Weeks 1-8: Research.

we conducted 15 user interviews across individuals, households, and businesses to identify the most salient pain points.

Through Zoom interviews over the course of two months, we compiled information from qualitative interviews into one database. Our goal was to find out what the key areas of friction were for residents and businesses as they tried to dispose of waste sustainably.

Our research team conducted 45-minute virtual interviews over Zoom. Each interview followed an interview script of either business or resident focus questions with the aim of better understanding the potential uses of our platform using open-ended questions.

We used Notion to track our insights!

affinity group analysis

In our affinity mapping process, we synthesized those insights into a visualization of pain points and goals to guide our designs. This process of analyzing qualitative data involved writing down quotes and main takeaways from our interviews and categorizing them into more general pain points. Here's what our affinity map looked like! The little circles are votes from when we prioritized pain points as a team.

We visually mapped insights into larger categories such as “lack of sustainable education” and “cost of recycling”. This allowed us to identify key pain points from the user perspectives.

key insights & pain points

Through our user research and affinity mapping, we categorized the information into 8 pain points. These were supported through various user interviews. As a team, we organized by the most important pain points to design a minimum viable product.

There were also a couple other general pain points users mentioned:

• Damaging Personal Health: The rubbish burning system widely employed in rural areas is damaging to the health of local residents. This includes inhalation of carcinogens and prolonged exposure to potentially noxious waste that is not immediately disposed of.
• Decentralization: It is difficult to manage different kinds of waste because they require different waste collectors, especially in different locations. Each of these differences represents a separate process for users.
• Different Preferred Platforms: Next, service providers have their own methods of communication, which individuals must adapt to. Sometimes, these methods — such as email — are not ideal for efficient, quick pickups.
• Tracking Payment History: Waste collection fees are often tracked with paper, which can be inconvenient and easy to lose. It is difficult for individuals to keep good records for their payments, especially if they use multiple service providers.

Weeks 8-12: Ideation.

feature ideation

Based on these pain points, we determined the top features in our scope:

• Waste Stream Dashboard: On the first screens of our mobile app, users will be able to see a dashboard of different waste types, such as cans, bottles, general rubbish, etc.
• Waste Pickup Scheduler: Users can schedule pickups and filter waste types, as well as add their own customizable templates for personal waste streams that they dispose often.
• Personal Payment History Dashboard: This is the dashboard that is used to track a user's payments and payment history. Users can also see if they have any outstanding fees.
• Impact Profile: Users will be able to track their personal data with regards to their waste practices, as well as edit their location and payment methods.

Sprint 1: Low Fidelity

In our first sprint, our goal was to gain maximum feedback to provide future design direction. To quickly generate ideas and to encourage honest feedback, we completed our designs in low fidelity, which means they were akin to rough sketches to focus on layout rather than visual details. This is not our final design.

low fidelity prototypes for usability walkthrough

For the Waste Streams Dashboard, we created an intuitive scrollable home screen that allows users to pick the type of waste they would like to dispose of. Users can see educational information about the type of waste that they are disposing of.

For the Waste Pickup Scheduler, we designed a straightforward flow for our users, allowing them to provide the necessary customizations and information for a successful pickup.

The Personal Payment History Dashboard was designed around the idea of being able to “sort by” different categories of waste payments: action, schedule type, waste type, provider, payment status, order status, and schedule date — with totals over each subcategory.

The Impact Profile needed to serve two main purposes: to give users a place to set important user profile-related information (name, photo, council, payment) and to view sustainability impact statistics.

homepage

type of rubbish

map location selector

select rubbish type

select service provider

confirmation page

profile page

personal stats

personal stats, more detailed

payment history summaries

usability testing & takeaways

After creating our low-fidelity prototypes, we brought the prototypes to a live audience with 2 users for a usability test. In that session, we walked through the prototype using the following interview procedure:

• 1. Prime frame of mind by showing and explaining the current page and available interactions.
• 2. Establish expectations by asking what the user expects after an interaction.
• 3. Reveal & gauge alignment with the user's expectations. Ask follow-up questions.

Our usability testing revealed the following feedback:

Weeks 12-16: Final Design Solution.

This takes us to the final design solution, which was handed off to a dev team for development! Note that some content will be filler in this final design. This was a joint decision made with Matanataki, since we are not subject-area experts in writing neutral fact-finding questions.

Feedback from usability testing was incorporated to refine the user flow and information architecture was refined. We changed the information shown to match user expectations regarding language use (i.e. "rubbish" rather than "waste"), content shown, paymend methods, and sustainability impact statistics.

feature 1: waste streams dashboard

In the home screen, users can see a profile summary with a photo, name, and current credit. There will also be a scrollable dashboard of different waste types. In addition to being educational, users have the new option of dropping off waste at different locations, using a custom QR code to quickly verify that the waste has been dropped off — this lowers the cost of pickups for residents and provides another way to sustainably manage waste.

scrollable home page

quick learn

detailed learning

location picker

location info

QR code

feature 2: waste pickup scheduler

Off of the waste streams from the dashboard, users will easily schedule waste pickups. Users will also be able to filter these waste types, for example by the types that their city council manages, and to add their own customizable templates for personal waste streams (for example, of cans and bottles together) that they find themselves needing to dispose of often.

interactive location pickup map

waste type selection

provider selection (filler content)

time and date

confirmation page

payment page

feature 3: personal payment history dashboard

Using the personal payment history dashboard, users can see if they have any outstanding fees that need to be paid to their local council. They can also see what they have paid in the past, the status of their payments, and filter their payment history to see the kinds of payments they have made in the past.

view payment history by status

expanded payment history details

sort history by

feature 4: impact profile

On this page, users will be able to track their personal data with regards to their waste practices, as well as edit their location and payment methods. We will show data and statistics about their sustainability impact. Not only does this encourage users to be sustainable, but they can also share their profiles with friends, family, or to promote their business. We also included the ability for multiple people to create profiles on a singular device, which is important for user accessibility. For citizens in rural villages, allowing many households to use one device could allow for greater access to waste management overall.

impact profile for Xerxes

switching profiles

editing profile location

editing payment method

Tracy's statistics

in-depth data analytics

finale

Thanks for making it this far! I'd like to thank Matanataki for giving me the chance to work on an interesting and high-impact project for residents in Fiji! I met so many wonderful people, users, and stakeholders, and learned a lot about the UI/UX process. These designs have been handed off for development with their team (in partnership with a dev team from Tech for Social Good).

read the final design report