Reflection Point: Product Design
My assignment for today is to reflect on product design. Until now, I’ve always thought of a product as a physical object. However, I have recently learned that a product can be anything that provides a benefit or service to someone.
In my opinion, a good product is valuable, easy to use, adapts to it user, and is aesthetically pleasing.


Waze is an interactive GPS that allows communities to work together to find the best possible routes for driving to a location. From finding a faster route to work to being alerted about a police trap, Waze helps notify you about hiccups you can experience (and avoid) when travelling. Users can play an active role by reporting accidents, construction, hazards, etc. Waze also has an active community of online map editors that check to make sure data is correct and up to date. (www.waze.com/about)
Waze is an example of what I consider a good product. While I don’t like to admit I “absolutely need” any of my apps on my phone, Waze is definitely one I would have a hard time deleting. Here are the reasons why Waze fits my description of a good product.
A good product is valuable: I would like to think I am a pretty chill person — I don’t get mad if my food order comes out wrong, I don’t mind waiting on people who always run late, and I don’t get annoyed if someone constantly misspells my name. However, the one thing that really gets under my skin is constantly having to sit in traffic; and in an ever growing, construction filled, tourist booming city, I sit in a lot of traffic. Waze is valuable because it allows me to avoid the mass chaos on the road and get to my destination with as little traffic as possible.
My favorite feature in the app is “planned drives” — this allow you to see the amount of time it will take you to drive to a destination later on (at any time or any day). It will also send you a reminder on when to leave. This feature allows me to plan my day accordingly, so that I know an approximate time to leave in order to get to where I need to be on time. A traffic-less and punctual Jami is honestly the best version of me you can get.
A good product is easy to use: When I downloaded Waze, it took me no time to figure out how to use it. It runs like any typical GPS: you enter an address and it provides you with a route. The route is highlighted on the screen, with the option to have it spoken to you or clicked to reveal the route written down as a list.
The planned drive feature was something new to me, though. Even though I was unfamiliar with it, it did not take me long to figure out how to use it. By clicking the “planned drives” button, you just enter in an address. It will then list out times and how long it will take to get there. You select the time you need, click “save”, and it sets it up to send you a notification when to leave.
The layout and directness of the app makes it easy for me to navigate what I needs.
A good product adapts to its user: Waze saves my most visited locations. It also suggested my home and work address, and saved them at the top of the list.
When driving, if I miss my turn, the app will adjust my route to put me back on track. Waze will also detect if a faster way has opened up, and ask me if I want to change my route.
All of these features help make my life easier when trying to get somewhere.
A good product is aesthetically pleasing: Let’s be real — a product is more fun to use if you actually enjoy looking at it. Waze uses cool colors and trendy UI to draw you in (which totally worked, in my case). In comparison, the Apple Maps app uses bright and alarming colors that tend to stress me out (ex: bright red all over the map indicating I am in never ending traffic).
Call me a “spoiled millennial”, but I’ve never really had to use a map and the thought of reading one definitely intimidates me. Apple Maps uses a map that looks like a real printed one and when I see it, I already feel like it’s too complicated to read. Alternatively, Waze uses an eye friendly map that I feel comfortable reading. Yes, it is the same information, but the way it is laid out is agreeable to my apprehension towards maps.
Overall, Waze just does a great job catering to what I consider aesthetically pleasing, which makes it a product I want to use.
