Fulfill App
UX Research and Strategy
Concept for an app to encourage goal achievement in the workplace. A personal project as part of DesignLab UX Research & Strategy course.
The Challenge
The brief called for me to generate ideas for a product that would encourage a specific user group to change their behaviour in order to achieve their goals. This would be heavily research driven and user-centered, to find an approach to tackling habit formation that would speak to the user and address their needs. My focus was on development in the workplace, goal setting and achievement in relation to appraisals and career trajectory.
My Role
Starting the process by drawing up a research plan to identify key research questions, methodology, participants, schedules and unknowns, I was able to move onto empathetic and contextual studies. Data analysis permitted me to have a deeper understanding of the target user's needs and pain points through storyboarding & user journeys, driving ideation and solutions from problem statements. These concepts were then user tested and adapted following feedback.
Empathise Stage
Customer Survey Planning
I determined what insight could be gathered from a questionnaire through highlighting what was known and where there were gaps in knowledge. This helped me to compile a survey that could be used to gather both demographic information as well as confirming the need for the app.
Data Analysis
Distilling both quantitative and qualitative data from customer surveys allowed me to identify themes and problems for the target user. This also confirmed that there was a need to uncover more contextual and personal information from target users.
Customer Interviews
Having established the need for assistance with goal setting, tracking and achievement in the work place, I was able to follow up the widely distributed surveys with 1:1 interviews. These semi-structured conversations allowed me to find out more about personal habits, behaviours, thoughts and feelings amongst users.
Define Stage
Empathy Map and Persona
Creating a user persona from the evaluated interview answers and observations painted a clearer picture of the problem space and how the user's behaviours, thoughts and feelings would inform initial idea generation and problem solving.
Storyboarding and User Journeys
By drawing out the user's current journey through the problem space, I was able to find out more about the user experience and pinpoint areas where an app could intervene and improve current processes.
'Point of View' Problem Statements and 'How Might We' Solutions
Re-framing the design problem and expanding my thinking I created problem scenarios for the user and sought out ways of solving those. Here are some examples of where my thinking took me...
1.
THE PROBLEM - A young professional needs to know how to advance to senior status in his role at work because he wants to make his family proud of his achievements.
THE SOLUTION - How might we clarify what this journey entails to better help the user get their needs met?
2.
THE PROBLEM - A creative in his mid-thirties needs to become confident in his own abilities and skills at work because he wants to inspire others, the way that he has been inspired.
THE SOLUTION - How might we use and share these experiences and struggles (the journey itself) to inspire others and in turn build self-confidence?
3.
THE PROBLEM - A full-time employee needs to find more time in the day because there is so much that he’d like to change about his approach at work, but he hasn’t got a moment to stop and think about it.
THE SOLUTION - How might we identify/carve out time/create a sense of ‘timelessness’ to better help the user get their needs met? Adapt time pressures?
4.
THE PROBLEM - A thirty-three year old professional needs to summon up the motivation and courage to set and achieve ambitions because it feels like a lonely task, and he’s scared of failing.
THE SOLUTION - How might we remove the feeling of fear and failure to better help the user get their needs met?
5.
THE PROBLEM - A hard working and high achieving male needs to get out of the work rut cycle because it feels like nothing changes and his spark and enthusiasm is dwindling.
THE SOLUTION - How might we inject joy and a sense of adventure into the workplace to better help the user get their needs met?
Heuristic Review and Feature Matrix
Carrying out competitor analysis uncovered what models and methods were currently being utilised by other 'goal' and 'habit change' apps. This objective review acted as an audit of potential features and an opportunity to consider their value and worth.
Ideate Stage
'CRAZY EIGHT' SKETCHES
Brainstorming
This quick-fire sketching technique encouraged visual thinking around the 'problem' statements and 'solution' questions. The 'Fill Up Space' idea was one that addressed the notion of time pressures and timelessness as an alternative to setting deadlines and added stress. This was a concept that I wanted to delve into further.
USER JOURNEY
Solution Storyboarding
Re-visiting the user journey at this stage with the introduction of my potential solution prompted further thought about problem areas and the realistic user experience around the use of an app, which would be beyond my control. This was also a time to consider user thoughts and feelings at each touch point and think about how to adjust and adapt the journey and experience of the user to maintain engagement and enjoyment..
Prototype & Testing Stages
LANDING PAGE TEST
Minimum Viable Product
Moving on quickly to plot out the key features needed for an MVP, I tested a mock up landing page with users via 'Peek', recording their actions and commentary as they first encountered the product.
Solution Storyboard
Collating all my thinking, analysis and research I pulled together a more thorough storyboard of the user journey, incorporating my suggested solution concept.
The abstract idea of using a graphic representation of filling space as the user achieves tasks/milestones/goals, is one that would then go into further design development with an interaction focus at the next stage.