Author: Rachel Hamilton

Graph Theory applied to the Social Network

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NaviGap travel app is designed to facilitate interactions between networks of students travelling on their gap year and can be predicted and analysed using the mathematical language of graph theory in order conceptualise it in more abstract terms by representing individuals within the network as nodes and the relationship or connection between users as links (Barabasi 2002).

Screen Shot 2017-05-02 at 10.56.18

 

ALBERT-LÁSZLÓ BARABÁSI

A number of graph theory metrics can be utilised in analysis of the social network, for example, Degree centrality which measure the number of links (connections) into/out of the node (user) which gives an indication of the users’ influence and popularity by measuring node connectedness. Those users with more connections have a higher centrality and therefore can reach more people.

Users of NaviGap as they make use of the functionality, would be grouped together by their connections which would help to facilitate strong clustering between travelling companions and/or regular information seekers and providers.

An effect observed by Kossinets & Watts (2006), found that a shared focus (i.e. a community of travellers with a shared goal/ location) gives more opportunity for the formation of strong social connections or strong ties between people which results in increased levels of social capital. This can be defined in terms of frequency of interactions between pairs of users, reciprocity of communication,  and the interaction type.  We believe that fostering strong clustering will benefit users in providing more relevant information and in building traveling companion relationships making the travel experience more rewarding and potentially safer. This may be of value to socially / geographically isolated students that wish to embark on a gap year.

 

References:

Barabasi, A. L. L. (2002). The New Science of Networks. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American journal of sociology, S95-S120.

Kossinets, G., & Watts, D. J. (2006). Empirical analysis of an evolving social network. science, 311(5757), 88-90.

User Surveys

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JAMR distributed an online survey in order to collect information from potential app users in regards to their needs and preferences.

Following ERGO ethics committee authorisation, the platform Survey Monkey was implemented to set up an online survey with a variety of nine multiple choice, sliding scale or open ended questions.

The survey URL was emailed out to the student population of the University of Southampton who fall into the user profile demographics of our design.

The responses were analysed and are discussed below.

 

Question 1. Your Age.

survey Q1

Data suggests that interested users of this app are within the age category of 18-20 (36.36%) and 21-23 (40.91%) with some users aged 24-25 (22.73%).

This matches our predicted demographic of users and aim to market the App at the 18-25 age range, focusing on University students.

 

 

Question 2. Your current level of education.

survey Q2

Data suggests that interested users of this app are currently studying or are about to commence study at degree level.

This supports our intention to market the app at University students.

 

 

 

Question 3. Do you have any travel experience before you started university degree?

survey Q3

Data suggests that majority of interested users of this app have some travel experience (61.9%) with almost one third of users having a lot of experience.

This data has justified our responses have come from users with experience that can better suggest travel app solutions and those who are more likely to use the app itself.

 

 

Question 4. When do you use the internet when searching for travel inspiration?
survey Q4

Data suggests that interested users of this app search for travel inspiration in the weeks prior to travel and during travel (86.36%).

 

 

 

 

Question 5. During travel.
Survey Q5a

Data suggests that interested users of this app mainly use online public searching platforms such as google and bing (77.2%) whilst travelling, or social networking sites such as facebook (54.55%).

The ‘Other’ response was Twitter.

This suggests that there are no travel specific social networking platforms currently being used.

 

Survey Q5b

 

 

 

 

 

Question 6. What online platforms(s) do you use for travel socialising and sharing?

survey Q6

Data suggests that interested users of this app rely on facebook (77.27%) and TripAdvisor (45.45%) social networking platforms for travel based information sharing.

This suggests that there are no travel specific social networking platforms currently being used.

 

 

survey Q6b

 

 

 

 

Question 7. How often do you use mobile apps?

survey Q7

Data suggests that interested users of this app are keen users of mobile devices for information seeking, either solely user a mobile smart phone (40.91%) or using one at least daily (40.91%).

This data supports our decision to focus development of our app for the mobile smart phone market initially.

 

 

 

Question 8. Why do you choose the internet to help you pick travel destinations?

survey Q8

Data suggests that interested users of this app use the internet to help choose travel destinations because it is convenient (72.73%) or that they don’t need to rely on other sources (36.36%).

This supports our decision to focus development of our app for the mobile smart phone market initially.

