ECOGEEK: SUSTAINABILITY SIMPLIFIED
DESIGNING A MOBILE APP FOR "GREEN" GUIDANCE
MOBILE PROTOTYPE
This product aims to promote sustainable practices by increasing awareness of eco-friendly recycling practices and empowering urban residents to make informed decisions.
GOALS
Identify challenges faced by urban residents seeking accessible and easy-to-understand recycling information
Design a solution addressing their needs
TIMELINE
The project was to be completed in 3 weeks, with work spanning from November 15 to December 5, 2022.
TEAM SIZE
During this project, I worked closely within a team of 4 stakeholders, with each of us assuming the roles of UX Researchers and Designers as we collaborated through each step of the design process.
TOOLS USED
WHAT I DID
During this project, I conducted 2 interviews, 2 usability tests, and led production of 13 UX artifacts guiding design decisions. I also collaborated on creating and iterating 3 fidelities of prototypes to ensure the effective refinement of user-guided design concepts at various stages.
THE PROCESS
Our team of four was tasked with researching, prototyping, testing, and validating a brand-new mobile app solving a clearly identified need in users' daily lives. Given our shared interest in “green” living, we explored people’s knowledge and participation regarding sustainable practices.
Our process followed the “Design Thinking” framework, including initial user research, paper prototyping and testing, digital prototyping and testing, and iterating one final design.
USER RESEARCH & FINDINGS
We conducted 5 remote interviews and created a survey receiving 13 responses, synthesizing our findings into an affinity diagram to identify key user needs and pain points. Our findings revealed a desire to become more eco-friendly, uncertainty about proper product waste disposal, and difficulty accessing information about local green practices.
From this data, we developed a user persona named Cecelia Greene and an empathy map to understand her thoughts, behaviors, and actions, providing a clear and actionable understanding of our users.
We also conducted a competitive analysis of four existing solutions, identifying common areas for improvement including a lack of online access to recycling resources, city or town-specific guidelines, and ways of tracking one’s sustainable contributions.
DEFINITION & IDEATION
After generating ideas using the “I Like, I Wish, What If” method and organizing and evaluating them with an affinity diagram, we used a prioritization matrix to identify three features with low technical complexity but high user impact: location-based recycling resources, a regularly-updated local waste collection schedule, and the ability to scan product barcodes to determine recyclability.
To guide our design decisions, we created a user scenario and journey map, as well as a user flow to identify any potential roadblocks or confusion Cecelia Greene may experience during the process of acquiring or using our product: EcoGeek.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
We used sketches, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to produce multiple versions of the interface. The paper prototype, created by combining team members' sketches, allowed us to test EcoGeek's navigation and interactions with users. The mid-fidelity prototype incorporated user feedback and moved into a digital fidelity of visual design, equipping us to build the app's functionality more effectively. The prototyping process emphasized the importance of testing and iteration, enabling us to create a final product meeting our target users’ needs.
USABILITY TESTING & FINDINGS
By facilitating remote guerrilla user tests over Zoom and Google Meet, we conducted a paper prototype test of four users with a 79.2% average task completion rate, and a mid-fi prototype test of four more with a 95.8% completion rate. Based on user feedback, we evaluated our designs and made iterative changes addressing issues of navigational clarity, visual cues, and user flow. The result was a final high-fidelity prototype our team presented to our UX cohort.
INSIGHTS & OUTCOME
Our user-centered design approach enabled us to tackle the issue of environmental sustainability, often perceived as inaccessible, inconvenient, and inconsequential. Collaborating closely on each deliverable allowed us to hone our UX research and UX design skills alike, despite working virtually. Without time constraints, we may have opted for a minimum of 5 participants per test, since Nielsen Norman Group's usability heuristics consider it an ideal sample size. If this project continued, we would explore opportunities such as incorporating more social features and partnering with other names in sustainability to create a more inclusive, impactful solution promoting "greener" living.
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