EAGER: Identifying Technical and Non-Technical Feature Requirements to Generate Income-Earning Opportunities for Inexperienced Entrepreneurs

这个项目试图发现技术驱动的共享经济创业的一些技术和非技术的“隐藏”需求。这项研究将揭示这些隐性要求在多大程度上是一个挑战，特别是对那些不习惯分享经济的人来说。Uber、Lyft、eBay、Etsy和Airbnb等共享经济平台将买家和卖家联系起来，并允许新手企业家在网上做生意。分享经济的叙事强调创造就业机会，以及通向小规模创业的捷径。然而，批评人士质疑这些系统实际上为最不富裕的人提供了什么，他们中的许多人在创业和数字技术方面的经验有限。这个项目非常有意地寻求更广泛的影响，旨在通过同时利用当地公民的优势，增加社区参与，并提高不太富裕的人的经济前景，使共享经济更具包容性。这项研究的一个直接结果是启动了一个将普通公民转变为科技驱动的小型企业的工作模式。该研究将遵循案例研究方法，包括观察、参与性设计练习、线人访谈和焦点小组，以考察使参与者能够在围绕旅游的共享经济中成功运营的基本因素。通过积极参与社区，研究团队将使用参与性方法将这项调查嵌入到一家企业的工作中，社区成员在该企业中开展邻里旅游，以此作为赚取额外收入的一种方式。参与者将设计旅游，处理物流，并最终提供旅游。为了分析、记录和记录运营业务所需的所有技术和非技术支持，研究将激发参与者的愿望，进行设计练习以确定旅游内容，并提供技术援助和与法律和商业顾问的联系。人们对能够成功参与共享经济的因素知之甚少，特别是在非技术组成部分方面。这项调查的智力目标将是揭示传统共享经济平台的隐藏需求和局限性，并确定满足这些需求和要求所需的方法，特别是与缺乏经验的企业家有关的方法。

This project seeks to discover some of the technical and non-technical "hidden" requirements for technology-driven, shared-economy entrepreneurship. This research will uncover the degree to which these hidden requirements are a challenge, especially for those who are not habitual shared-economy participants. Sharing economy platforms such as Uber, Lyft, eBay, Etsy, and Airbnb connect buyers and sellers and allow novice entrepreneurs to do business online. The sharing economy narrative emphasizes job creation and an easy ramp to small-scale entrepreneurship. Critics, however, have called into question what these systems actually provide for the least well-off, many of whom have limited experience with entrepreneurship and digital technology. This project very intentionally seeks broader impacts that aim to make the sharing economy more inclusive by simultaneously harnessing the strengths of local citizens, increasing community engagement, and raising economic prospects for the less well-off. A direct outcome of the research is to kick-start a working model for turning everyday citizens into tech-enabled, small-scale entrepreneurs.The research will follow a case study approach consisting of observations, participatory design exercises, informant interviews, and focus groups to examine the foundational factors that enable participants to successfully operate in a shared economy around tourism. Actively participating with the community, the team of researchers will use a participatory approach to embed this investigation into the working of an enterprise in which community members conduct neighborhood tours as a way to earn additional income. Participants will design the tours, handle logistics, and ultimately deliver the tours. For the purposes of analysis, documentation, and recording of all technical and non-technical support required to run the business, the research will elicit participant aspirations, run design exercises to determine tour content, and provide technical assistance and connections with legal and business advisors. The factors enabling successful participation in the sharing economy are poorly understood, especially with regard to non-technical components. The intellectual goal of this investigation will be to uncover the hidden needs and limitations of traditional sharing economy platforms and to identify methods required to meet these needs and requirements, especially as they relate to inexperienced entrepreneurs.