 

 

 

 

Question 9. Further suggestions.
survey Q9Four of the respondents that were interested users of this app have suggested:

Offline functionality. Which will will include with downloadable maps and guides.

Find a buddy – Tinder style function. Which we will include with the connection feature.

Area specific things to do. Which we will include on our downloadable maps.

Anonymous users. This is not something we plan to include, since the social networking aspect relies on users being visible in order to connect.

NaviGap Development Costs

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NaviGap Development Costs:

The primary factors that we see as influencing the development costs of NaviGap include:

  1. Monetisation Model
  2. Platform
  3. Functionality
  4. Design
  5. Research
  6. Developer

1.Monetisation Model

It would be easier and more straight forward to create an app that is simply sold for a fixed, upfront price as opposed to one with In-app purchases that will require continuous updating to the software. We have decided on a blend of models that will include in app purchasing therefore long term costs of development need to be factored in.

2. Platform: Android Or Apple

iphone mapIt is possible to build an app that is accessible on a number of devices: iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, Windows Phone, the Web or one that can be used on all of them. The price of development will vary accordingly. At this stage we are only considering mobile apps however, and therefore our options are either Android or Apple. We have determined that our app is to reach a demographic of 18-25 years olds so JAMR researched which platform would best suit this.

Image from blog.mobiscroll.com.

Each one of the aforementioned platforms requires a particular programming language, different development environments and programming models based on platform-specific APIs. For example, developing applications for Android requires Java, while developing applications for iOS requires Objective-C. It is apparent that, if a company decides to support both Android and iOS platform, there is a constraint to maintain two versions of a single product: one version implemented with Java for Android and a second version implemented using Objective-C for iOS. Mobile cross-platform tools (CPTs) provide an interesting alternative to native development. Cross-platform tools aim at sharing a significant portion of the application codebase between the implementations for the different platforms. This can drastically decrease the development costs of mobile applications. (Willocx ,Vossaert , Naessens, 2016).

JAMR intends to use a CPT to generate an app for both IOS and Android.

 

3. App Types & Functionality

The technical specifications of the app will be the single biggest factor in its cost. App types down into the following four categories:

  1. Table/List – designed primarily to display a relatively simple collection of information
  2. Database – designed to allow users to find, sort, and display data from data sets
  3. Dynamic – designed to cooperate with other platforms and software via APIs.
  4. Games- designed to be dynamic and have advanced features.

The more complex the functionality, the expensive the corresponding development cost will be. Quotes will need to be solicited from multiple developers, however, JAMR plans to develop the app ‘in house’ using our teams software development skills thus reducing the cost of development.

 

4. Design:

The design is an important feature of the App, particularly in terms of attracting a user to the initial download since customers are attracted by an icon and/or design. Similarly, design can make them want to use the app more, NY Times 2015.

A compelling design generated from a proven design team with a consumer-tested portfolio, could be very expensive. JAMR need to budget and prioritise based on the young person target audience who potentially are very design sensitive, therefore priority will be given to a high end design.

 

  1. Market Research:

The traditional questionnaire survey incurs a great human and financial resource. Whereas an online survey system could immensely cut the costs of questionnaire printing and labour in terms of service fees for interviewers, travelling expenses and data entry fees with a fixed cost will be paid that includes questionnaire design fees, network expense and data analysis service fees.

Other advantages of web-based questionnaires are:

  • Automation and real-time access.  Analysis is easier, and available immediately.
  • Convenience.  Respondents can answer questions when they want.
  • No interviewer.  No influence from the interviewer, means less bias.
  • Target Population –The sample may prefer just online surveys.

Therefore, a web-based questionnaire could replace the traditional paper questionnaire with minor effects on response rates and lower costs, potential disadvantages being a lack of respondent cooperation in terms of internet uses receiving lot of feedback requests, and the lack of interviewer to clarify respondent queries could mean that data collected is less reliable. (HohwĂź, 2013).

 

6. Developer: Freelancer vs Agency

Different apps vary widely in developmental cost and there are 3 basic categories of developers you can choose from:

  1. Freelancer – affordable option
  2. Small agency – specialists in specific areas
  3. Large agency – big brand guarantees

Clutch surveyed representatives from 12 leading mobile application development companies to determine cost ranges of building an iPhone app and the key variables of cost and found that the median cost  range is between $37,913 and $171,450, but could be as much as $500,000.

