SpeedDating.P1.UserCharacteristics

For the sake of convenience, we have made the assumption that our users are predominantly Atlanta-area singles, who have signed up for a speed dating event via HurryDate or a similar service. We collected the following information through a combination of background investigation, literature and article reviews, an existing survey of speed dating participants, and querying the profiles on HurryDate.com.

Attribute	Findings	Implications
Age	20-66, majority 25-45	Age affects comfort level with technology, particularly handheld information devices. While many older adults have become comfortable with mobile phones, more complex devices such as PDAs still represent a significant conceptual challenge. Another consideration is that a sizeable proportion of the user population lies within the 20-45 age range; we are therefore limiting the potential user set to that age range, in order to optimize for the largest subset of users.
Race	Predominantly Caucasian, some African-American, a few other minorities	Cultural background can heavily influence attitudes toward and goals for relationships. Our design must plan for these cultural differences, yet we must also avoid singling out minorities in our design. Also, some speed daters are explicitly interested in meeting people from other ethnicities, because they are curious about interracial relationships. Such goals should be factored into our solution.
Gender	Setting is artificially controlled to be an even mix between male and female	Gender is a powerful predictor of speed dating behavior. Women are 4 times more likely to circle "no" to everyone than men. Men are 4 times more likely to circle yes to 70% or more Twice as many women preferred partners their age or younger 8% of men vs %5 of women want to make a change on their Match Sheet 80% of these men change a "no" to a "yes", while 65% of these women did the opposite Men are far more likely to make initial contact in a match Gender also has a significant effect on criteria and goals in speed dating (see below). We should account for the variety presented by gender in our solution -- due to the nature of this project, gender represents one of the most important distinguishing characteristics of our user population. Every aspect of our design and evaluation must be gender balanced in order to be successful.
Sexual Orientation	Vast majority heterosexual, with a significant population of gay men. The average age of the gay male population (35-45) is significantly higher than population at large (25-45). While there are no currently scheduled speed dating events in Atlanta that cater to homosexuals, there are hundreds of gay user profiles on HurryDate.com. This suggests that at least a couple of events are organized each year.	We shouldn't assume heterosexual interest in the design of our solution.
Physical Characteristics / Limitations	Vary widely, although generally we can assume our users are in good health	Our solution must be usable by a wide variety of physical types
Intoxication	Speed dating sessions usually take place in a bar, and participants are actively encouraged to have a few drinks before starting	Drunkeness will affect motor skills, memory, and cognition. The solution must be usable by somebody who's had a martini or a couple of beers.
Location	Atlanta area	Distance is probably not going to be as big a criteria for our users' romantic preferences as it is in other cities, since Atlanta is so spread out and everyone has a car.
Education	Majority bachelor's, some Master's, a very few PhDs.	Generally, speed daters have professional degrees. Education also influences their values, their interests, and their criteria for a relationship. It will affect the reading level of our dialog, the training process, and the cultural materials we provide.
Profession / Economic Strata	Top professions among speed daters are lawyers, business owners, teachers, and engineering professionals.	Users are generally professionals who are speed dating due to lack of time or a gender imbalance in their workplace. They are generally well-off (they can afford to drop $35 on a speed dating event). They're also very busy. They'd probably appreciate a design that minimizes its "tail" (the interaction necessary after a speed dating event).
Religion	Vast majority Christian, a few non-religious / other	Heavily influences values and goals in relationships, as well as preferences. May mean that a significant percentage will take a conservative attitude towards dating and romance. Will require sensitivity in design of both the solution and the user evaluation.
Speed Dating Experience	%98 of women stop speed dating after 3 events, however men are more likely to attend repeatedly (playing the "numbers game"),	Solution must be learnable in a matter of minutes, with little to no training. Many users won't have time to become "experts" in the solution.
Technical Ability	Medium-low to High.	HurryDate requires familiarity with the web (to sign up and create a profile). Also, most of the users are busy professionals (more likely to be familiar with gadgets like cell phones, computers and personal organizers). Design will assume a basic level of familiarity with technology.
Goals	Speed daters evenly split between "here to have fun" and "here to find a long-term relationship". Older participants tend to be more cautious about their goals -they are more likely to be looking for a "serious" relationship, but are not expecting to meet a soulmate.	Solution must be fun to use, and not require deep thought about preferences and desires. However, it should also support a goal-oriented user's quest for a strong match.
Personal Criteria	Criteria vary widely across genders. Men rate physical attractiveness and chemistry highly Women value quality of conversation, overall attitude, intelligence, and sense of humor. Other criteria include reciprocal desire, clothing, eye contact, and similarity of interests	We must support a wide range of criteria in our interface, or at least allow users to easily customize the solution to support their chosen criteria.