, video clip if possible.

Interview Interview will take place at Schiphol after observation sessions. Since its dicult to do formal or long time interview in the situation of waiting at Arrivals Gall, interviews will be short with some simple questions like who are you waiting for?, how are you feeling now? | Two times visit to Schiphol (10/10, 14/10) | Takes 5 minutes per person. | around 5 people | video or audio recording if possible

3/15

D&R Exploration Activities

02/10~04/10 Online Survey
Online survey form was made by Google survey form. The survey was published in both English and Korean and participants were recruited on facebook page. Total 14 people participated and the answers were saved in a spreadsheet format. Three survey result in Korean were later translated into English.
Facebook post recruiting participants

survey form (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHBpeXoyYjQ5UXRVNG5aQm9lTGtIUXc6MQ#gid=0)

07/10 Observation @ Schiphol

who when when what how note by myself 10/07 Sunday 5~6pm Arrivals Gate 1,2,3,4 one-hour observation observation, photo taking - fence! People lean on, sit on, play with (children), read newspaper on the Fence! - a lot of family on Sunday?

4/15

Photos taken on 07/10 at Arrivals hall at Schiphol.

10/10 Observation & Interview @ Schiphol

who when when what how note Me with two buddies 10/10 Wednesday 6~7pm Arrivals Gate 1, 3 one-hour observation, interview observation with phototaking, interview with video recording observation - less people than on weekend - Placard machine (Spandoeken?) that I couldnt see this before. - Found people who are talking to strangers. interview - interviewed 6 people, vide recorded with 4 people. - rst introduced me as a student and asked if its okay with video-recording. - People mentioned about mixed feeling - One lady refused to do interview because she felt that she needed to keep watching the gate because she wanted to watch her mother coming and she didnt know when that exactly would be.

a captured image of an interview video taken on 10/10 at Arrivals hall at Schiphol.

5/15

17/10 Observation & Interview @ Schiphol

who when when what how note

by myself 10/17 Sunday 7~8pm Arrivals Gate 1, 2, 3 one-hour observation, interview observation with phototaking, interview with voice recording observation - It was the day I came back from my London trip and arrived at Schiphol as a arriver. I was on the arrivers point of view. I could also observe waiting people from inside the arrivals gate. - First found a person who is actually using the placard machine (spandoeken machine)! - I found the phone booth! that connects inside and outside the arrivals gate. - It was Sunday evening and Arrivals gate was VERY CROWDED. interview - interviewed two people with voice-recording. - One man who was waiting at Gate 1 with a woman - One man who just used the spandoeken machine.

Photos taken on 14/10 at Arrivals hall at Schiphol.

6/15

D&R Exploration Results

Survey Result
Total number of participants : 14 Age on average : 24.21 (max 28, min 21)

How long ago was it?

2 years ~ [3]

Who did you wait for?

Friend(s) [2] Relative(s) [2]

1 year ~ 2 years [2] Other [2] Other [2]

6 months ~ 1 year [4]

~ 6months [4]

Brother(s) or sister(s) [5]

Parents [4]

With whom did you wait at Arrivals hall?

How long did you wait at Arrivals hall?

Friend(s) [4] Other [2]

30 mins ~ 1 hour [4]

more than 1 hour [3]

family member(s) [5]

I was alone. [4] 10 mins ~ 30 mins [7]

How long have you had been away from the arriver(s)?
<= 7 days > 7 days, <= 1month > 1 month, <= 2 months > 3 months, <= 6 months > 6 months, <= 1 year > 1 year, <= 2 years > 2 years, <= 3 years > 3 years, <= 5 years > 5 years 1 2 3 4 5

7/15

How come have you and the arriver(s) had become apart from each other? My sister did backpacking in Asia / Because my relative went abroad for study. / He studied abroad. / My father worked in Saudi Arabia for one month, at that time I lived in Shanghai, China. / My sister studied for 1 semester in Scotland. / My sister moved to the US with her mother when she was 7 and I was 13. / I study in Delft but my dad is in China. / My mother lives in China. / went to do studies. / My brother went to China as an exchange student. / My relative immigrated to Canada. / My sister went to Japan to study there. And she visited back to Korea once during her study.

