Prime Welcome Gift
Prime Digital Academy is a learning community dedicated to transforming lives by helping non-traditional candidates build meaningful tech careers. Prime provides opportunities in full stack software engineering and user experience design through immersive, project-based learning.
Overview
We identified and proposed to client stakeholders a new value-based design concept as a redesign of the welcome gift that Prime Digital Academy has been providing full-stack development students when they arrive on campus.
KEY DELIVERABLES
PROCESS WORK
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MY ROLE
UX Designer | Product Designer | UX Researcher | User Evaluation Moderator
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METHODS
Heuristic Analysis | Participant Observation | AEIOU Framework | Low Fidelity Physical Prototyping | User Evaluation Sessions | Think-Aloud Protocol | Kano Analysis | Persuasive Storytelling
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TOOLS
Otter.ai | GoogleSheets | Keynote | Pen & Paper | Physical Prototyping Materials (Mixed Media)
SUMMARY
Key Points
Problem: Redesign the Prime Digital Academy student welcome gift to develop a solution that is practical, usable, and meaningful
Process: Working as a 2-person team, we evaluated the existing experience using internal methods (heuristic analysis), and then moved into individual work to understand the users through participant observation (AEIOU framework)
Findings: Opportunities to help facilitate educational and professional experiences, as well as interpersonal connections, while supporting physical and mental well-being
Solution: I developed value-based design concepts and a low-fidelity physical prototype for user evaluation, and delivered a client pitch proposal of a revised design concept based
Challenges: With only a few hours in a makerspace to develop a physical prototype, I used mixed media to communicate concepts and ideas to serve as a "prop" for user evaluation, as opposed to a functional prototype for usability testing
Reflection: This case study provided the opportunity to explore the physical product space, and adapt research methods (Kano analysis) for user evaluation sessions, in order to increase user interaction, facilitate physical participant and engagement, and derive both quantitative and quantitative data
PROBLEM
Problem Statement
Prime Digital Academy has been providing full-stack development students a water bottle as a welcome gift when they arrive on campus. This water bottle is no longer being manufactured and, in addition, students have found it unusable and impersonal. Given this, Prime approached us with the goal of developing a concept for new welcome gift that is practical, usable, and meaningful.
Prime offers two tech programs: full stack engineering and user experience design. The programs strive to provide an immersive curriculum to help students build skills working on real-world projects and through professional and career development.
While Prime provides technical training to students, it also strives to foster a human-oriented culture and community, founded on five core values: include everyone, practice empathy, foster community, collaborate frequently, and assume positivity.
Evaluating the Existing Experience
To understand the current welcome gift experience, we performed an internal design-team heuristic analysis on the existing product: a silicone collapsible water bottle. From from analysis, several prioritized issues were identified:
Distrust: users experience concerns of spilling or leaking, which is significant for a user group working with electronic devices on a daily basis
Mental well-being: users experience a fear of spilling, and physical product features cumbersome and confusing to the point of introducing unnecessary cognitive load
We used Google Sheets to record, organize, and process heuristic analysis data. Observations were recorded on 11 key tasks related to using the water bottle, and then color-coded by usability issue to visually group like data points.
Understanding the Users
Moving into individual research, I conducted participant observations of Prime full-stack students, using the AEIOU framework to understand user needs, wants and values. From these methods, a number of key themes and opportunities emerged:
Needs
mobile lifestyle
physical & mental well-being
minimize additional cognitive load
Wants
invest in learning and associated tools & devices
career advancement & professional development
learning & exploration
Values
practicality
meaningfulness
interpersonal connections
The AEIOU framework was used to guide and organize participant observations related to activities, environment, interactions, objects, and users. Observations were then analyzed to gain insights into themes connected to user needs, wants, and values.
SOLUTION
Value-Based Design Concepts
Guided by the goal to improve upon heuristic violations in the current welcome gift, while also satisfying additional user values, I developed a value-based design concept intended to integrate tools for organization, learning and knowledge sharing, reflecting on personal well-being, and facilitating connection with peers.
I developed three value-based design concepts in response for research findings: (1) a mobile mug for beverages integrating electronic features; (2) a desk helper combining multiple organizational tools in a modular form; and (3) a laptop case with storage compartments stocked with ergonomic tools. Based on design-team dot-voting, I moved forward with the Desk Helper concept for subsequent design development, prototyping, and evaluation.
