Brittany
Traynor
ENT3003
Solving the Problem
Due:
09/29/17
The opportunity that I identified in
my last assignment is that students often misplace or forget their student ID’s,
and therefore would most likely find great convenience in having a mobile
version of their ID’s on their smart devices. I think that in order to
capitalize on a potential opportunity, as well as in order to keep up with
current technological innovations, there should be a way to have mobile access
to student ID’s.
I think that the best way to
capitalize on this opportunity is to create an app that can allow the student
ID’s to be mobile. This app can be downloaded onto smart phones, or maybe even
be a sub-category of other UF apps that are already in use. When the students
would open it, it would open an online version of their ID that can be scanned
directly from the phone. This app can be sold to universities and the
universities can build the cost of this app into tuition costs for students. At
orientation events such as Preview when normal student ID’s are distributed, an
additional step of downloading the app and syncing the ID to it would be
required. However, that is relatively easy to implement into new student
orientation sessions that most universities require anyway.
As with any product/service idea,
there are implications to think about and consider. In some instances, such as
when students give their friends their ID’s for football ticket pick-up, a
physical ID is required. However, in order to combat this issue, I believe that
there are options. The easiest option is to not eliminate physical ID’s, but
rather to simply add the mobile version to create more diverse access and
convenience. Another option would be to create some feature of the app in which
the bar code can be temporarily shared between users of the app so that the
ticket office can scan more than one ID from one phone. However, this would
really have to be a feature that allows this sharing to be temporary and
limited in order to prevent students from having permanent access to another
student’s ID’s one bar codes are shared. This is essential because in many
cases, student’s link their debit cards to their student ID’s. For obvious
reasons, it would not be safe to allow students access to other student’s debit
cards. However, if there was no solution to this issue, the sharing feature
could be left out of this product and students would have to continue keeping a
physical form of their ID for specific instances such as ticket pick-ups.
Hey Brittany,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job in explaining the basics of how this alternative mobile ID could work for students as well as a few drawbacks. It would be so useful to have a mobile version of my ID because I’m always paranoid that I’m going to lose it throughout the day even though I keep it in my phone case, which may or may not be the safest place for this. I think you’ve got a great opportunity here.
Hey Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI think it was smart to approach the real issues with having a mobile Gator ID and you should do your best to solve the problems people might have. You also mentioned that having a physical ID is required at a ticket pick-up for a game and it's true that people will have their IDs on them most of the time. Also, a solution to this problem but might be you reaching out to different businesses around campus to discuss the mobile Gator ID. I hope you can solve these issues and great job!