Step Correct
Case study
UX Design
Design team:
Robert Grytnes, Jad Hama, Håkon Holseth
Project:
School assignment<
My roles:
UX design, Graphic design, Prototyping, Testing/Workshop facilitator, Data analysis and definition.
Step Correct is a fictive project that is about nature conservation. It’s a project containing UX research, analysis, ideation, and mid fidelity user testing. The project does not contain high fidelity design and is only the foundation structure of something that could have been.
Background
Overpopulated cities, over consumerism, traffic jams, pollution in air and water, littering and other human activities leads to animals being pushed out of their nests and natural habitats disrupting ecosystems and causing lasting damage.
As the population grows, so do the networks of roads, cars, and houses. This expansion leaves little space for wildlife to thrive, forcing animals into increasingly difficult and unstable lives. The result? An unbalanced and struggling ecosystem.
The animals can’t do much about the situation. It’s up to us—humans—to step up and act. But who is responsible? Who can we point fingers at?
Environmental activists are playing their part. Politicians and conservation organizations are doing their share. We do our share. But still, there is a massive problem. Why is that and what can we do? What do people think? Are we taking wildlife for granted? And are ‘we’ willing to do anything about it? –And what can I do?
Step Correct aims to educate and engage individuals in Norway about the importance of creating space for wildlife through a mobile application. The app is made to motivate people to take small, meaningful actions that positively impact the environment.
Design Process
What we did
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Empathising Methods
We did exploratory research to investigate a a big subject and a problem which was not clearly defined. This way we can change our direction subject to the revelation of new data or insight that we find on the way. We also chose generative research to get a deeper understanding of opportunities for solutions and innovation.
Semi-structured interviews, literature reviews, and empathy mapping to gain more understanding and insight from the data conducted. In order to analyze the facts that we gathered we have used affinity mapping. To see what- and if other services do to make space for wildlife, we chose to conduct a competitive analysis to see what they do, how they do it and if we can differentiate and make something better.
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We defined the problem with the collected data and- looked at competition, made persona and scenario to step into the users shoes.
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We invited participants to workshop, sorted and categorized ideas to a suited and sustainable concept and finessed the concept with Don Normans «Three levels of design» and «persuasive design»
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We made requirements (data, technical, functional and contextual) and content audit, information architecture, user flow and user task flow and made mid fidelity sketches and made sure of good design decisions with Jacob Nielsen’s 10 design heuristic principles.
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We tested the design on 5 participants and made further recommendations for design changes.
Empathy
Empathising Methods
Themes – Litterature
The data from our literature findings told us that the richer you get the more you consume. People are over-informed and overwhelmed. Human convenience has a great connection to activities, and human activities have great effect on environment.
Guilt
Effect
Convenience
Knowlege
Survey data
Age and housing was relevant to not make assumptions about the demographics and geographic of the participants in the survey.
For the psychographic segment we wanted general data about attidudes with meat industry, animal care, attitide around small creatures (insects) and information about what people think have the most impact on the environment and where they go for vacation.
Most impact on the environment
73 % Littering
What do you do on holiday?
72 % Relaxing at home
Defining
Affinity mapping
Categorizing data
Footprint
Waste
Human impact
Love for nature
Hoplessness
Confusion
Education
Attitudes
Research Insights
Participants expressed a strong desire to contribute positively to the environment but felt powerless against the scale of environmental issues. They recognized the impact of consumerism and pollution on wildlife [22].
Findings
Feel small: Users feel small and powerless against larger environmental issues.
Desire for Action: There is a strong desire to contribute positively but a lack of knowledge on how to do so.
Knowledge Gap: Users are generally informed but often overwhelmed by the amount of information available
Toxic media: Many users are overwhelmed by negative media coverage on environmental crises.
Motivations Identified
Users love nature and want to help but feel their efforts are insignificant.
They seek positive reinforcement and tangible ways to contribute.
Users prefer easy-to-understand information and engaging experiences.
Frustrations
Users find the current information on conservation overwhelming.
Many feel that industries are primarily responsible for environmental issues, leading to apathy.
Users struggle to see the impact of their small actions on larger environmental goals.
Key findings:
Participants show great knowledge about pollution, consumerism and that human populations are growing and pushing animals out from their natural habitats and in some cases killed, removed or locked up for human advantages/ -mistakes/ -Amusement.
Many people also feel that the media coverage are too overwhelming and toxic, leading to confusement and frustration instead of motivation to make change.
Powerless
People feel small and powerless because of industry and negative (impossible to accomplish) goals from media.
Knowlege
People show great knowledge about pollution, consumerism and that human activities are pushing animals from their habitats.
Intention
People love nature, animals and wildlife and have the best intentions for the planet.
Problem statement
Young adults need a way to feel and know that the small actions individuals do, are making a significant change to the environment in an easy and engaging way to feel meaningful and be a better contributor to the environment, and make responsible changes happen.
Persona
Ideation
Objective of Ideation:
The primary goal was to generate ideas that focus on educating users about their environmental impact, motivating them to take action, and providing a platform that is engaging and enjoyable to use.
Methods:
workshop: To generate the best possible ideas we organized a workshop to facilitate divergent thinking and gather insights from participants. This included recruiting two graphic designers to ensure a creative, user-focused approach.
Sorting and categorising: The team sorted post-its from the session into categories.
Brainstorming: The team combined ideas from categories and made them into concepts.
100 $ test: The team presented the concepts for each other and voted for the best ideas with 100 $ to vote.
Top solution: Based on the top voted ideas we combined them together and moved forward with sketching.
Workshop Techniques:
The workshop consisted of several key activities:
Post-ups: Participants shared wild ideas quickly to stimulate creative thinking.
