craigslist.org City Search Aggregator

Executive Summary

Business Description

The business for which the project was performed is fictitious.  However, all users of craigslist.org  are the potential target market that will be served by the created project functionality.    

System Overview

As users attempt to search for products on craigslist.org, they must search by only one city at a time.  The “pain” here is evident in common use of the site as many users do not want to limit their search to one city, but desire to search cities nearby as well.  Utilizing the craigslist.org Search Aggregator created in this project, users now have the functionality necessary to avoid manually researching nearby cities.  They are now able to visually select each individual city to search via a form.  The experience concludes with a selection of the most desired craigslist.org post and the form rendering that page visible to the user for full review. 

General Form Path

The form makes use of many lists to aid users in a visual excursion to all of the desired cities they desire to search for a particular product.  Steps are as follows:

1. Selection of desired state
2. Selection of desired cities
3. Visual confirmation of each desired city
4. Users run the aggregated search
5. Selection of the desired post description
6. Viewing of the selected post in Internet Explorer

Optional Form Path Functionality

There is some functionality outside of the normal flow that adds considerable functionality to the experience.  The Refresh button allows the “database” from which the form pulls data to be refreshed in case of the addition of new cities.  It is important to note that the solution was created in a robust manner such that it will be a viable solution for craigslist.org users regardless of geographic availability changes made to the site.  A “Clear” button was also added to allow for a clear post list and would allow for another product search to be commenced without need to reselect states and cities.


http://files.gove.net/shares/files/11w/jenkinsg/Final_Writeup.pdf
http://files.gove.net/shares/files/11w/jenkinsg/Final_-_Craigs_List_Aggregator.xlsm