Locopedia
Locopedia is a mobile application that enables expats to find local information and join local events within a certain neighbourhood based on their interests to help them settle in a new country. It considered the scenario of Non-Spanish Expats who have recently arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica and are looking forward to living here for at least a couple of years.
Needs of Expats
- Most expats want to know ‘local events’ to have more socially engaged lives in San Jose.
- They need different information and level of support depending on how they spent in San Jose.
- Payments and currency-related issues are a big headache.
Features of Locopedia
- Hyperlocal: Enables people to find information/events in their neighborhood through a map-based interface.
- Personalized: The Category Selection tool only delivers the most relevant & interesting information to the user.
- People Interaction: Locopedia promotes high interactivity by making it easy for people to reach out to other people by providing a digital discussion panel.
- End-to-End Integration: Locopedia also allows users to make the reservation and digital payments to avoid currency-related issues.
Usability Testing Learnings and Results
- “It would make it easier for me to join discussion or events if I can know if my friends already join” – Social Media Integration.
- “What I want to know is different from what I wanted to know a few months ago.” – Multiple levels of Engagement.
- “I like the personalized feature of it, other event apps get too cluttered way too often.” – Quality over Quantity of Information.
