User experience design for route creation

This research project aims to prove the viability of a digital marketplace application where locals can create and sell self-guided routes for tourists. The research will operate under the assumption that a route will need to be sufficiently ‘valuable’ by metrics that can be defined after an extensive review of literature. My hypothesis is that route creators can design a ‘valuable’ route in about fifteen minutes. In terms of methodology, I will begin by creating a template for locals to create a route. I will have a group of locals in Toronto create routes and time them in order to test the route creation process. The results disprove that a route with ‘value’ can be created in fifteen minutes, instead hosts’ time needs can vary. Finally, a functioning prototype of the application is made based on user input and feedback.