An agile product design in a smart city context: a use case for air pollution awareness

Abstract

The rise of systems for smart cities has led to an increase in the incorporation of air quality monitoring and alert systems. However, evidence on the real impact of these initiatives on city-dwellers is still far from conclusive. Recent investigations stress the importance of early user involvement in the appropriation of proposed solutions; this article shows how an approach through product design can support the development and successful implementation of the mobile application AIRE implemented in the context of the SmartArucanía smart city project, from the perspective of iterative design and exploration focusing on citizen participation. The product design process involved three interventions: (i) a market benchmark – presenting the basic principles of functionality and aesthetics adopted by the market; (ii) a heuristic evaluation – evaluating the initial development proposal and identifying preliminary problems with the application; (iii) a user test with citizens – collecting information on the problems identified and general feelings about the use of the application. Through active participation of users in the early stages of product design, we ensured that the AIRE mobile application could inform citizens about complex concepts related with particulate matter which have a direct impact on their health and quality of life. This will improve decision-making in critical pollution episodes.