Overview
Our team aimed to find a solution concerning recycling. With only four weeks to create a MVP, we, the UX research team, immediately kick-started with user interviews, competitive analysis, affinity mapping, and empathy mapping. We built and delivered insights and personas to the designers and continued to work with them during the design process. We assisted with prototyping, created a testing plan, and recruited participants. Within one day, we completed the usability tests and presented our findings for the final product iteration. Under the time constraints of a hackathon timeline, this was a challenging and rewarding project.
Limited timeframe to complete and deliver research
Limited resources, as most members were employed or students full-time
Team members were in different timezones
2 Project Leads
3 Researchers
6 Designers
3 Developers
Calendly
Discord
Figma
Google Docs & Meet
Zoom
4 Weeks
Process Overview
01 Kick-Off
For the first meeting, we spoke with everyone: project leads, designers, and developers. We wanted to understand what goals our team members had for the project. We heard the ideas they had in mind, the assumptions they made about future users, and what kind of product they were hoping to make.
Collaboratively, we created these research goals:
Learn how users currently recycle
Uncover current opinions and thoughts on recycling
Discover what current pain points exist with recycling
Grasp what recycling-related resources look like currently
With these goals in mind, we decided to do two things within 36 hours: carry out user interviews and competitive analysis. We made questions for the user interviews immediately to get started as soon as possible.
User interview questions
02 Discovery
User Interviews
We interviewed six people, through personal connections, that fit the target demographic. Each interview lasted about 30 minutes. They were either conducted in person or online. Answers were recorded on Google Sheets, and then transferred onto sticky notes on Figma.
Competitive Analysis
To understand what recycling-resources look like currently, we looked at existing recycling apps, government recycling websites, and the results page and top websites that appeared when googling "How to recycle a hair dryer?" When doing the general search, we took into consideration searching in different-sized communities (i.e. small town vs big city). We asynchronously contributed our observations.
Some problems we felt could be addressed:
Having too much information to digest, and usually, as a result, losing the answer to the noise
Going through too many steps to find one answer
Results include complex language (i.e. What is PS #6??)
When advised to go to a drop-off site or event, there is no continued assistance in finding that information
Getting inconsistent results and possibly inaccurate recycling methods that may not apply to all communities
03 Define
Empathy Map
To help our colleagues better visualize our interviewees' thoughts, actions, feelings, and pain points, we chose to create an empathy map.
Affinity Map
We took the user interview sticky notes and grouped responses that seemed similar in theme. Afterward, we put labeled them with categories and turned our observations into actionable insights for the designers.
Key Insights From Our Interviews:
💡 They want to recycle and make a conscious effort to do it, even when they don't know how to.
Our interviewees have an understanding of the basics (i.e. plastics, metal, paper) and put in effort when they can. Some even go so far as to hold onto their trash until they figure out how to dispose of it.
“I put my aluminum cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles in trash bags and take them to a recycling center once every 6 months.”
-Interviewee 3
💡 We don't need to tackle the basics.
Our interviewees have a general idea of basic recycling because this is information they’ve learned in the past. This could be from word of mouth, social media, community-provided resources, or schooling.
“I’ve been exposed to the principle of recycling since I was young.”
-Interviewee 5
💡 There is a need for more specific information.
With or without resources, our interviewees want more specific instructions and information that isn’t just basic “plastic goes into plastic." Examples of their searches include what the plastic number symbols mean, where the nearest recycling centers are, and if things need to be separated.
“The pamphet (that my city has provided me) only covers the basics, but not things like aerosol and electronics or if my strawberry container can have a little bit of food waste in it.”
-Interviewee 4
💡 Information needs to be easily obtained.
Our interviwees will throw things in general trash if they feel like they can’t find the answer conveniently and efficiently. If it takes too much time and effort to figure it out, it goes into general trash.
“I’ll probably just throw it in the trash. If the conversation came up on where to throw it away properly later, I’ll follow the process in the future”
-Interviewee 1
💡 They use Google when they don't know something or learn through word-of-mouth.
Our biggest competitor will simply be Google. As a web app, we can offer to answer more than one question and be more relevant to the community the person resides in. (i.e. how to dispose of an item with multiple components, highlighting relevant information, nearest drop-off sites, local guidelines).
"I’m going to Google and look at multiple websites that look trustworthy to determine how recent the information is. I compare the information to see if there’s a general consensus on how it should be disposed of."
-Interviewee 6
💡 Recycling can be frustrating when it feels insignificant.
All interviewees expressed frustration with recycling because they feel that their actions do not make much of an impact. Some interviewees mentioned not knowing what was happening with their recycling "behind the scenes" after their trash gets taken away. Is it possible to help users feel like they are making a significant impact with their actions?
"Much of what we're recycling is so small and insignificant in the biggest bucket that it's just not enough."
-Interviewee 4
User Personas
Our project lead and designers requested us to create personas to help guide their design process. Based on our research with the six people we spoke with, we created two personas. While all of our interviewees make an active effort to recycle and be mindful of their recycling habits, there was a noticeable split in attitudes, needs, sources of frustration, and motivations.
Rina wants to make a difference, has hope for the future, and feels frustrated with the lack of accessible resources in her area surrounding recycling. She values community effort, simple sustainable solutions, and her personal environmental impact.
Mark recycles because he's done it his whole life and it's "the right thing to do," doubts the effectiveness of individual recycling efforts, and feels frustrated with the lack of transparency and infrastructure surrounding recycling. He values efficiency, reliable information, and impact on a larger scale.
