WATA

Bar Horowitz

Case Study

Co Founder

Physical & Digital Product Design

UX Research

UX & UI Design

IoT

Business & Product Strategy

Fundraising

—Summary

What

WATA Solution improves water management where populations suffer from consistent uncertainty and apprehension about their limited source of water.

How

An IoT (Internet of Things) unit that monitors water tanks, reflects real-time information to a mobile user app, enabling decision-making, and enhancing water management.

For

With

When

Households & Local Authorities in developing countries.

Muhanad Kharraz, my Co-founder, a Water Engineer from Palestine.

A diverse multidisciplinary team made of Engineers, Data Scientist, Software Developer & a Community Developer. And a network of international executives advisors from MIT, Harvard, MassChallenge & more.

2018 - End 2019

01 Research

& Discovery

Access to safe drinking water is a basic human right.

According to the UN SDG’S No.6 >

Sounds obvious,

isn't it?

... & Yet,

3 in 10 people lack access to safely managed drinking water services.

Each day nearly 1,000 children die due to water and sanitation related diarrheal diseases.

Water scarcity affects more than 40% of global population and is projected to rise.

The insufficient supply of water and sanitation is costing the MENA region around $21 billion per year.

It is a severe global problem

Amjad, 35

West Bank, Palestine

Uncertainty, apprehension & Dependence

01
Do I have enough water?

02
Is my water safe to drink?

03
How can I safely refill my water tank?

*

Households in the West Bank

660K

Runs out of

water annually

Is concerned about water quality

69%

79%

Holds smartphones

92%

*Based on market research conducted July 2018

Despite not being familiar with the water scenario in the west bank,

I realized it is about time to get closer and deeper as possible.

Supported by my co-founder, who is a Palestinian citizen, we made extensive research, knowledge sourcing, initiated & activated multiple connections.

I took the lead on a series of interviews, field research, Design Thinking methodologies & analysis, that gradually revealed a much clearer view and an objective understanding of the field. Then I could thoroughly enlighten the various stakeholders, the pains, and the bottlenecks.

Stakeholders Map >

How does the water ecosystem in the WB, is structured? Who are its stakeholders?

And what are their dynamics?

Major stakeholders 'pains' & bottlenecks:

Households:

Uncertainty

Local Authority:

Inefficiency

Water-Tankers:

Chaotic Business Operations

It was a deep dive into a vast and severe global challenge. Therefore, in order to solve in such a complex system, we had to identify & focus on a specific problem to tackle as a beginning.

We utilized valuable research insights, on-going discussions with our target audience, and potential end-users to focus our objectives.

We realized that the major 'pain' is derived from insufficient resources, and most of all — major inaccessibility of information & inefficient management.

< Problem Definition

How might we enhance water management where it is most needed.

02 Problem Definition

03 Solutions Exploration

Ideation sessions & Design sprints >

@ MIT DesignX Accelerator & @MassChallenge

04 Solution

Definition

Defining a solution:
An IoT (’Internet of Things’) solution communicates real-time data about water resources, directly to its consumers, by a simple and intuitive digital interface.

How does it work?

By providing technology based on real-time data collection, WATA enables family members and authority level to control & manage water consumption, distribution, and supply with a more educated decision making, instantly.