Users of the project
There will be two different types of users using the piece of equipment, one group to raise the alarm and another group of people to operate and control the alarm. The group that raises the alarm will be the paying customers of the park and sometimes local residents; they can range from the age of 1 – 70+ years of age. The other group is the one which control and operate the alarm, this will be a small group of about 12 staff who work on site 2 of which control the day to day running of the pool with the remainder having access to control ‘the project’ and disable it.
Needs for the user groups
The design needs for the user group also vary. Below is a table of the different needs that will have to be taken into consideration when the design brief is completed
Location
As the alarm system that I am going to design and make is for around swimming pool areas there are different design needs that need to be considered if the alarm was to be placed indoors in a dry area. Depending on which design I opt for at this stage I am predicting that part of the project will be undercover and other parts will be out in the open. This may cause implications as to what materials I use and how the project is constructed. The main control box will be placed inside with the trigger being exposed outside along with the alarm feature.
Things that may need to be considered in the design need are:
- Exposure to direct sunlight (discolouration)
- Exposure to hot and cold temperatures
- How the trigger will cope with wear and tear over a period of time
Designs needs based on location are:
- Needs to be waterproof
- To cope with being tampered with
- Vandal –Proof (to a certain extent)
- Visible
On the following 2 pages there are two 2-D plans as to the location of where the alarm is to be situated and any obstructions that may be where I plan to position my alarm
How would I market my finished product?
The product that I plan to design and produce is only appealing to a small market of people who like us have holiday parks and want to have a small inexpensive pool and intruder alarm or to the people who have swimming pools in there back gardens etc and want an inexpensive safety device. Either way there a many different types of media that I could use to market the product these include:
- Television
- Radio
- National / Local Newspaper
- Magazines
- Internet
- Post
- Telephone sales
- Existing stores
The ways of marketing my product would be most effective if I was to:
- Place an advert in swimming pool industry magazines, these magazines do reach a wide variety of readers from the big companies down to the small parks that I am targeting
- To set up a website and open up an online shop where I could take direct orders from the public and advertise that site through search engines
- Post flyers through to local businesses
- Contact existing pool accessory shops and online shops and enquire about them selling my product on behalf of myself