Worst idea: Participants were encouraged to think about how they could worsen the situation, which helped in identifying potential pitfalls.
Brainstorming: Participants generated ideas flipping bad ideas into valuable solutions.
Key Questions:
Several guiding questions were posed to drive the brainstorming:
How can users feel a greater impact on the planet and wildlife?
How can the app help users progress and stay motivated?
How can individuals be made aware of their responsibility in environmental issues?
Top Solution Development:
After numerous discussions and evaluations, the team identified a top solution:
An educational app that uses gamification to motivate users to reflect on their actions and take small, impactful steps toward environmental sustainability. This app would provide interactive storytelling and tasks, emphasizing the importance of individual contributions
The ideation process resulted in a clear vision for the application, focusing first on what we have to dodge and flipping over to goals, making environmental education fun and accessible to users, particularly targeting young adults in Norway
The ideation phase was crucial in transforming initial research insights into a viable concept for the application. By using structured workshops and diverse brainstorming techniques, the team was able to harness collective creativity, ensuring that the final product would resonate with user needs and promote environmental stewardship effectively. The process emphasized collaboration, user-centered design, and the importance of iterative development in creating a successful application.
Step Correct
Step Correct is an application that focus on educating users about wildlife and consequences with daily human activities. Honest and informative learning from trustworthy sources is a part of the strategy to make people aware of the small things that is a part of the big things. –So that people have the knowledge to make useful changes and interact with their environment in a meaningful way. The app focuses on user-friendly design to be universal and seamless in hectic, urban settings. This is a longterm awareness campaign that strives to make people think differently, which is why we focus on gamification and repeat usage while helping users feel a sense of accomplishment and contribution to wildlife conservation.
This is a part of Donal Normanns 3 levels of design (First impression, the functionality, the meaning and emotion).
The goals are twofold: to educate users about wildlife and to promote real-world actions that support conservation efforts.
Prototype
Core Features
Interesting tasks: Users can view tasks related to wildlife conservation, with gamified elements to encourage completion. The tasks will vary in different formats like quiz, videos, interactive games and reading.
Donation System: Users can use coins to donate to various trustworthy and reliable environmental organisations.
Gamification: Earn points for completing tasks, unlock badges and achievements, share and track progression and contribution with friends.
Testing
Purpose of Usability Testing:
Evaluate the wireframes effectiveness and satisfaction in engaging test participants and observe their perception of whats happening, where to go and if they are able to navigate.
Primary Goals of the Usability Testing:
Determine if users find the task format interesting.
Assess if users can easily complete tasks.
Evaluate if the application meets users' expectations.
Determine if the application is something they want to use.
Usability Testing Methodology:
Remote moderated testing with scripted tasks.
Participants were observed in their natural environment.
Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA) method to gather real-time feedback.
Boomerang and echo technique to let participants think for them selves.
Participant Demographics
Norwegian citizens aged 20-35.
Environmentally conscious individuals who regularly use different apps.
Users who value nature and are dependent on technology.
Key metrics
Successful task completion
Answered:
All participants completed 4 out of 5 tasks successfully.
Indicates a strong understanding of the app's functionality and design.
Non-critical errors
Answered:
Participants encountered few non-critical errors.
They were able to recover quickly, highlighting effective design.
Critical errors
Answered:
A few critical errors were noted where participants felt lost.
This suggests areas for improvement in navigation and clarity.
Satisfaction rate
Answered:
High satisfaction levels were reported, with most participants rating their experience as good or very good.
Tasks
Successful task completion
Non-critical errors
Critical errors
Satisfaction rate
After usability testing, we gathered all feedback (test results + videos) and wrote down the findings and documented it into a data sheet for more structural understanding. We laid the data in the chosen metrics to find out similarities and quantitative data from our testing sessions.
Insights Gained:
Users appreciated the task format and overview.
They expressed a desire for a more streamlined account creation process.
Gamification elements were particularly motivating.
Testing Insights
High Satisfaction Rates: Users reported a positive experience with the application, appreciating the engaging design and easy navigation.
Critical Feedback: Some users found the account creation process too lengthy and suggested reducing the number of steps.
Recommendations for Improvement
Simplifying the onboarding process to enhance user retention.
Enhancing the visibility of point balances and donation options.
Give it a go :)
The implementation of Step Correct's app yielded impressive user engagement and satisfaction, demonstrated through thorough testing with a group of diverse users:
1. **Successful Task Completion:** All participants successfully completed the assigned tasks, revealing the app's effectiveness.
2. **Ease of Use:** Users reported that the app was straightforward to navigate, even in a low fidelity wireframe model, confirming that the design aligned with their mental models.
3. **High Motivation Levels:** The inclusion of badges and a donation feature provided significant motivation for users, encouraging regular interaction with the app.
4. **Positive User Experience:** Feedback indicated the app met user expectations and was enjoyable to use, reinforcing its educational purpose.
5. **Logical Structure:** Test users found the app's layout logical, simplifying their navigation experience, and they were able to resolve any minor errors effortlessly.
6. **Account Creation Process:** Although the login form was generally considered modern and user-friendly, users suggested that streamlining the initial information input could enhance their experience.
Further recommendations
Test different task styles.
Test on more people.
Use different testing methods like group, guerilla and A/B testing.
Ready, set, step correct!
The Step Correct project successfully identifies the gap in wildlife conservation awareness and creates a comprehensive strategy to engage people in urbanised areas through an engaging mobile application that funnel intricate subjects into digestible pieces. By focusing on empathy, user feedback, and iterative design, the team has laid the groundwork for a tool that empowers individuals to make meaningful contributions to wildlife conservation. This case study exemplifies the potential of technology to influence environmental engagement and highlights Step Correct's commitment to enhancing everyday life through innovative solutions.
