VirtualVenue • Capstone Project
Mitigating overcrowding risks
I worked with a team to research, design, and test a digital twin experience, refining the solution through user feedback & presenting to stakeholders.
Summary
Presented and rationalized in an industry review
The final iteration was presented to an industry panel of professionals from Rogers, Waterloo professors and fellow students.
Context
Overcrowding is dangerous
VirtualVenue is a tablet based application helping event planners and venue staff prevent safety risks by visualizing and managing the venue space in real time.
Problem Scope
Event planning is hard
There are many jobs to be done in order for events to run smoothly. Event planners, venue staff & security must be aligned.
Insights
• Poor venue infrastructure and planning can lead to dangerous crowding
• Planning must consider clear navigational paths, accessible exits, & venue capacity limits
• Event planners lack tools to manage venues efficiently
A typical day at Fan Expo, where crowds spill across multiple buildings and floors at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Research
Interviewing the head of security
The Head of Security at Scotiabank Arena shared insights that helped shape our feature decisions.
Insights
• Guards face communication struggles due to many layers of departments
• Collecting real-time foot traffic data can be utilized by senior management
• Emergency response planning must support clear direction for emergency first responders
Ideate
Feature mapping
Many sessions of brainstorming and mapping exercises led us to a tablet app that can be carried around.
We asked ourselves, “how can crowds be controlled?” and “what needs to happen before, during and after an event takes place?”
Results
The project received a strong final grade and positive feedback. The QnA after the presentation let us explain our design decisions from testing feedback.
