Road to Somewhere
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
-Aristotle
As I round the thesis bend, not quite seeing the finish line yet but sensing it fast approaching, I understand that to have a plan that gets me exponentially closer to a solid resolution will make this last semester focusing almost exclusively on my thesis a truly rewarding experience.
I am at the point where my product POLLY has numerous features, as outlined in my IDEAS_CRITERIA_Matrix from last week. There likely is a need to narrow down some of them although each have a reason for existing based on the distillation of my research, interviews and user testing. The trick in the next two months or so is to be able to coalesce all these parts into one cohesive whole and not being afraid to edit. I still get really excited about doing maybe too much in one product whereas most effective products do very few things but do them well.
I have created a detailed prototype plan (I need this level of detail for my own sanity) for the next two weeks so that I can try to stay on a systematic schedule:
Here are things to consider:
Areas (attributes, features, part of the experience) that you have explored that need refinement.
Quiz questions
It’s clear now that this has to start off super basic and then eventually get deeper, using adaptive learning techniques that build upon what the user has learned. I am formulating and collecting questions and hope to get many of them into screen prototypes soon so I can make sure the flow works with user testing. I showed a user the above early iteration and she said that while the question/statement was fine, some people in her class may not even know what taxes are. So super basic means SUPER basic.
I keep having to remind myself that this thesis presentation is 7 MINUTES of my life. I don’t have to have a whole app developed with every quiz question mapped out, but for my own sake I want to at least get as deep as possible as long as it is productive. I will keep iterating on questions as well as the flow from one question to the next. Will likely run this by more competent writers, teachers, students for feedback.
Poll Results Infographics
Following user answering a fact-based or opinion-based question will be a screen with a quick infographic poll showing how fellow classmates and as a mentor suggested, perhaps a larger sample size of poll results so young student a can see how they compare to older people via Reuters polls or something similar.
Primer
This is mean to be the first level of the quiz where POLLY helps the user learn the very basic tenets of civic terms. But there may be a need for Primer to exist throughout the app whether it is just accessible by clicking on a button or if the POLLY bot pops up every once in a while between issue levels to bring up some new basic terms to learn. Users have told me this could be useful throughout. Will keep testing.
Alignment quotes
This essential content portion of my app has been giving me some trouble. My idea is to give students a quote from someone in politics, get them to either agree or disagree with the statement and then get a reveal of who said it. I am hoping also to offer a counter statement from someone re: the same issue. It’s easier said than done. Politicians are trained to speak in this political “double-speak” which makes the quotes seem very open to interpretation as to what party said it.
This “alignment quote” feature has potential to be a powerful component of my app but the content is key. I have been eliciting the advice of many smart people: writers, teachers, content strategists, professors... There have been many suggested avenues and resources.
If POLLY was one day a real product, I would need the help of freelance writers/journalists to help me formulate the best questions and so I created a form for such a person to use with some basic rules. Someone else suggested reaching out to The Harvard Journalist’s Resource. I did and am awaiting a response. Someone suggested to find a news researcher more than a political journalist. Someone else suggested perusing the Congressional record. Last night I thought that perhaps Twitter can be a potential source of juicy direct quotes. So much to explore here for this feature. Same goes as the quiz questions. I need perhaps 5 solid ones to choose from with the likelihood I will only be able to show one or two for the actual presentation.
Gamification
In order to encourage usage amongst my demographic of high schoolers I need to offer gamification but not just for the sake of it existing. I was challenged by an advisor to really explore what are the tangible aspects of rewards that will make someone motivated to use my product.
I think the gamification is everything. This is the part that can differentiate your thesis from everything else. Part of the whole gamification concept of this is it has to go towards some sense of action. We go to an arcade and we play the game because we want the tickets, but the tickets and the value of the tickets, having a giant stack of them and showing off to your friends that you have a giant stack wears off very soon.
-Brian Reich
I will be continuously brainstorming potential rewards for garnering points. Some suggestions so far include: NYT, WSJ subscriptions, T-shirts, stickers, a trip somewhere. dosomething.org offers the chance to win a scholarship with the help of their sponsors. All things to consider. Will probably show my ideas with users to see their responses. Need to do this sooner than later. How the users score on the various areas of POLLY needs to be systemized too so it makes sense. Need to read some books on gamification. Someone suggested ‘Actionable Gamification’ by Yu-Kai Chou.
Flipside
This is a counter argument feature. On any given issue, fact or statement, the user can click on a button to see how the other side sees this issue. Will give the user a potentially broader perview or an issue they care about. A lot of advisors like this feature so want to start pushing some of the basic proto screens I’ve made for this into higher fidelity so they can be tested.
Areas (attributes, features, part of the experience) that you have not yet explored
POLLY bot assistant
One of the best insights was the super basic placeholder bot guy I had in my prototypes. One high schooler finally said, “I have no idea what that is supposed to be.” It was supposed to be ballot box guy! “Most people my age have never seen a ballot box.” Mind blown insight.
More than the look of the bot, I need to explore what kinds of interactions the bot has with the user in the app. Does POLLY bot encourage the user with messages? Does he show up when they’ve leveled up? I need to figure out to utilize POLLY bot and determine the fidelity of its animations. For the final, I want POLLY bot to be fairly high fidelity so it looks convincing.
Linking to 3rd party articles
Having reliable sources is essential according to the teachers I interviewed. The flow for this will naturally follow the fact portion that, in turn, follows quiz questions. Will continue prototyping numerous screens to test with users on this idea.
Notifications
How will POLLY encourage return engagement? The idea of having notifications that inform the user of any of the following:
- reminders like DuoLingo to exercise their civic brain daily
- new articles that focus on the issues the user cares most about
- new leaderboard scores
- new rewards to work for
- a bill is coming for a vote
- reminder of elections, registering to vote
- new messages on forum on issues
Legislation
How do I introduce legislation/bills without boring the heck out of my user? Is there way to translate bills into language of the demographic? Do I need this feature? I will probably create a screen seeing how this could work.
UI elements
The three buttons I have determined that POLLY needs based on research and testing:
- Audio (to listen to written content easily)
- Bookmark (to save facts and info easily to access later)
- Flipside (explained above)
Will be first paper-prototyping then moving to higher fidelity.
POLLY 101 (could also be PRIMER)
This is an idea of a section dedicated to basic civic knowledge. POLLY bot could be part of this where if you need a question answered, the bot can help the user. This could be contained within a hamburger menu that can be accessed or on a button that is always accessible.
The next few weeks will really set the table for the rest of the semester as I need to iron out numerous kinks.
