Redesign the fire hydrant.

Context setting and Clarifying questions : Why the redesign given it’s been around for years. Is it for Improved functionality, Ease of the use? Located in a public place. Easy access to fire fighters.

Mission : To redesign the fire hydrant.

User Segments : Firefighters are the primary users of the fire hydrant. Secondary users could be authorised users who are allowed to use the water for eg when road works are going on etc. For this assignment, focussing on primary users.

Current State of the Product : Metal container with connections to the hose and there is a tap to release the water to extinguish the fire.

User Journey in a simplistic way

1. When there is an alarm raised, firefighters rush to the place to extinguish the fire. 

2. Spot the fire hydrant and connect the hose.

3. Turn on the tap and release the water (assumption there is sufficient water supply by the firefighter)

4. Extinguish the fire and turn off the tap.

Pain Points/Opportunities to improve

1. Spotting the fire hydrant at a given place is not relatively easy

2. Pulling the hose out and screwing it to the opening (takes time)

3. Assumption there is sufficient water supply by the firefighter(s)

4. Access to the fire hydrant

5. Red paint on the metallic valve - could be an opportunity to enhance further.

Evaluation Criteria and Prioritisation : Depending on the painpoints identified above 

1. Spotting the fire hydrant at a given place ( Slows down the process, again slowness over here)

2. Pulling the hose out and screwing it to the hydrant openings (Slowness over here).

3. No pre-determination of water supply, unless reached the spot.

4. It depends on the public and common sense that no vehicle should be parked although there are signboards saying no vehicles allowed to park (not prioritising this for now).

5. There might be national standards to use Red as a color but this is an opportunity to improve.

Solution ideas 

1. Signpost at the key locations and/or Mobile App that shows the fire hydrant locations

2. Plug-n-Play sorts like a magnet where the hose can be connected to the openings easily and saves time. Additionally the shape of the hydrant can be looked into by increasing the number of openings and consuming more pressure of water to release. 

3. Indicators to show the supply of water.

4. Fluorescent colour in addition to red for easy spotting in the nights and hopefully avoids accidents by people coming and crashing against it.

Solution Prioritisation

1. Signpost at the key locations (medium to high effort) and/or Mobile App (medium to high). I would prioritise signpost over Mobile App. If sign post doesn’t work enough, Mobile App can be looked into. Prioritising this as THIRD (current situation is there are signposts and secondly firefighters might/will know the location well).

2. Plug-N-Play openings for the hose to connect like a magnet (medium to high effort but will increase the speed to action, therefore prioritising this as ONE).

3. Indicators to show the supply of water - prioritising this as SECOND as this is important to assess the quantity of water in addition to tank water that firefighters would drive.

4. Fluorescent colour - prioritising this as FOURTH because depending on the number of accidents this could be looked into later.

Value : 1. Easy to spot 2. Easy to access 3. Easy to use 

Metrics (North Star or Success Metric)

Awareness - Training to firefighters on the usage of the redesigned hydrant.

Engagement - The duration it takes to connect the hose with plug-n-play option (taking lesser time than screwing the hose). This will be the key metric to measure.

Summarise : Firefighters being the users and the problem prioritised is pulling the hose out and screwing it to the hydrant openings (Slowness over here), therefore Plug-N-Play openings for the hose to connect like a magnet as a solution to prioritise.