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Discovery

Gaining an Understanding


- Initial Research
- Problem Statement
- Competitive Analysis
- Business Requirements
- Survey & Interviews
- Synthesis
- User Stories
- Personas

I EXPLORED the problem space to determine what I needed to solve, RESEARCHED how other apps are currently solving this problem, OUTLINED the business requirements to inform the stakeholders, INTERVIEWED potential users, GAINED insights from the data, IDENTIFIED the target audience, and CREATED primary & secondary users.

Preliminary Research Insights

User Pain Points

The Double Diamond approach was used to define which problem needed to be solved. After reading reviews and performing a SWOT analysis of similar products, I discovered four common themes in user pain points:

Quality


The quality of the response can vary greatly from one expert to the next.
( ouch..! )

Wait Times


It can take a while to get a response from an expert.
( ouch..! )

Pricing


There is a lack of transparency with pricing of services and memberships.
( ouch..! ) 

Reliability


Calls with an expert can unexpectedly disconnect, causing you to repay again.
( ouch..! )

Initial Problem Statement

Our users want to get instantly connected with knowledgeable, qualified, and verified plant care experts because they need to feel that they are getting the best advice, for the best value.

We will know this to be true when we see more new users give a positive review and return to get additional instant help and advice.

Competitive Analysis

Overview
Marketing Profile
SWOT Profile
UX Competitive Analysis

Two similar apps with a similar service were selected to evaluate.

Weakness

- Low brand recognition
- The name is no longer relevant to their mission

Weakness

- Poor UX on mobile app
- Web app lacks accuracy in search topic 

Business Requirements

The goal of this document is to inform and align all stakeholders on what this application does, who will use it, the scope, and timeline of how long to build it.

- Target Audience
- Competition
- Risk/Opportunity
- Conclusions
- S.M.A.R.T. Business Objectives
- Scope
- Functional Requirements
- Delivery Schedule

Conducting Surveys & Interviews

My research goal for the survey and the interviews was learn about attitudes on three of the four key topics that I discovered in my preliminary research. I added a new fourth topic about technology and the willingness to use a voice assistant.

TRUST  |  TIME  |  VALUE  |  TECHNOLOGY

Survey

20 Question survey on Google Forms
14 Friends were texted a link
28 Responses from a plant-lovers group
42 Total responses
24 Hours

Interviews

4 Recorded Zoom call interviews
16 Open-ended questions & conversation
45 Minutes

Lessons Learned

- Conduct the interviews BEFORE the survey. The survey should include a few questions to validate or oppose the opinions after interviewing the participants.

- Include more open-ended questions on the survey. I was surprised how much additional insight I gathered and personality expressed through very few words.

Synthesizing the Data

Affinity Mapping

Each of the Individual quotes, opinions and stories from the interviews were transcribed into MIRO and assigned color-coded sticky notes identifying each participant. The data was organized in different ways to help uncover new ideas. My comments and discoveries were added on white sticky notes.

This is the raw data from the four participants.

Common Traits

Comments were organized into groups representing Pain Points, Attitudes, Behaviors, Goals/Motivations and Needs.

App Feature Ideas

This is where I began to tease-out and group new sub-themes.

Abstract Themes

This final affinity map is where I had the most freedom exploring abstract themes and aspirational functions that could be incorporated into the app - making it much more than an "Instant Help" tool.

Insights Gained

- Users don’t want to waste time searching for answers and having to gamble with the results.
- The conceptual new ideas that were generated would have pushed the app into new directions and offer additional features & benefits to the user. These ideas were not explored any further, but could be incorporated into MyScape 2.0.

Revised Problem Statement

How might we create a digital product that helps plant care enthusiasts complete projects by instantly connecting them with other users, and verified plant care experts offering the best advice, for the best value.

We will know this to be true when we see more new users giving positive reviews, completing projects, building a community, and returning to have additional problems solved.

UX Research Readout

I presented my findings in four research readouts that were developed from one of the affinity maps. They described details on a guiding principle, the insights, and watchouts for four themes that were discovered. The guiding principle of pleasure became the motivation of both of the user personas.

Benefits
- As a tool to organize and share research results with the team and the stakeholders.
- As a way to document which additional features the users would be interested in having in the app.

User Story / Job Story


Motivations


Getting into the mindset of the people who will use this product and understanding the context in which they will be motivated to accomplish their goals. Personifying the high-level functions of the app translates them into relatable, executable user stories and job stories.


Why was this step important?


- Brings the functional business requirements to life.
-
Creates a simple outline for the core user and their situation.

Personas

Humanizing the Research

My research generated two user personas, with Gianna being the primary persona with the most popular user flow of getting a call from an expert. Another way to get help is to search the forum with the secondary persona Jade.

Artifacts Developed
Sketches - Empathy Map - Persona - Mental Model - Journey Map - Emotional Experience Diagram - Task Analysis - Task Flow - User Flow

Primary - Gianna

Help Method - Request a Call

See the Artifacts

Secondary - Jade

Help Method - Search the Forum

See the Artifacts