NaviGap however will be using JAMR’s ‘in house’ software developer on this project.

 

Hohwß, L., Lyshol, H., Gissler, M., Jonsson, S. H., Petzold, M., & Obel, C. (2013). Web-Based Versus Traditional Paper Questionnaires: A Mixed-Mode Survey With a Nordic Perspective. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(8), e173. http://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2595

Monetisation Models

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Monetization image

The Monetisation of NaviGap

The monetisation models that are commonly used in popular Apps have been identified to help guide us through the best model for NaviGap.

 

Model 1- Freemium – Used by LinkedIn, Spotify, Evernote

Freemium is a model where the application is free, but has upgrading options and locked features that customers can to choose to pay for. It is becoming increasingly popular as it is so easily adapted to any app. A similar option to this is offering a limited time trial of a freemium service to get people through the door and wanting to upgrade to the paid accounts.

 Pros

  • Users who ‘try before they buy’ are more likely to become engaged and buy it later.
  • Allows developers to generate a large user base with the view of up-selling.

Cons

  • If there are not enough features for free, the users may drop off
  • If too many features are for free, no one will want to upgrade.

 

Model 2 – Subscription – Used by Whatsapp, Apple Music, Netflix

In this model the Apps are free but the content needed to gain value from the service is locked and requires payment in the form of a Weekly, Monthly, OR Annual subscription. There is usually a limited time free trial for the service. The subscription price is usually smaller than the one-time price to incentivise the user into a longer term commitment.

 Pros

  • Constant revenue stream
  • Loyal app users

Cons

  • It hard to determine just how much content to provide for free.
  • Subscription requires a commitment from a first time user.

 

Model 3 – Sponsorship – Used by Runkeeper, Menulog, Pinterest

Sponsorship is a monetisation method which offers advertising space to brands within the app, who then offer exclusive deals and discounts to app users.

Pros

  • The developer gets money from the sponsor.
  • The customer gets exclusive discounts and offers.

Cons

  • The app needs to have a strong brand behind it to convince sponsors of value.

 

Model 4 – In-app purchases – Used by Candy Crush, Tinder, Snapchat

Users can choose to buy extra functionality, tools, features and content. For example, Snapchat generate a revenue stream through the small % of users who would want to replay a snap more than once (ÂŁ0.99).

Pros

  • Minimal risk in implementing this model.
  • Buying features typically lead to better user engagement.

Cons

  • The app stores will take 30% of the profits from in-app products
  • Users may be less inclined to download your app if they see that it includes in-app downloads

 

Model 5 – In-app advertising – Used by Facebook, Google, YouTube

The App is Free to download but comes with advertising within the app.

Pros

  • Works well if your app is a new concept to the market because you can develop a large user base and collect data on them.

Cons

  • Generates quite small revenue per user. According to Monetize Pros, most developers will only generate $1.50 per thousand impressions of their ads.
  • Reputation for being annoying and disruptive to the user experience.

Calculating potential ad revenue from mobile ads:

Cost Per Install CPI: You get paid for every time someone installs the app that’s being advertised after clicking on an ad in your app – provided that an app IS being advertised.

Cost Per 1000 Impressions CPM: An Impression is the number of times the ad has been seen. One impression means the ad has been seen one time.

Which monetisation model will best fit NaviGap?

Points JAMR considered:

  • What is your user’s overall goal during an app session and so how will each monetisation model impact them achieving that goal?
  • What industry is our app in and how would user experience be compromised as a result of each of the monetisation models?
  • Are there likely to be any drop-off points when we could prompt users with a well timed freemium ad or in-app purchase of premium content?
  • What type of ad will genuinely be most helpful to users,  what are our user’s needs? What kind of advertising, extra features, or brands would our users enjoy being exposed to?
  • What monetisation models do our competitors use?
  • Are there any potential partnerships we can leverage?

Conclusion:

NaviGap will develop a blend of In App purchases and In App advertising models. This is because it is primarily an online social network, users will log in with a profile generating a lot of useful user data and since we hope to engage users for prolonged periods and on a regular basis, we can target suitable and valuable In App advertising from travel based providers that can offer flights, accommodation, tours, equipment and accessories specific to the audience needs. There are a number of brands that users of a travel companion site would find of use, for example: STA travel, The Stoke Travel Company, Trtl travel pillows and EastPak luggage.

