User Research

We conducted 12 user interviews to discover needs, frustrations and pain points that keep people from taking environmental action.

We discovered three main insights that can help people actually take action

1. bite-sized actions

From our interviews we uncovered that people often want to help the environment but don’t know which actions to take or it seems like too big a hassle. We hypothesize that by offering clear bite-sized missions we can focus them on taking specific actions while removing the emotional barrier of indecision or feeling overwhelmed.

2. visible impact

In our interviews we also discovered that people lose motivation because they can’t see the immediate impact of actions like recycling or taking public transportation to help the environment. We propose that we find some way to visualize what the impact of their action would be on the environment both individually and collectively if many others also did the same thing.

3. teamwork

One thing that came as a surprise from our research is that people would be much more likely to take action as a part of a team. It makes a lot of sense; people often participate in charity events, competitions, auctions, dinners and other social events for philanthropic causes, so why not leverage team play as a way to garner environmental action.

Frustrations

Other people don’t do enough to help the environment

I wish environmental actions were more convenient

It seems impossible to impact climate change for the better

Needs

Actions that engaging with measurable impacts

A way to make his actions feel meaningful

Motivation for doing the right thing even though it can be inconvenient

Summary

Mark lives in Austin, Texas and drives a SUV to work every day. He hears about the environment on social media and NPR and knows the problems are getting more urgent. He recycles but knows there is more he can do. His teaching and lesson planning keep him busy, so time is an obstacle. Also the problems seem overwhelming and he doesn’t know if it’s worth making the effort.

Reframing The Problem

Mark knows it’s important to help the environment yet receives conflicting information on what exactly to do via YouTube, NPR and social media. How might we help Mark be a better, more informed global citizen and develop life-long habits that benefit the planet?

Design Studio

From our research we determined that Mark needs bite sized missions that he can do as a part of a team in order to take environmental action. He also needs to be able to clearly see the impact of his actions.

In order to transition from the research to design phase we began a process of sketching out various ideas and using post it notes to prioritize features for our design. A MoSCoW map and Feature Prioritization charts were both helpful to determine our direction.

Hi-Fi Design

Wireflow

User Testing

Next Steps

We recommend to revise the Hi-Fi prototype and conduct further usability tests. After we go live we will then track key success metrics.