MY ROLE
Product Designer
TEAM
Joe Thompson - Client
4 Members
TIMELINE
9 months
2023-2024
TOOLS
Figma
FigJam
Miro
Optimal Workshop
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The University Park Sustainability Committee serves the environmentally conscious community of University Park in Prince George's County, Maryland. The Committee is tasked with promoting sustainable living and reducing the town's environmental footprint. Their current initiatives focuses on motivating and encouraging homeowners to learn about sustainability and make it a daily lifestyle.
MY CONTRIBUTION
I contributed to the overall design process and oversaw aspects related to product scoping, visual design, rapid prototyping, and usability testing.
Additionally, I conducted user research, facilitated card sorting activities, and contributed in synthesizing research findings to produce viable ideas.
PROBLEM DISCOVERY
OUR SOLUTION
Homeowner's Sustainability Portal Onboarding
UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY AND PRACTICES
To broaden our sustainability perspective, we researched eco-friendly activities from around the world. This global exploration allowed us to discover innovative approaches that could inspire and shape initiatives tailored for our University Park community.
Sustainable Activities across Europe
While the global research provided valuable insights, we recognized that sustainability initiatives need to resonate with the specific needs and context of the community. Therefore, we decided to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the programs offered by neighboring municipalities surrounding University Park.
Neighborhood Places
After discussions with the client and assessing the project scope, we determined that concentrating our efforts on sustainability programs offered at the town, county, and local municipal levels would be most relevant and impactful.
These locally-driven initiatives are closely tailored to the specific needs and environmental context of our community and surrounding areas.
Shortlisting Practices
ORGANIZING THE INFORMATION
Based on the categorization of finalized sustainability practices, we had initially assumed that grouping them into 4 main categories would be the most logical and intuitive approach.
Initial Sustainability Categories
However, we questioned this assumption and considered:
How can we ensure that the categorization of practices aligns with how residents naturally perceive and understand them on the portal?
We decided to conduct a card sorting activity with residents' of University Park which would inform a more intuitive information architecture and navigation for the portal, ensuring residents can easily discover the categorized practices.
User Card Sort
Card Sorting Result
By performing quantitative and qualitative analysis on the data collected from 25 participants in the card sorting activity, I was able to gain deeper insights into the underlying patterns and motivations that drove their categorization choices.
The dendrogram visualized the results of the card sorting, showing how frequently participants grouped certain items together. This analysis result in 5 card sort groups.
The similarity matrix from the card sorting exercise provided a quick, qualitative understanding of how participants grouped activities, helping inform the information architecture and categorization of the items.
Dendogram
Similar Matrix
Card Sorting Groups
Based on our initial assumptions, the residents' categorization of activities differed significantly from what we expected. After conducting a thorough analysis of the card sorting results, we created six categories that align with the residents' mental models and perceptions of sustainability practices.
Initial Sustainability Categories
DECIDING THE FEATURES FOR THE PORTAL
The initial client meeting emphasized the importance of not only introducing local government sustainability programs but also creating an engaging and social platform. With a shorter time scope and technical feasibility, we decided to focus on the main features that would have high impact and fulfill the initial client needs.
How might we encourage a sense of community and social support around sustainable living through features of this system?
Incorporating community features and town events is crucial to foster user participation, encourage collective action, and maximize the platform's impact on driving sustainable behaviors.
PRACTICES
TOWN EVENTS
COMMUNITY FORUM
Key Features of the Sustainability Portal
IDEATING THE IDEAS
After finalizing the features and content for the platform, we progressed to the ideation phase. This stage involved facilitating brainstorming sessions aligning the design requirements into key actionable solutions, which allowed to us set focus on all features.
After the team voted on the most promising ideas, we developed a mid-fidelity prototypes to validate our direction with the client. By presenting these prototypes, we aimed to ensure alignment with the project goals and gather valuable feedback.
Brainstorming
Voting Ideas
Mid-Fidelity
GAMIFYING THE PORTAL
Gamification was a new domain for our team, so we began by conducting extensive literature research to gain a deep understanding of gamification principles and habitual frameworks. We particularly focused on the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework and the Hook Model, as these provide valuable insights into creating engaging and habit-forming experiences.
Armed with the knowledge gained from these frameworks, we started crafting the gamification strategy for the portal. Our goal was to ensure continuous user engagement and long-term adoption of sustainable practices.
How might we use gamification to make our sustainability portal engaging and motivate long-term eco-friendly behaviors?
BREAKING DOWN THE GAMING STRATEGY
Gameplay
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Reward Residents Effort
Ensuring fair point play regardless of money and time invested
Diverse Point-Earning Methods
Offers a diverse range of methods for users to accumulate points, catering to various interests and engagement preferences
Encourage Consistent Engagement
The portal incentivizes regular participation by offering bonus points for completing sustainable actions consistently over time.
Showcase your Badges
Fun badges proudly displayed on user profiles further gamify the experience, adding an element of friendly competition and social validation that spurs continued engagement over time.
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Streamlined user flows by tailoring them to the specific context and needs of our persona, prioritizing efficiency with minimal time and steps required.
We mapped out our key path scenarios that the residents will usually take to complete in small amount of steps and easily complete. Recognizing the need for residents to swiftly submit applications, we simplified the portal to focus only on essential interactions, reducing user engagement to the bare minimum required.
"Practice" Navigation
ITERATIONS FROM USER TESTS
We conducted user tests with 6 University Park Resident to test the key user flows of the portal. This testing helped is understand how they react to the gamification and navigation of the portal. After the testing rounds, we were able to reduce the cognitive information overload and improve the information visibility.
Bringing actions closer to progress and awards
The placement of the "My Practices" section later in the page often led to users overlooking the information about their current practice progress.
To ensure that users don't miss the information about their current practice progress, we placed the "Ongoing Practice" section at the top of the page , making it easily accessible and noticeable upon landing on the page.
Home Page
A clear focus on elements
Despite knowing the number of points users can earn for completing each practice, users still primarily seek out the point overview when starting any new practice.
To ensure this we provided clear visual cues by highlighting the point value and displaying it close to the practice heading.
Practice Page
Reduce Cognitive Information Overload
The large number of practices within each category made it challenging for users to locate the information they needed, often requiring extensive scrolling.
To improve this problem, we limited the number of practices displayed within each category to a maximum of five at a time and a pagination system that allowed users to browse through additional practices in manageable chunks. This approach helped us reduce the need for excessive scrolling and helped users quickly find the practices they were interested in.
"Practice" Navigation
ADMIN PORTAL
The admin portal is a centralized platform designed to streamline and simplify the management of the sustainability initiative. It provides committee with a comprehensive set of tools and features to oversee user engagement, track progress, analyze data, and make informed decisions to optimize the program's effectiveness and drive sustainable practices among residents.
Admin Portal
MY LEARNINGS
Team collaboration is key.
Effective collaboration allowed us to efficiently tackle challenges, iterate on ideas, and deliver a high-quality product within the given timeframe. It also promoted a sense of shared ownership and accountability, ensuring that everyone was invested in the project's success.
Embracing Adaptability.
As we progressed through the project, our initial understanding and the client's needs evolved. What we thought was important at the beginning changed as we dug deeper into the problem. Our priorities shifted, bringing us closer to finding the right solution. This experience taught me the value of staying adaptable, listening to feedback, and being open to change. It's not about sticking to the original plan, but about continuously learning and refining our approach to deliver the best possible outcome for the client.