NaviGap will be providing users with interactive maps and travel guides meaning that an In-App purchase model is also very suited. The App itself will be free and come with full user functionality as an online social network, alongside a generic map and one location guide. Users can then purchase additional specific maps and guides to suit their needs.

Competitive Analysis

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Competitive Analysis

In designing this App, JAMR carried out a competitive analysis of the market as part of risk mitigation and identifying a gap in the market, in order to get a solid footing in the market and prepare for expansion.

Defining the Competition

The first step was to define the competition; any app that is providing a similar service to NaviGap. This was carried out by a search engine queries and App store search, using keywords specific to our app and the word  ‘app’ in the search terms. For example: ‘travel app’, ‘gap year app’, ‘travel community app’, ‘travel planning app’ and then compiling a list of competitors.

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Compare Products

Comparing our product to the competitors and by understanding our competitors, their product and market advantages will ensure we don’t end up going head-to-head with a competitor on their strong points. We identified every product feature that each of our competitors offers and then looked at their web-presence by searching the URL on Alexa to view their visitor traffic ranking. Their social presence was identified by pasting their social media URL’s into the Wildfire monitor page and getting a preview of their social media presence.

Value

Researching what value our competitors are offering and what value is unique is an important facet of competition. There are generally certain value offerings that are an expectation of customers within an industry such as being ‘bug-free’, therefore we are only interested in the unique value offered.  Don’t use these as our ‘point of difference’.

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is the breakdown of our competitors perceived strengths, weaknesses, and what opportunities that this creates for us and what potential threats are presented. Using this information allows us to create something that’s unique in its own right. When looking at the competitor apps, we asked ourselves the following questions:

Strengths

  • What advantages does their application have?
  • What do they do well?
  • What other strengths do they have?

Weaknesses

  • What could they improve?
  • What should they avoid?
  • What are people in the market likely to see as a weakness?
  • What other weaknesses do they have?

Opportunities

  • What opportunities can you spot that they should be taking advantage of?
  • What interesting trends are you aware of that they may not have noticed?
  • What other opportunities can you spot?

Threats

  • What obstacles do they face?
  • What are they doing that could pose a threat to your business?
  • Is changing technology threatening their position?
  • Could any of their weaknesses seriously threaten their business?
  • What other threats can you identify?

App Store Ratings

This data tells us whether or not our competitors have a good track record with their users. It allows us to identify opportunities for development and features based on users requests and complaints and generates a target audience ‘needs’ analysis and allows us to offer the audience what they want.

The Competitors identified using the above steps fall into 5 general categories of travel apps and are as follows:

  1. Booking apps: Apps enabling users to book travel and/or accommodation.
  • Skyscanner
  • Expedia
  • Airbnb
  • Travel republic
  • Couch Surfer – find low budget ‘sofa’ accommodation.
  • TripIt – Ticket organisation app
  • STA travel- book travel, accommodation and tours.
  • Student Universe
  • Gap360

2. Advice apps: Apps providing users with a recommendation of places of interest.

  • Tripadvisor: appraisals of hotels, restaurants and attractions. Book flights and attraction tickets. Find places nearby, user reviews.
  • Triposo: travel guide; algorithms to deliver recommendations to destinations. Personalise your trip with expert suggestions, book online.
  • Safer Travel: highlights safety tips and potential risks per destination and numbers.

3. Guide Apps: Apps designed as online guide books.

  • The Gap Year Travel Guide: the magazine of destinations, opportunities (work, volunteer, teach), advice for prep, travel gadgets.
  • Tripadvisor City Guides
  • CityMaps2go
  • NomadHead: the magazine of destinations.

4. Blogging Apps: Apps enabling users to blog about their travels to friends and family.

  • Off Exploring: travel blog/ journal.

5. Volunteering apps: Apps providing opportunities for volunteering.

  • GiveGab: Connect with friends and find volunteering opportunities in your community.
  • Involver: Find volunteering opportunities across the globe.

6. Non-Apps and others of importance:

  • Geckos Adventures: Small group travel company for 18-29 year olds that books all aspects of the travel experience.
  • STA Travel Website: Student travel company. Has facebook page where you can ask advice.

