A social problem
A social problem
How we approached a wicked problem faced by every citizen
How we approached a wicked problem faced by every citizen
Genesis
Hackathon event @ Siemens
Hackathon event @ Siemens
Project type
Web application, Social solution, IoT device hardware
Web application, Social solution, IoT device hardware
Services
Solution design, screens design, developer handoff and support
Solution design, screens design, developer handoff and support
Timeline
2 weeks
2 weeks
Design team
Solo designer
Solo designer
Overview
Overview
This solution was proposed at a Siemens 24 hour hackathon event. We were a team of 5 consisting of 2 SME's, 2 developers and a designer. Our focus area was waste management
This solution was proposed at a Siemens 24 hour hackathon event. We were a team of 5 consisting of 2 SME's, 2 developers and a designer. Our focus area was waste management
The Challenge
The Challenge
Waste management by itself was a large problem. After evaluating competitors across waste management value chain, we came up with 2 focus areas:
Timely collection of waste
Connecting collection of waste with recycling
We needed to come up with a solution keeping the existing stakeholders in mind and integrate our solution rather than having a standalone solution.
Waste management by itself was a large problem. After evaluating competitors across waste management value chain, we came up with 2 focus areas:
Timely collection of waste
Connecting collection of waste with recycling
We needed to come up with a solution keeping the existing stakeholders in mind and integrate our solution rather than having a standalone solution.
Target Market
Target Market
Target user - Municipal corporations, Entities engaged in waste management
Target demographics - Indian Cities (for now)
Target user - Municipal corporations, Entities engaged in waste management
Target demographics - Indian Cities (for now)
Our Approach
Our Approach
We put our heads together to come up with an immediate action plan; given the limited time.
To build a solution, we first needed to understand the industry. The end goal was to get a focus area.
Mapping out the best approach for the solution. Coming up with a solution that’s customer or SME validated rather than the first approach that comes to mind.
Building the solution.
Evaluating & Iterating till we have time.
We put our heads together to come up with an immediate action plan; given the limited time.
To build a solution, we first needed to understand the industry. The end goal was to get a focus area.
Mapping out the best approach for the solution. Coming up with a solution that’s customer or SME validated rather than the first approach that comes to mind.
Building the solution.
Evaluating & Iterating till we have time.
Focus in a massive industry
Focus in a massive industry
Our focus was definitely a cleaner, greener environment & reducing carbon footprint. Waste management was a massive industry. It involved various steps that needed to work together and there were opportunities across the table. We roped in two subject matter experts & after in-depth meetings, we decided to focus on -
On-time waste collection.
Connecting waste collection to recycling.
No decision is good without reason. Here’s why we decided our focus -
Municipal corporations already had a lot of systems in place. From waste bins to fleets to collect waste, segregation of waste at source.
What municipalities lacked was monitoring & control over collection.
There were many new age players in recycling.
We saw an opportunity where we could help connect the two.
Our focus was definitely a cleaner, greener environment & reducing carbon footprint. Waste management was a massive industry. It involved various steps that needed to work together and there were opportunities across the table. We roped in two subject matter experts & after in-depth meetings, we decided to focus on -
On-time waste collection.
Connecting waste collection to recycling.
No decision is good without reason. Here’s why we decided our focus -
Municipal corporations already had a lot of systems in place. From waste bins to fleets to collect waste, segregation of waste at source.
What municipalities lacked was monitoring & control over collection.
There were many new age players in recycling.
We saw an opportunity where we could help connect the two.
Open mindset to go beyond software
Open mindset to go beyond software
We realized very early on that just a software solution was not going to be enough. Smart bins or sensors in existing bins would enable -
Monitoring how full a bin is & enabling on-time collection of waste.
Optimizing a route to collect all the filled bins from the fleet depot to the recycling hub, hugely reducing emissions.
We realized the most holistic approach would be to provide sensors for existing bins along with software to monitor bins and the fleet.
We realized very early on that just a software solution was not going to be enough. Smart bins or sensors in existing bins would enable -
Monitoring how full a bin is & enabling on-time collection of waste.
Optimizing a route to collect all the filled bins from the fleet depot to the recycling hub, hugely reducing emissions.
We realized the most holistic approach would be to provide sensors for existing bins along with software to monitor bins and the fleet.
My unique blend of innovation
My unique blend of innovation
Here I was a solo player designing the software solution. There were multiple modules involved. The route optimization module stood out. Once the bins were filled upto 85% or more, they would change their status and the application would identify such bins to create an optimized route to from the fleet hub to the recycling hub. This helped keep the city very clean while saving large amounts of emissions from the vehicles.
Here I was a solo player designing the software solution. There were multiple modules involved. The route optimization module stood out. Once the bins were filled upto 85% or more, they would change their status and the application would identify such bins to create an optimized route to from the fleet hub to the recycling hub. This helped keep the city very clean while saving large amounts of emissions from the vehicles.
Impact
Impact
A clean city. It’s a dream in a developing nation like India. Clean roads, cleaner air. I know that the impact of this project is not just for the people living in that city today, but for generations that follow. In that, I derive my satisfaction and my impact.
A clean city. It’s a dream in a developing nation like India. Clean roads, cleaner air. I know that the impact of this project is not just for the people living in that city today, but for generations that follow. In that, I derive my satisfaction and my impact.
My Learnings
My Learnings
Rapid prototyping to meet tight deadlines
Designing a holistic solution connecting all existing players in the industry
How to work on solutions to keep them scalable
Creating constraints to accelerate development
Quickly creating a consistent visual language to use in an individual use case when you don’t have a design system to work with.
Rapid prototyping to meet tight deadlines
Designing a holistic solution connecting all existing players in the industry
How to work on solutions to keep them scalable
Creating constraints to accelerate development
Quickly creating a consistent visual language to use in an individual use case when you don’t have a design system to work with.