MellowBot- Stage 1: Empathising and Defining Phase
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Hello! For mellow bot development, one of the initial steps I took was conducting in-depth desk research and discovery was conducted in the form of exploring other digital interventions such as apps and chatbots.
The issue continues to persist as a grave concern in the UK, despite the amplification of awareness and the abundance of resources available for tackling it.
When a victim is most vulnerable and feels mentally or emotionally stressed after being exposed to online bullying it is concluded that there is a huge absence of digital interventions for aftercare.
Creating Competitor Analysis
Next, I wanted to fully dive into understanding the target users, which are teenagers aged 13- 17 years old.
The main goal was to gather insights that could help shape the chatbot design and features. I wanted to make sure that Mellow Bot hits the mark of the needs and desires of the target users.
I created surveys with a sample size of 12 to understand the problems faced when discussing cyberbullying and what should be done to tackle this issue and each user had their own story to tell.
Key Insights
- Retrospect users regret not standing up against their abuser
- When experiencing online bullying majority of users felt scared, and isolated
- Many still stay silent
- Often find it difficult to confide in someone because of a lack of care or understanding.
- Users wished there was a tool that could help provide aftercare for victims going through online bullying.
Persona was developed
Taking all these insights into consideration, I went ahead and created a user persona.
It’s been an exciting yet challenging journey so far, and I can’t wait to bring Mellow Bot to life. Stay tuned for more updates as I move forward with stage 2: Ideation & prototyping.