04 Test Prep
Design Meetings & Feedback
The hand-off to the designers went smoothly, but we still had to ensure our users were represented. Whenever possible, our team would join the design meetings and provide feedback. Also at this time, we set a user testing date that allowed enough time for designers to make changes before developer hand-off and pushed test recruiting efforts. An email was sent out that included a link to schedule a time on Calendly.
User flow before our feedback - We felt it was odd that people would be required to sign up for an account to use our product. Based on our interviews, we knew our users wanted easily accessible information so this design would go against their needs.
User flow after our feedback - Designers heard our feedback and modified the flow to include the ability to use the product without a mandatory sign up.
Planning with Designers
The day before our scheduled testing date, we met up with designers to discuss their inquiries and priorities. We turned what they wanted to learn into questions and tasks. See the complete usability test script here. We planned to moderate the tests, and we suggested that the designers join as note-takers so they could witness how users were using the product.
Questions from Designers
Prototype with questions and thoughts the designers had about the design
Capturing Goals On a Call
I got on a call with the design team to further clarify their goals and intentions behind their prototype questions.
Final Test Script
Final usability test script with tasks and accompanying questions - see the entire script here
05 Test
Usability Test
We committed an entire Sunday to usability testing. Despite booking five testers with two back-ups, we could only conduct four tests that day due to attendance issues. Otherwise, the tests went smoothly and we took a lot away from the sessions! In between sessions, we scheduled time to compare notes and talk about things that stood out. Sticky notes were used for things we both deemed were helpful or important to note.
Usability testing with a designer present via Zoom
Notes from the tests - After each test, the moderator and notetaker made sticky notes of things that stood out for both of them.
Compiled Analysis
After all the tests were completed, the research team and design team split up to discuss the usability tests. We chose to split up to give each team some time to think overnight and discuss from different perspectives. In the morning, both teams came together to discuss our thoughts and agreed on what changes needed to be made and each change's priority. It was important to remember that within the scope of our current timeline, designers needed to work fast to hand off the iterated designs to the developers within 24 hours.
The research team's primary ideas and insights from the usability tests.
Impactful Insights
Camera Instruction Screen
While testers spent time reading the instructions and found it useful, we observed they didn't understand the purpose of the icon.
Recommendation: Rephrasing the instructions to make the icon's purpose clearer
Consideration: Simplify more by removing the numbers and combining instructions
Testers were confused and unsure of how to exit the instructions screen.
Recommendation: Include a CTA such as "next," "continue," or "open camera."
Consideration: Remove the instruction that says "use the button below" if using a CTA button
Recommendations and changes made to the instructions screen
Search Results Screen
The information under each category had a positive reception because it felt simple, effective, informative, and helpful.
Recommendation: Do not change the content.
Testers felt like there was too much information to look at all at once on one page.
Recommendation: Reduce the amount of text initially seen after searching.
Consideration: Allow people to select the information they want to know (i.e. Recycle, Reuse, Recycle)
We found that testers were not inclined to use the X to exit the results page.
Recommendation: Minimize confusion by using the same back arrow key seen on the previous screen.
Some testers wanted color, some testers liked the minimalistic look.
Recommendation: Use a healthy balance of color - just enough to highlight information but not too much to distract.
Consideration: When asked what colors they think of, testers mentioned "green," "yellow," and "blue."
Recommendations and changes made to the results screen
Final Thoughts
This was my first hackathon experience and it was definitely challenging. I'm glad we were able to work efficiently and deliver our work and product on time. It was extremely rewarding seeing the fruits of our labor come together during our one-hour daily meetings and it was an extremely pleasure to work with two amazing ux-ers! I'm quite happy with what we accomplished as a research team!
There were also a few other things I learned from this experience:
I experienced how important it is to have researchers collaborate with designers and developers. Because we were welcomed to join design meetings, I was able to speak up early in the design process when the user flow seemed to misalign with our data. In addition, we were able to help designers during the prototyping and testing phase. Their perspective was important to our final meeting post-usability test. Out of curiosity, I also participated in dev eloper meetings to see how feasible these ideas were. Together, we were able to come up with actionable insights for the next iteration.
Communication is an art, and it can be a difficult dance. I believe I am a pretty good speaker, but during this experience, I realized I could invest time in honing my communication skills to communicate with different types of people. As a researcher, I felt it was my job to represent our users and our data. When it came to disagreements, sometimes it was hard to understand how my point wasn't coming across. However, I realized that wasn't the case (as multiple team members directly thanked me for speaking up during meetings). Instead, I needed to know how to communicate with different kinds of people. Whether it be a difference in personality, goals, or work style, I want to be better at navigating those tough conversations no matter who I'm talking with. It got better over time for this project, and I will continue to work on it.
I really enjoy talking to people! Including my experience with my Animal Crossing project and Try Drawing Manga project (case study pending), this hackathon was my third project conducting qualitative research, and I love doing it! It's fun to ask questions and dig deeper to discover the "whys." It also brings me joy to hear from the testers they felt comfortable with the experience and praises from other teammates.😊
What Could Be Next & Thank Yous!
If we had more time, I'd love to test our new integrated design (and this time with at least five users).
If we were to continue the project, I'd also love to explore how we could include resources that were relevant to a user's area in the product. This was a big problem that came from our initial user interviews and I think we could explore what relevant resources users want more specifically and what that could look like in our product.
I'd like to be a stronger and more effective communicator for future inter-disciplined teams, so I will be looking into resources!
Big thank you to my research teammates, Krista and Tiffany! We did it! 💜
See my other work:
