## Client Meeting Notes

**Project Name:** WIP Map Project
**Date:** 02/05/2025
**Client Name:** Spencer Powell
**Interviewed By:** Spencer Powell

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### **Client Overview**
- **Brief description of the client and their background:**
  The client is an undergraduate student at Binghamton University who regularly uses the bus system as a method of transit.

- **Client’s main goal for the software:**
  The tool should assist in transiting around Binghamton using the 2 bus systems via providing arrival timing information and ideal routes.

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### **Interview Questions & Responses**

#### **1. What are the costs vs. budget?**
**Client’s Response:**
I'm a college student, so ideally free.

> Comparing to whatever subscriptions you currently pay for how much would you pay for this?

A dollar maybe a few bucks.

**Clarification & Notes:**
Client is looking for something free and will be relatively price sensitive if they're paying.

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#### **2. What is the timeframe for this project?**
**Client’s Response:**
I am graduating in 3 months or so, so if you deliver after that it'll be useless to me.

> Do you have any friends that aren't graduating that may be interested?

Most of my friends are also graduating in free months but a couple of them aren't I guess.

**Clarification & Notes:**

While this particular client provides a strict deadline there are other clients in similar circumstances who have a looser deadline.

As such if we want to meet their needs we'll need to work quickly on core features but there's reason to work on extra features if we go over the deadline.

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#### **3. What problem are you trying to solve?**
**Client’s Response:**
I would like to turn my brain off when I want to go somewhere outside walking distance.

> What do you need to think about when going somewhere?

How far I need to walk to take a bus

When the bus arrives/departs

Often I need to take multiple buses.

> Could you elaborate on how multiple buses complicates things?

Well lets say I want to go to/from Walmart from my home for example.
I have two main routes, one that goes to BU then takes a 47/91 or OCCT bus to walmart and one which goes to the downtown bus station and then takes the 57 to Walmart.
Vice versa to go back home from Walmart.
I need to think about which choice will get me to/from Walmart with the least amount of time spent on buses/waiting and I don't always get it right.
Combine that with the other things I mentioned and it's a pain.

**Clarification & Notes:**

- forgot line of thought due to interview being interrupted

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#### **4. What is the most important feature?**

**Client’s Response:**

Getting a reliable preferably optimal route of buses to get from point to point

**Clarification & Notes:**

- Focus on getting routes first and be reasonably certain they'll work

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#### **5. Is there a similar product on the market?**
**Client’s Response:**

Google maps can be used to get routes which only use broome county buses but doesn't take OCCT buses into account.
Furthermore it isn't clear if google maps can/would take into account live info for it's routes.

There's also etaSpot which is only a live map of OCCT buses

**Clarification & Notes:**
- Worth investigating how google maps determines routes algorithmically
- Need to integrate OCCT buses to be useful

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#### **6. Are there any existing products or technologies that will need to be integrated?**

**Client’s Response:**

No

**Clarification & Notes:**

- The client isn't aware of Broome county providing GTFS
- Furthermore from prior question etaSpot can be used for live OCCT bus info

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#### **7. What does success look like for this project?**

**Client’s Response:**

If I can put in a place I want to go on my phone and get instructions to go there via bus that are good then I'd say it's a success.

**Clarification & Notes:**

- Again focus on reliability and speed

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#### **8. What risks are associated with a malicious user?**

**Client’s Response:**

nothing?

**Clarification & Notes:**

- There's some risk of DDOS on our endpoints and possible free riders but that isn't really a risk to other users

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#### **9. What is the expected lifetime of this software?**

**Client’s Response:**

For my remaining time in university.

**Clarification & Notes:**

- While this client will be leaving university soon there will be a continuous stream of new users so long term sustainability should be somewhat accounted for

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#### **10. What additional features would you like?**

**Client’s Response:**

Live map

**Clarification & Notes:**

- nice to have and reasonably easy to implement for OCCT, harder for broome county

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## **Key Takeaways & Next Steps**

- **Most important feature:** Route calculation
- **Secondary features:** Live map and viewing schedules
- **Deadline:** 3 months
- **Risks:** DDOS and freeloading users

### **Next Steps:**

- [ ] Collect data from GTFS and etaSpot api
- [ ] Use data to calculate crude route from point to point
- [ ] Improve route making
- [ ] Add live map

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### **Signatures**
(Client) **Spencer Powell** – *Reviewed & Approved*
(Developer) **Spencer Powell** – *Re
