Case study: Permit project
The idea for this project sprouted from the permit purchasing process in our national parks. Often times when I go camping, it’s more of a last minute venture than a weeks planned excursion. Purchasing “last minute” permits requires going in-person to the visitor center and taking what’s available. It’s a time consuming process that I thought could be streamlined. Enter the PermitProject. Through research I discovered my problem to be shared, as well as a few other issues with the current system that needed to be addressed.
RESEARCH
I conducted interviews with campers and rangers, competitive/comparative analysis of other apps like hipcamp, the dyrt and livenation, and card sorting exercises to determine what features would need to be included in the app.
FINDINGS + GOALS
Research determined my original hypothesis to be correct: campers would indeed like an easier way to purchase last minute permits online to avoid the hassle of buying in-person. A new finding from user interviews revealed that notification alerts would be a great asset, as permits can be competitive and sell out quickly in some areas.
Goals for the app would be to allow users to set-up notifications through a user profile, purchase directly through the app, store bought permits digitally, all through a clean, intuitive interface displaying reliable availability information.