Conclusions

From carrying out this analysis of the market, JAMR has found no evidence of competition from a website or App that provides a social network based travel community service similar to what NaviGap is proposing. The majority of services currently available focus on providing advice and inspiration or opportunity to book travel and accommodation. Whilst some of the providers offer a social network link to sites such as Twitter and Facebook, these mediums are extensions of contact with the company itself and are not designed to help link users with other potential travellers to plan a trip with or travel together.

Post by @RachelHamilton

Creative Brief

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cropped-kermit-1715860_1920-1.jpg

Client: Dept. Electronics and Computer Science
Project: NaviGap Smartphone App
Date: March 8, 2017
Document Version: 1.0

JAMR Project Team: Who will be working on this project?

Module Comp 6217
Rachel Taylor Hamilton
Maria Bobkova
Amy Wales
Jason Deng

Assignment:  What’s our deliverable?

JAMR will develop a smartphone app called ‘NaviGap’ which is based on an online social network to help like-minded travel enthusiasts connect.

Program Background: What is the history of this client and the objective supporting this assignment?

JAMR’s objective is to help young people who plan to embark on a gap year, connect with like-minded travel enthusiasts in order to plan their trip and find travel companions. The online social network will connect individual and groups of gap year travelers, to discuss, plan and share travel information. It will allow users to discover and identify places of interest to visit, and important information regarding those places from users that have already been. It will enable users to connect to tailor their trips, incorporating tours and activities with people sharing the same interests.

Objective(s): What is our purpose? What are we trying to accomplish with this assignment?

  • To connect gap year travel enthusiasts.
  • To offer advice on travel planning.

Target Audience, Demographics / Psychographics: Who are we communicating to? What do we know about the target?

Primary Target: Gap year Travelers

Young people who wish to plan and take a trip/gap year and travel with(out) others.

Secondary Target: Experienced travel enthusiasts

We also want to attract people who have traveled to share their travel stories and advice others.

Opportunity: Based on the competitive marketplace, what presents itself as an opportunity? How will this app add value?

There are five categories of travel based apps currently available:

  1. Booking Apps: e.g. Travel Republic.
  2. Advice Apps: e.g. TripAdvisor
  3. Magazine Guide Apps: e.g. NomadHead
  4. Blogging Apps: e.g. Off Exploring
  5. Volunteering Apps: e.g. Involver

There are no social networking travel based apps that we have encountered at this point. There is an opportunity to provide gap year travelers with a better and easier way to reach other travelers and real-time advice. We also have the opportunity to create a supportive community for travellers who may otherwise be traveling alone and/or to at-risk areas.

Tone and Manner: What adjectives would you use to describe the product/service? What are its attributes?

Helpful, engaging, inspirational

Work Scope: What is needed for this project?

Functional Specification Document (FSD) / Storyboard with wireframes detailing how the app will look and work, with what content/functionality is required for each screen.

Design a user interface for each screen including:

  • User profile entry screen
  • News feed
  • Group chat
  • Interactive Map

Development: Design and program a mobile app for Android and Apple iPhone that includes the functionality and designs set out.

Testing: Test apps across all supported mobile devices to ensure functionality works as described in the FSD.

Content and Functionality: What content will be included in the app? What is the required functionality?

Create a user profile

  • Photo
  • Name
  • Location
  • Travel photos
  • Experience badges for posts

View user profiles

  • Option to connect ’companion’
  • Contact user via in-app message
  • Tag users/ photos
  • ‘Like’ travel ideas and destinations to visit

Post to ‘Trips Bulletin Board’

  • Lists desired destinations
  • Notifies users with same destination interests
  • View ‘Wanted’ travel companion listings
  • List view
  • Map view
  • Interactive map of places visited viewed by others
  • Downloadable map with personal pins
  • ”what the expert says” advice and facts will offer push notifications.
  • Recommendations based on web data crawling and algorithm

Platform Accessibility: What mobile platforms are we optimizing for?

iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android Smartphones, Future directions – Apple watch)

Creative Considerations / Mandatory Requirements: What should be considered when developing and creating this piece?

  • How can this app help people to connect with like-minded travelers?
  • How can we build a community to support travelers?

Post by @RachelHamilton