Systems Analysis: Modeling Apartment Package Pick-Up
I served as co-project manager for a team of 7 to analyze the package pick-up process at a local apartment complex and develop suggestions for improving it. This is a class project for a Systems Analysis graduate course at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Purpose:
This project is the culminating assignment for a graduate course at UNC-Chapel Hill. I co-led a group of 7 students to analyze the apartment package pick-up system we chose.
Process:
This process involved four steps: defining the problem, performing remote contextual inquiries, modeling the process as is, and proposing remediation plans.
The problem definition was created by the team member who lives in the apartment complex we were studying. He also collected the 7 participants whom we performed contextual inquiries with. I led one contextual inquiry and served as notetaker for another.
I set up a schedule before beginning the project outlining when we expect complete project parts and who was responsible for what. I hosted weekly meetings for the team over Zoom, for which I developed agendas and expected outcomes.
I led a subgroup of the project team to design four models outlining the package pick-up process: an affinity diagram, a sequence model, an artifact model, and a flow model. Our affinity diagram is included below.
This is a screenshot of our affinity diagram; we took feedback from our contextual inquiries and write notes on Mural, depicting observations from the tenants’ perspective. Then, we organized the notes into categories to get a better sense of how the system worked and how it didn’t.
Outcomes:
We presented our findings and suggestions. Here are the solutions we suggested to address the breakdowns and exactly what results they would contribute to:
Packages will be kept in the backroom of the leasing office. —> Prevents package damage
Residents present photo ID to get package. —> Prevents package theft
Office accepts oversized packages because of extra storage room. —> Prevents undeliverable packages
Packages scanned upon arrival, added to database and removed when picked up —> Records which packages are in storage; prevents theft
Email to resident with package’s tracking number —> Residents know which packages arrived.
No pick-up appointments —> Less inconvenience to residents
Lessons Learned:
Our team used an Agile-like methodology, in which we set specific roles and responsibilities for each team member, and we used weekly sprints to assign tasks and review accomplishments. This format worked well for us, with the most helpful part being the use of roles and specific sub-groups for certain tasks.