Welcome Gift for Prime Digital Academy Students
Conceptualizing a meaningful gift to welcome full-stack engineering students to their remote learning program
Methodology
Observational research
AEIOU protocol
Heuristic analysis
Prototype evaluations
My Roles
Researcher
Prototype Designer
Art Direction
Testing Moderator
Overview
Students enrolled in the Prime Academy Full Stack Engineering program in the past, have received a welcome gift of a water bottle. The manufacturing of the bottle has been discontinued. Additionally, feedback from past cohorts indicated that some students felt the water bottle was impersonal and unusable. Leadership at Prime challenged us to conceptualize an improved gift for a learning community looking for comfort and connection during a global pandemic 4.5 month-long remote experience.
Conclusion
At the end of the process, interviewed target audience members were so full of happiness when shown a high-fidelity digital rendering, that it was almost like they had personally received the gift, in their responses they imagined all the joy it would bring throughout the program. As the UX designer, I actually felt like I was giving a group of strangers that I come to care about a gift that was truly meaningful. The simple act of a gift can mean so much when it’s done with genuine care and thought for the user.
Goals
Conduct research:
To understand the waterbottle gift’s negative feedback
Discover opportunities for a more meaningful welcome gift design concept
Evaluate the usability of an existing water bottle design using a set of pre-defined success criteria
Prototype and visualize solutions based on findings
Evaluate prototypes with end-users in order to support design recommendations
“The previous water bottle gift is sturdy and well made, but there’s nothing about it that makes it seem special. It would be nice if at the very least it was branded.”
— Quote from research team member
Methodology
Observational Research
AEIOU Protocol:
To observe and record full-stack student culture findings
First, we needed to learn more about the full-stack students and their values and needs in the program. We watched videos of students giving virtual tours of their home office spaces and listened to them talk about their home and office spaces and belongings. We used the AEIOU method to capture findings and observations. We got a glimpse into what mattered to them and why. Organizing overall findings revealed what made their spaces and belongings special.
The AEIOU protocol revealed key themes that stood out in their personal spaces for this remote journey. Such as:
A need for comfort
The anticipated stress of the program
Wanting to bond with their cohort
Makeshift remote office during COVID
Heuristic Analysis:
Heuristic analysis session of the water bottle
To understand why the water bottle gift fell short for students.
The heuristic analysis allowed the use of predetermined measurements of quality in order to efficiently analyze the water bottle gift. Using the severity scale the attribute with the highest pain point was that it didn’t look or feel like a special gift. More than anything else the gift needed to feel meaningful.
Heuristic severity scale
Heuristic analysis results
Choosing a Concept
Findings from the AEIOU protocol and the heuristic analysis resulted in 3 concepts for the new welcome gift.
Peer Review
During a peer review, UX design team members familiar with the research and history of the welcome gift voted on the concept which they felt would be most appealing to the full-stack students. The potted plant that grows alongside students on their journey struck chords that addressed values uncovered in the AEIOU protocol.
Comfort
Companionship
The metaphor of personal growth on this meaningful journey
Prototype Evaluation with Full-Stack Students
Evaluation sessions were scheduled with the full-stack students to gain insight into their reactions to the new welcome gift concepts. Visual design panels displayed concepts with high-fidelity virtual images of the finished product. Participants were asked to choose from a variety of features that could be mixed and matched to create the ideal gift. Low-fidelity 3d prototypes were shown during the evaluation sessions to serve as tangible visual aids.
Handmade 3d low-fidelity prototypes serve as visual aids
Which included:
Plant sizes
Pot-sizes
Pot styles
And other pieces
Design board shared with participants to choose plant options
Design board with high-fidelity digitally rendered prototypes of plant pot choices
Upon first viewing the mix and match options on the design boards, in separate sessions, all 3 users all enthusiastically exclaimed…
“I love it!”
Quotes from Research Participants
“It’s really inspiring! That’s not something I normally think. This gift is outside of the norm and thoughtful.”
“The computer pot has a minimalist design that creates a blank canvas. You can put stuff around it and make it your own.”
“The concept as a whole is awesome, to have something
that sits alongside you and grows with you.
Due to this program being remote, we’re at our computers every day.I like the idea of this plant sitting with me
and enduring the program with me.”
The Gift that Students Chose
The majority of students polled preferred the combination of a small succulent in the computer-styled pot. Even the student who chose the more minimal cube-shaped pot preferred the computer-styled pot. However, they had slight concerns that it might be too quirky for others.
One of the participants was so enthusiastic about the idea of the computer pot plant that he began to discuss a broader long-term vision.
“It would be a great social icebreaker for the cohort and a part of Prime cohort culture. Each cohort could get a different plant. People could post about how their plant is doing, send updates, or have even a live feed. At graduation, we could show how our plant has grown.”
Outcomes & Lessons
While observational research revealed that students’ remote personal workspaces needed simplicity and utilitarianism in order to do the work, more than anything they had an undeniable need for comfort and companionship in order to deal with the stress of the program. The gift concept of the computer pot plant that grows with you filled this need the most, with a cute and quirky nod to technology that was novel enough to feel really special. Each time the computer plant prototype concept was revealed to full-stack student test participants, it was so wonderful to see their surprised delight. They were filled with so much joy upon viewing it that it was almost like they had been given the actual gift.
What I Learned
To have the same reaction of an enthusiastic “I LOVE IT!” from each test participant, was such a heartwarming experience. This project was the perfect example of a user experience that actually brought happiness to users. Creating an experience that actually makes people feel good is the best thing a UX designer can do.