Project type
UX Research / UX Design / UI design / Product Design / Mobile Apps
Responsibility
User Needs Analysis / Interface Design / Digital Prototypes
Team
Fulvio Bambusi Project Manager
Nicolò Alabastro Frontend Developer
Pietro Aloisi Frontend Developer
Pietro Avolio Architecture Developer
Tommaso Ballardini Software Engineer
Francesco Bertani Software Engineer
Andrea Maioli Software Engineer
Matteo Virelli Communication Designer
Time
5 Months
Background
Filaindiana is an application and non-profit project that was launched in Italy during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The name "Filaindiana" translates to "Indian file," which refers to the single-file line formation often used for queuing.
The app was created to help people avoid long lines and crowds at supermarkets during the pandemic. It allows users to see the real-time status of these locations, including information about the length of the line and the estimated wait time.
How might we prevent people from queuing at supermarkets?
Filaindiana was designed as a temporary solution to help people cope with the new challenges of the pandemic, at a time of great uncertainty and risk. The service quickly gained popularity and was used by thousands of people across the country.
The team behind Filaindiana was assembled during the first lockdown in March 2020. Even tough many of the team members didn't know each other, a strong chemistry developed quickly and in less than a week we designed and deployed a server-less Web App based on Amazon AWS cloud, going from 0 to 150k active users overnight. The team then spent the following months refining the service's UX and functionalities, expanding it to Spain and France as well.
Prototyping
The development of the app followed a series of fast-paced design iterations. It had to go from concept to MVP and from MVP to product as quickly as possible because its popularity was exploding and there was no time to properly test the service.
Features
1. Explore
Users can open the app and search for the business they want to visit around their area. The main screen displays a map with markers pinpointing the shops, as well as real-time updates about the length of the line and estimated wait time. In this way, users can choose the best place to go grocery shopping while avoiding crowds.
2. Add a report
From the beginning we opted for a crowdsourcing model that allowed to capitalize on the traction received from the public. By implementing a feature that allowed users to report the number of people queuing in front of supermarkets, reports from thousands of people were aggregated and displayed publicly, perfecting the data proposed by Filaindiana's algorithm.
Filaindiana is based on the active participation of each citizen: when users are queuing outside of a supermarket or when they spot a line in front of it, they can send a report on the number of people and the expected waiting time for the specific queue. These reports are aggregated and shown on the public map.
3. Contribute
Through the "Add Market" Fab, users can add missing supermarkets to the map, in case a particular retailer has not been tracked yet.
4. Suggest an edit
In a situation of testing directly on users, together with the various reports of queues received, we noticed the occourrence of a need to correct erroneous information sometimes contained in the descriptions of points of sale.
By therefore proposing an information correction path inspired by Google Maps, we have allowed users to help us carry out this work.
By therefore proposing an information correction path inspired by Google Maps, we have allowed users to help us carry out this work.
Filaindiana was created with the sole objective of helping the society: one of the earliest version of the app included an action button that encouraged people to donate to the NHS to counter the Covid-19 emergency. The button, leading to the NHS donation page, collected more than 5k taps.
Styleguide
Atomic Design
Short tutorial videos realized to promote the use of the app in Italy.
Numbers
Released the 20th of March 2020 in Northern Italy, in three days Filaindiana reached more than half a million people. A week later, on March 28, the service was extended to the entire country, reaching more than 1.2 million people in the first ten days from the launch.
In the first two months the app collected: 130k daily accesses, +2mln visitors, +40k App download, +100k user reports and was featured as 1st best app in the Maps & Navigation section of the Google Play Store.
To crown this project, Amazon's CTO and VP Werner Vogels included Filaindiana among the success stories presented during the 2020 AWS Summit Online keynote, emphasizing how technology can be used to solve real-world problems. A huge recognition of the work and the social impact that has been generated by this project.
After the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in Italy improved and restrictions were gradually lifted. As the stress and urgency of managing long lines and crowds decreased, the service of Filaindiana was eventually discontinued in July 2020 after 5 months from its release.
Filaindiana was supported by:
And that's not all!
