Empathy Phase: Conducting the Interviews

 My design project is based on a problem I have noticed while out and about in the general public, and it has not really affected me directly, at least not yet. I want to figure out a way that we might make "handicap accessible" parking spaces more convenient and safer. The area near which I reside is a small city and has a large number of business of different sizes. I have seen near accidents and struggles with using these spaces because of where they are located or because they are just too small for convenient, safe use. 

While I have noticed this problem, it does not affect any of my close personal acquaintances, so to do the empathy survey, I am going to need to be creative in finding stakeholders with whom to speak. And I have to make sure I am not coming of as a stalker or some shady freak preying on those who need to use "handicap accessible" parking. So here are my thoughts on finding interview subjects.

I will begin with my day job colleagues, all of whom work in the Special Education realm. Of my own current clients, only one is using a gaiter, so I plan to ask if they have clients who do need to use "handicap accessible" parking. If they do, I know I cannot just ask for their names due to FERPA, so I will explain the project and ask if they think their clients might be willing to talk to me, perhaps we could get a release to share information and then find a way to conduct an interview. With all of my contacts, my hope is that one or two people may be willing to chat with me.

Also, I have a day job colleague who has used these parking spaces because she has had repeated knee surgeries. Although she is now able to ambulate without any help, she has had repeated bouts of needing accommodations. I think it might be interesting to get her view of the issues because she has a frame of reference of how things were before she had the multiple knee surgeries, while she was recovering, and now she still needs these spaces because she cannot walk far. 

My next thought is to reach out to my colleagues who handle transportation for my day job clients. Those who transport clients in wheelchairs have different sizes and types of vehicles, and I think they may be able to offer some interesting observations based on their daily challenges. Some, I believe, transport both children and adults, so it makes me wonder how the challenges may be different based on the person's age. 

A classmate from the other course I am currently taking has shared that her father is in a wheelchair. I am thinking of approaching her to see if she and her father might be willing to do a "team" interview so I can get an idea of how two stakeholders experience the challenges as they speak with me at the same time. I wonder if that might help bring some things to the forefront in different ways. I know she resides in the small city I am studying, but I do not know if her father lives in the area, as well. Perhaps if the design project might produce results that could directly impact them, they might be more willing to work with me. 

My mother works for a nursing home and very often runs into issues with residents using wheelchairs. I plan to save my interview with her as one of the last ones because I worry that interviewing her may seem like a biased bit of research. I know that she is a professional and has been in the field for decades. I trust she would not blow smoke but would answer my questions earnestly. Still, I am seeing her as almost a reserve pitcher, if you will, because I don't want to seem biased. 

I am not really sure how forthcoming business people will be if I ask about any concerns they may have about their "handicap accessible" parking.  They may well prefer to avoid talking about any issues out of fear that what I am doing could make them look bad. This is understandable. I am sure that they would have even more reasons to protect their reputations under the current conditions, so that may not be a winning approach. Still, I am still brainstorming this option.

Lastly, I would really like to know if my own prior experience could possibly be an aspect of my "research." Before teaching at the college level, I was a Title I Ed Tech and had to cover bus duty for children from Kindergarten through fifth grade. I saw what happened during the bus loading process when the school parking lot was far too small to easily accommodate a lift. And I often witnessed the issues that arose when wheelchair-bound students were picked up from school, especially if the driver was a grandparent or other relative who did not own the specialized lift or ramp equipment but still picked up one of these kiddos after school or dropped them off in the morning.  Man...now that I think about it, I saw a lot of scary things back then. I listened to the frustration and fear people expressed, and I saw close calls in that tight parking lot. I wonder...might I be a source?