1. Elbow Room: The App
u u u
By Andrew Cohen
For General Assembly UX11
Presented Dec. 17, 2013
(Revised Jan. 7, 2014)

2. Do you need someplace to be by yourself, away from
crowds and distraction? Someplace to be alone with a
book — or place to talk with a friend?
If so, then ELBO W RO O M is the app for you.

3. THE RESEARCH - Personas
Joanna, 37, is an urban stay at home mom. She spends most of her day with
housekeeping and childrearing, but she does like to get out the house with her toddler
to meet friends at a nearby café for just read a book while her daughter naps.
Household income: $105,000. Platforms: iPhone 5, iPad2, vintage HP laptop at home.
Bobby, 25, is a freelance illustrator who works mainly from home, but some
afternoons, he just wants to get out of his apartment, so he’ll take his laptop to the
nearest café and work on projects there, or just goof off and catch up on his favorite
blogs. Household income: $47,000. Platforms: Samsung Galaxy S3, Nexus 10,
MacBook Pro.
Darwin, 46, is an editor who mostly works from his small magazine’s downtown
office, but when he needs to do some writing or thinking or review manuscripts, he
will often repair to a nearby café for a café au lait or late-afternoon sandwich. He
prefers to go in later afternoon when it is mostly empty and affords some privacy and
quiet. Household income: $220,000. Platforms: iPhone 5S, MacBook Air, iPad Mini, 21-inch
iMacs at work and home.

4. JOANNA’S NEEDS
• to get out the house every once in
awhile
• have stimulating new experiences for
herself and daughter
• to feel a part of her neighborhood
community
• to enjoy time spent in venue
• tasty, nutritious meals when eating
out (alternatives to fast food)
FRUSTRATIONS
• lack of activities, retail opportunities
within walking distance of home.
• lack of family-friendly dining
opportunities walking distance.
• need to entertain/engage small
preschool-age child.
IDEAL FEATURES
• fast, efficient service
• child seating
• reasonable prices
• good value
• wide menu selections
• convenient hours
• ability to sit for extended time
without being hustled out
GOALS
• to get a good value for dining
dollars spent outside home
• fun outing with daughter
• a place to get away from household
responsibilities
Red text = issues addressed by Elbow Room

5. STATEMENT OF INSIGHT
Some people like to hang out in quiet, uncrowded restaurants or
cafes where they can sit with friends or a book for a long time
without being rushed.
• SOLUTION 1: An app/website that uses credit-card company data to
determine venues and times that are likely to be uncrowded based on
analysis of sales at different times of day on different days of the week.
(Example: Nearest Starbucks? Avoid on Mondays at 8:30am, but a
hermit’s dream at 11am.)
• SOLUTION 2: An app service that encourages restaurants and cafes to
install webcams that allow prospective customers to see how crowded it
is in real time before making the trip. This could be an add-on to services
(Yelp, Zagat, Foursquare) that already help customers find venues to the

6.
The Solution: Elbow Room
For people who need room to:
• Think
• Talk
• Listen
• Read
• W ork
• O bserve
• W onder

7.
TASK FLO W
• C hoose
type of
venue
• C hoose
time and
location
• C hoose
from list of
results
Restaurant Coffee & Tea Movie Theater Museum
Show results list
Show v. 1 of map
giving current
location and
offering destination
search field, and
day/time pulldown
menus
I want Elbow Room
here and now
You chose (one of the above).
Where to you want Elbow Room?
I want Elbow Room
nearby but later
I want Elbow Room
elsewhere & later
Show v. 2 of map
giving current
location and
offering destination
search field, and
day/time pulldown
menus
Show webcam
(If GPS not on:)
Please turn GPS
on now
Where do you want
Elbow Room?
Venue details

8. Algorithms predict present and
future user density by factoring
in such factors as:
• C redit-card data
• Fire code requirements
• W eather reports
• Real-time transactions
• W ebcam analysis

9.
á Prioritize
W HEN you
want Elbow
Room.
O R
Prioritize
W HERE you
want Elbow
Room. â

10.
User criteria creates a ranked
list of nearest venues matching
desired attributes, giving each a
“crowd index” number and a
corresponding color.
• G reen = Under 50% full
• Yellow = 50% to 100% full
• Red = More than 100% full
(expect a wait)

11.
Venue-level page gives detailed
information, including a graph
showing that day’s crowd
estimates, along with other data
one would typically find on
Yelp, Foursquare, or Zagat:
• Address, phone number
• Hours, attributes, price
• Travel information
• Live webcam (if available)