The intent of the Mindful Desk Helper is to integrate tools for organization, learning and knowledge sharing, reflecting on personal well-being, and facilitating connection with peers. This concept features note-taking tools, customizable organization, and a flexible, adaptable card system to encourage users’ self-expression. The mindful desk helper seeks to introduce organization and stability in an ever shifting environment full of complex ideas and experimentation that full stack engineering students at Prime experience. It intends to promote self-awareness and allow users to reflect on their current physical, mental, and emotional state–as well as their comfortability with course materials–to create open and honest relationships with peers and instructors within the cohort. (The image above pictures the revised design concept board for user evaluation sessions; more details on user sessions can be found below.)
Low-Fidelity Physical Prototyping
I developed a low-fidelity physical prototype (mixed media) of my design concept at Leonardo's Basement, a makerspace in Minneapolis, MN, to be used in user evaluation sessions.
Our full design team spent an afternoon at Leonardo’s Basement, exploring and assembling materials—with the help of studio assistants—in order to understand and communicate our individual design concepts as physical representations.
My low-fidelity prototype incorporated several modular, interactive components, representing various features integrated within the design concept.
EVALUATION
User Evaluation
I conducted three user evaluation sessions incorporating Kano analysis and think-aloud protocol methods, in order to gain insights about which product attributes to prioritize, in the context of users values and satisfaction.
User evaluation sessions incorporated moderator-guided prompts as well as user exploration of both a revised design concept board and the low-fidelity physical prototype.
Users evaluated individual design concept features by placing sticky notes on a physical Kano board, pairing this feedback with verbal explanations. The resulting data was aggregated and translated into Google Sheets for subsequent processing and analysis
Values-Based Findings
The synthesis of the user evaluation session data revealed consistent patterns in Kano categories, as well as themes in user needs and values specific to the proposed design concept:
storage & organization: Prime students are focused and driven learners. They want something practical and useful to help them in their work, and value organization.
emotion & meaning: Prime students care about intent. They want a gift that is thoughtful (as opposed to generic) and helps them accomplish something, and value personalization.
flexibility & adaptation: Prime students are unique individuals. They want space to be themselves, and value authenticity.
personal & career development: Prime students are passionate and future-oriented. They want to learn, and value growth.
community: Prime students care about people. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and value connection with peers.
“Organization is huge, and I feel like with Prime, you have to be able to organize your day — you have to be able to push yourself when you're tired because you got to put in those extra hours.”
-Participant 1
“I totally need a book holder in my life...This [cell phone holder] isn't that but it might be. I would love that.”
-Participant 3
“Two new cohorts came this week so it's a new energy...I think everyone wants to be a part of a larger thing.”
-Participant 2
DELIVERY
Client Pitch & Design Proposal
I developed a 5-minute client pitch presentation of the proposed design to Prime stakeholders, focusing on persuasive storytelling through logos and pathos.
Based on findings from user evaluations, I developed and proposed a revised design concept, in order to capitalize on important product attributes (such as storage, organization, and flexibility) and better meet user needs and values (such as customization for enhanced practicality, meaning through personalization, community building, and integration into existing user workflows).
The proposed design concept was framed in terms of Prime’s organizational vision, mission, and values.
The proposed design concept was also framed in terms of full stack students’ needs, wants, and values.
Explicit connections were drawn between the proposed design concept and user values, and verbally supported by user quotes gathered from evaluation sessions.
Observational and evaluative research findings were used to support the proposed design concept, including quantitative information shown above.
CONCLUSION
Deliverables
Next Steps
Prime Digital Academy now has a number of design concepts to consider based on individual design team member proposals.
With a number of directions to consider, several design concepts could be selected for additional physical prototyping—again, starting at a low fidelity initially, and then gradually increasing fidelity over iterations.
The physical prototypes developed could be used for additional rounds of user evaluations, ultimately leading to high-fidelity prototypes and usability testing before product finalization and production.
Key Learnings & Takeaways
We had the opportunity to explore working in the physical product space, using mixed media to communicate concepts and ideas.
I explored adapting a research method to increase user interaction and facilitate physical participation and engagement.
We practiced developing and delivering presentations with intent, focusing specifically on conveying concepts and information relevant to client stakeholders.