UXDI Week 1 Retrospective

Task: Create a mobile App for a class member’s needs and wants in just “3 days” using all the steps and processes we learned in class from the week.

After compiling all the research, interviews, sketches and low-fidelity prototypes, and then organizing how I was going to make this happen in 3 short days, I also had a fear of not really knowing anything about the process a week before. To top it off, I had to combine everything into a 5 min presentation for class on Friday. “WOW”

Nuts and Bolts

Research Step:

This was the very first step of the whole process and I was having a hard time really wrapping my head around this at first. I’m more of a, “You have a problem, and I will come up a ton of ways to fix the problem with a very fast turn around” kind of guy. With what I learned going through the first steps of the program this week, was to first listen to the the client’s frustrations and “do not go to solve mode ASAP”. Instead, try to break the issue down step by step, which allows you to dig deep into the root problem at hand.

“Frank’s issue was he would like to know if the gym is busy or not during the work week so he can plan his day around that.”

• Mind Map/Interview Questions

Making a Mind Map and using the “5w rule” helped me lay out some of the key topics that I felt needed to be touched on for the interview, to get a better understanding of what Frank’s major frustration really is. At this point, my questions started to take shape, and by the end I had around 34 question to ask Frank. My strategy was to generate 10 questions from each of the main circles on my mind map. Some of the questions are listed below.

“Interview Questions:

“Can you please give me a rundown of your current gym experience and some of the good and bad things you like about your current gym?”

“Do you work out with any friends or have people you meet-up with at the gym and do you enjoy that?”

So what I started to notice was out of 34 questions, about 10 of them were good open-ended questions and the rest were just nowhere “Yes/No” questions. The first interview went ok. I was able to get Frank talking but not as much as I wanted and was noticing that other peoples’ interviews were more like a friendly conversation with the questions mixed in. That was the biggest eye opening part for me. If you start out the project with crap interview questions, your end product may be junk. I had to redo some of my questions and talk to Frank a little bit more until I felt that I really understood what he was frustrated about.

“The Interview Take Aways”

My results from Frank were inputted into an “Affinity Map”. All the key points needed to be sorted out and group together so I could start to see the design direction I wanted to take with the app.

My thinking here was to organize in groups following my mind map. The result was a very inconsistent grouping of thoughts, so I regrouped and did a more broad idea grouping system. Taking a step back and really trying to figure out why I’m not seeing the Design Direction, I had to go Jason my instructor and ask for help. The feedback was great and after going back through the Affinity Board again with him, the direction for Frank’s design was like a huge “X” mark on a treasure map.

“Design Direction”

1. Doesn’t like to waste time
2. He likes Cardio and Group Sports
3. Energy Pushes
4. Likes to be challenged

The conclusion from the interview process was to ask very well thought out questions to receive quality feed back to use on your Affinity Board. The development of the design directions must come from the interview and the rest of these are just tools you use to get there. “A good start will leaded to a great end.”

App Design:

Pencil and Paper:

My research and design direction lead me into an app that would provide you with up to date video feeds so you can check the occupancy at the gym that you want to visit 24/7 and can also push friends to challenge you with new goals. Overall, this would help more people get to the gym consistently and easier.

Now with a solid understanding for the direction my app needed to go in, the old pencil and paper came into play sketching out some low-fidelity sketches on paper and trying to set the app flow up. Here’s some of them:

User Reviews and Thoughts:

The user review went very well and Frank seemed to like all the features that I have thought of for his gym frustration problem. He wasn’t sure if the live video stream would work but loves the idea behind it and would like to see it happen one day. The friend goal meter and friend challenges options was a big plus for him because it was simple and easy to use.

Prototype:

The final prototype was just a little more detailed than my original but still using lines for the text and X’s for pictures. These slides are still in the low-fidelity stage — this project didn’t want us to take it any more than that. I really enjoy this part of the project when all things are starting to take shape. One major item that I need to do better on is to have a larger view of what the button icon did with a brief 4 word description with an arrow for easier reading in my slide show. “I will know for next time”. Overall, I feel like the sketches came out well and the flow made sense to me. Please see the picture below.

One of the last steps in the project was to import all slides into POP and use the integrate option to make the app come to life. This was a very cool and easy to use program. https://popapp.in/

Major Take Aways/Summary from Project 1

• Always have good interview questions so you can help that person to find a great solution for their problem/frustration.
• Working under the gun is hard and time management is key.
• Don’t be scared to ask for help or feel bad if you don’t know something.
• More detail is better than not enough detail.
• This will take time to learn and don’t get in a rush.

Project one was a very good learning experience for me. I was very happy how we all were put to the test to make a working prototype with learning all of the skills in just 3 days. I can’t wait for the next project.