If the arriver(s) arrived later than expected, how late was she(he)? dont remember. / 30 mins? or 1 hr... I cant remember exactly. / about 20 mins. / 30 mins / 10 minutes later / about 30~40mins/ 15 minutes / 30 minutes / 10 mins

What did you do while waiting?

I was standing and staring at the Gate door. I chatted with the companies. I killed time playing with a mobile phone or reading. I was watching other people at the Arrivals Gate. Other 2 4 6 8 10

Do you remember what other people were doing at Arrivals hall? Just chatting, looking at the monitors to stay updated, checking their phones, etc. / watching TV or doing something with their laptop. Someone was reading a newspaper. / same as me, also playing with mobile phones, but as far as I remember nobody read a book or something. / Just stood and waited. / The same as me. / Someone had a poster, owers, talking to each other, watching the door. / Holding a welcome surprise(ag/slogan/sheet/balloon/owers) in a small group. / wondering around the gate area as well, sitting down on the seats etc or relaxing in a nearby cafe. / Looking at the door. Talking to each other. Sitting at the bar? There is a bar near arrival gate.

How did you feel while waiting?

Bored (29 %) Nervous (36 %) Worried (14 %) Happy (36 %) Excited (50 %) Other (21 %) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8/15

Can you explain why you felt that way? Looking forward to see them. / Hadnt seen my sister quite some time so was excited to see her again. / I felt happy because soon i ll meet my sister, but on the other hand i was worried because the time was delaying so i thought like if thers some problem inside the gate. / Im impatient thats shy i was nervous. also because of the excitement towards how its going to be between us. / I had nothing to do except standing and waiting. For the ight was delayed, I was also anxious for I did not know when my father would arrive. / Because I would see my sister again after a long time. / the setting of waiting is very special, loaded with expectations and anticipation. I love my sister, and I had been away from her for 6 months, and my body was aching to see her again. Also I had bought her a big white stued bunny which I looked forward to giving her. I really looked forward to give her a hug, to make her feel safe and to show her that I would always be ther for her. / I had nothing else could do to kill the time. / I havent seen this friend ever since she moved abroad 7-8 years ago, and I was nally about to meet her. / Happy to see my mother again. Bored because of the waiting. Sad because it reminded me that I will leave Holland soon for Korea exchange, and leave my boyfriend behind. / I worry, wondering why is she late (has the ight been delayed, is she okay, etc) / Because it had been long time since the last time I had seen my brother. And also, I was nervous and excited of the fact that I am one of the crowded waiting people looking at the same gate. / I was nervous because it was meeting up with really long-time-no-see cousin. And also I was happy to see my close cousin again. / It was Gim-hae airport and there was no interesting facility there.

number of people alone/ in a group

holding things

Some people are holding things for arrivers; ower, packaged gifts, balloons, welcoming picket or a big placard.

At Arrivals hall, there are more people in the evening than in the morning or afternoon, and more on weekend than weekdays. On average, there are from 20 to 40 people at one time.

Some people come to Arrivals hall as a group; group of family, friends, group of two people, ve people, or a bunch of people. They usually chat with each other making a circle or standing in line looking at the gate. There are also many people who come alone. They stays quite staring at the gate, checking phones and arrivals info board, sometimes talk to others.

Bored people

Many people look bored. They have nothing else to do except standing and looking at the gate. But at the same time its dicult for them to concentrate on other things because they want to check whether the arrivers are coming in or not.

waiting time
People usually wait for around 30 minutes. But waiting times really depend on people and circumstances. Flight arrivals sometimes delay a lot and you cant expect how much arrival process would take after landing.

** looking at the gate

age of users
Ages of people in Arrivals hall vary greatly. From infant to very old people. It seems especially dicult for young children to stay on the same spot while waiting. They constantly run, move, and play with others.

Most people stand toward and keep looking at the gate which arriving people are coming out of. Even when they are chatting with others, people tend to stand toward the gate. During my visit in Schiphol, one lady refused an interview because she felt she needed to keep looking at the gate. And also during interview, people kept checking the door even while answering my questions.

** Overall interaction

* use of fences
At Schiphol, there are three fences at each gate. Many people lean on and back on the fences. Some people even sit on the metal top of the fences. Children play with the fences.

People in a group chat with each other. But theres no interaction between other people though they are aware of others existance and watch what other people are doing.

9/15

Observation result - Facilities in Arrival Hall

Arrivals Gates in Schiphol

At Gate 1 and 2, the wall of the arrival hall is made of transparent glasses, so that you can look inside. So waiting people can see arrivers who are waiting for their luggage behind the glass wall. People wave their hands to each other.

Phone booth

Arrivals information screens

Spandoeken machine
At the gate 3 and 1, there is this red machine you can make a placard (a banner) for arrivers. You can choose size of the fabric placard and you can type the words to print on the placard. Its quite expensive. During my visits to Schiphol, I found one person really printing it. Some people tried to press something on the screen because they were curious.

In front of every gate are there Arrivals information screens. The screens are hanging in the air. The information this screen provide are; current date and time, arrival time/ origin city/ ight number/ arrivals gate number/ remarks (current situation like Landed, Expected landing, Cancelled, Baggage on belt and the time that happens at) of every ight.

There is a special phone booth at Arrivals Gate 1. Two small phone stands are placed with the glass wall between them. One is inside (the place people collect their baggages) and one is outside (in Arrivals hall). Unlikely at the other gates, at Arrivals gate 2, waiting people can see arrivers through transparent glass wall. But they still cant talk. With this phone, people inside and outside can talk with each other.

10/15

11/15

Interview Result These are raw scripts of the interviews. The edited video clips and audio clips will be available on shareworks.

A : Who are you waiting for? B : Im waiting for Ms. Langdon Davies and she is the daughter of John Langdon Davies. And he was the founder of the foster parents rm of war children. And thats a non-prot organization for children ... for supporting children all over the world. And this year, Plan international, its celebrating its 70th birthday. And thats why she is visiting the Netherlands. (looking at the gate) A : Thats a nice story. Can you tell me how you are feeling now? B : (Looking at the gate) Ive been tired for working all day. (laugh) I had to pick her up and bring her to the hotel in Amsterdam so well, its kind of ... mixed feeling, um, not nervous, but ... (looking at the gate) shes a special person. Im quite a bit nervous. (Ms. Langdon Davies arrived and interview ended.)

A : Who are you waiting for? B : Im waiting for people from Brazil. A : People from Brazil? So have you met these people before? B : Yes, (Looking inside the gate) Long time ago. So Im a little bit in doubt. (Laugh) A : What is a relationship between these people and you? B : On Friday, the day after tomorrow, my daugther will get married with a Brazillian. And Im waiting for the aunt and the uncle of my son in law. A : So, the family of the husband? Thats a nice story. So... how are you feeling now? B : Im a little bit excited but Im very much in doubt, of whether I can recognize them. (laugh) I think it was four years ago.

B : Im waiting for my friend, a boy friend. A : Your boyfriend? Where is he coming from? B : hes coming from Italy. A : traveling? B : Yes, he went to a wine vacation. A : Ah, nice. So how are you feeling now? are you excited? B : Ja, a little bit. A : Can you tell me how you are feeling now? B : Like you said, a little bit excited. A : How long has it been? B : Since Sunday, its not long, but Im still excited.

12/15

A : Who are you waiting for? B : My parents. A : Where are they coming from? B : Santa Eularia (?), Spain, its an island nearby Spain. A : Were they traveling there? B : No, they were in holidays. A : Do you miss them? Are you excited? Can you describe your feeling? B : Happy!

A Tall Man

A : Who are you waiting for? B : My wife, she is a teacher at the school and uh, she had a trip with the school and now Im waiting for her coming back. A : Where is she coming from? B : From Turkey. A : How long has it been? B : Three weeks. A : How are you feeling now? B : How Im feeling? ... Longing for her. Longing for seeing her again.

Man who was making a placard

( A was making a banner with Spandoeken machine. ) B : So you just made this one, so who is it for? A : Uh, for my daughter. B : Oh, so your daughter is arriving here. Have you thought about this thing (making this) before you came here? A : No no no, I just saw it. B : Why did you decide to make this one? A : Oh because its fun. B : Do you think its fun? A : I think so, I hope! (laugh) B : Where is she coming from? A : From Dublin. B : How long has been away? A : Three weeks I think. B : Thats a long time. A : Naahh.. for her mother yes.(laugh) She is standing there. B : How are you feeling now waiting for your daughter? A : Oh, exciting, of course! B : Are you also nervous? A : Nervous? no. B : Not at all? A : No, I travel by myself also many times so...

13/15

D&R Exploration Conclusion

Answers to Initial Research Questions
1) How long do they wait? / How earlier do they arrive at Arrivals Gate? People usually wait for around 30 minutes. But waiting times really depend on people and circumstances. Flight arrivals sometimes delay a lot and you cant expect how much arrival process would take after landing. (from survey, observation) 2) Do people come together with others? alone? Some people come to Arrivals hall as a group; group of family, friends, group of two people, ve people, or a bunch of people. They usually chat with each other making a circle or standing in line looking at the gate. There are also many people who come alone. They stays quite staring at the gate, checking phones and arrivals info board, sometimes talk to others. (from observation) 3) Who are people waiting for? Usually family member(s), boy/girlfriends, people related to business, etc. (from interview, survey) 4) What are people doing while waiting? People are standing and starring at the gate. People are watching other people. (from survey) 5) How do they feel? Happy, Excited, Bored, Nervous. Interestingly, people have more than one single feeling, for exmaple, they are excited and nervous or happy and worried at the same time. (from survey, interview) 6) Do they care/want to know others stories? Do they want to talk to others? People are denitely aware of others presence and watch what other people are doing. Some but now many people have direct interaction like having conversations. (from observation, survey) 7) How do they feel about sharing stories? When asked, they are open to share their stories. Some people were enthusiastically telling about who they were waiting for.

Main Findings

My sister is ...

People are opened to share their stories when asked.

People have mixed feelings.

People want to keep watching the gate.

14/15

Conclusion
One of the interesting ndings from the research is that people have mixed feeling while waiting at Arrivals hall. Many people told me that they were excited and nervous at the same time.
I felt happy because soon I will meet my sister, but on the other hand I was worried because the time was delaying so I though like if theres some problem inside the gate. (Mark, 27) Im impatient. Thats why I was nervous. Also because of the excitedment towards how its going to be between us. (Jana, 24)

I was nervous because it was meeting up with a cousin who I couldnt see for a really long time. And thats also the reason I was happy. (Reehyang, 23)

its kind of ... mixed feeling, um, not nervous, but ... shes a special person. Im quite nervous. (Interviewee A)

A psychological theory called Reversal Theory is well explaning this phenomenon of reversing emotions. The main theme of this theory is that the psychological state of human reverses between two according to motivational style and meaning people give to the situation. We can explain the state of mind of people waiting at Arrivals hall with this theory. If people take the situation seriously and focus on possible problems, they are on Telic state so that they feel relaxed or anxious(nervous). On the other hand, if people dont take it seriously they would feel bored or excited. According to M.J. Apter, by trig a reverse between states, we can change the meaning attributed to the situation. And a reverse can be created by changing a situation, reframing it, role playing, using specic symbols or props that invoke a specit state. This can be a very useful guide for further concept generation of this project.

Figure1. Reversal Theory

15/15

Since my design goal was to make people enjoy waiting time by sharing their stories and emotions it was good to discover that people are quite open to share their stories when they were asked. Many people were waiting for special person(s) and were having memorable moments in their lives and some people enthusiastically shared their stories. I was also excited to hear their stories. So I came up with my rst design idea which is a big board on a wall which invite people to do some activities together and may evoke conversation between them. But at the same time, during research I also found a big hindrance which can block people from sharing their stories. That is a special state of mind of waiting people at Arrivals hall. In this special situation, waiting people tend to just stand toward the gate and keep staring at the gate rather than doing other activities to kill time. People are keen to check who is coming out of the gate because they dont know when exactly the arrivers would appear. I found this tendency also during my interviews. One lady refused to interview because she felt she needed to keep watching the gate and see if her mother is coming in. Some interviewees tried to check the gate several times reacting to the sounds of door opening while being interviewed. It would be a big challenge for me if people dont want to do any extra activity to interact with other waiting people. In spite of this barrier, I decided to keep going on with my original design goal and the interaction vision. Instead, I decided direction of the way of sharing stories and emotions. It should be Indirect and subtle so that people dont take is as an extra activity or burden. Or, It would be enjoyable and entertaining enough to actually invite people in. With this guide, Im currently working on idea generation phase. Still its a broad area I can explore, so the next step for me is to narrow down the ideas to go further with.

The way people share their stories and emotions

so that people dont take it as an extra activity

Indirect and Subtle

Enjoyable and Entertaining

enought to invite people in