Overview
Context
Role
Brief
Deliverables
Masters Project competition brief by Hubbub • 18 Weeks • Individual project
User Research • Design for Sustainable Behaviour Change
Inspire young people (18-25) living in a city, to explore and spend time in their local green spaces and engage with the nature on their doorstep in their everyday lives.
Research Report • Lo-fi Protoype
Project Outline
The Challenge
Being connected to nature actively and emotionally is vital to maintain an environmentally conscious society and supporting their physical and mental health, however not all people have the same levels of connection, unfortunately. Research shows younger generations in our days have a lower relationship with nature, which may lead to disconnected adults in the future (Natural England, 2020).
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Discover Phase
Unpacking Assumptions
To explore the brief deeply and identify my assumptions about the current pain points, I used the research scooping tool 5W’s 1H. Accordingly, I decided to focus on college students to achieve more targeted research.
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Secondary Research
I did a literature review to investigate young college students’ behaviours towards green spaces in the UK. I was looking for the possible reasons for disconnection and current motivations to spend time in nature. I classified my key findings from the review into four themes which are shown below.
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Unanswered Questions
To make an overview of my findings and initial assumptions and see unanswered questions for my research direction, I used the KWHLAQ tool. I discovered that there is a gap in the literature about international students’ green space interaction levels.
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Does changing a country affect green space interactions of international students?
How much awareness do they have about green spaces?
What are the current ways of learning in a new country for international students?
Initial Research Hunt Statement
I am going to research the current level of interactions between international students and green spaces and their willingness to change habits to improve their lives, with international students who are aged between 18-25 based in the UK; so that I can design a solution that motivates foreign students to spend more time in green spaces.
Primary Research
Overview
5 Semi-structured Interviews
Autoethnography
Sampling Rationale
5 semi-structured interviews
Autoethnography
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Semi-structured Interviews
5 semi-structured interviews
Autoethnography
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Autoethnography
5 semi-structured interviews
Autoethnography
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Define Phase
Data Analysis
I used the otter.ai app for transcribing my interviews; then, I synthesised key findings from them with my interview notes. Even though I had a short time for analysis, the insights were out there, and they justified my assumptions about the target group.
Key Findings
I used the otter.ai app for transcribing my interviews; then, I synthesised key findings from them with my interview notes. Even though I had a short time for analysis, the insights were out there, and they justified my assumptions about the target group.
Insights
I used the otter.ai app for transcribing my interviews; then, I synthesised key findings from them with my interview notes. Even though I had a short time for analysis, the insights were out there, and they justified my assumptions about the target group.
Behavioral Analysis of problems
I prepared a persona to better understand and define my target group and used it as a guide for my ideation processes. I revisited and make updates throughout the ideation process since experience and task goals were evaluated and changed organically. The final version of my persona is below.
Opportunity statements
I framed my vision statement for the product to lead my ideation by articulating the target group and the pain points. Then I generated opportunity statements to solve these pain points utilising smart meter data and create a positive impact on the energy consumption of the target group.
Develop & Deliver Phases
Concept Map
I built a concept map to articulate the functions and characteristics of the product. It also helped me to prioritise features, let go of less helpful ideas and focus on the main feature.
This map changed according to user feedback and design decisions throughout the design process. The concept map below is the last version of it.
Wireframing & Concept Evaluation tests
I made sketch wireframes of the main features and onboarding flows to validate my concept through user testing. I used the marvel app to create a lo-fi prototype from these sketches and tested it with 2 participants. Then made iterations on the concept regarding the feedback from the users.
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Final Product
Reflections
What I learned
It was my first User Experience Design research, so I was learning and crafting simultaneously. I loved approaching the problem methodologically and trying to dig deeper to seek intrinsic reasons and motives.
Learning behaviour change dynamics and analysing problematic behaviours to design interventions for sustainable results was another highlight of my master's education. I utilised behavioural analysis on my following projects even though the brief wasn't a behaviour change project.
Next Steps
I would have decided which insight to pursue and then tried to ideate instead of exploring opportunities for three different insights to save time and focus on experience mapping and concept evaluating.