Mixed Methods UX Case: FHI 360
Civicspace.tech is a website tool providing information to government & civic societies. FHI 360 organization hired me and my team to test knowledge products and approaches in order to enhance development practices amongst its members and users. By conducting a mixed-methods study, we proposed a new version of their tool.
Project Overview
My Role
User Experience Researcher, Product Manager
Duration
4 months
Collaborators
UX Designer, Project Facilitator, Project Lead, 2 Researchers, Product owners
Tools
Mural, Figma, Google Suite, Zoom, Teams, Canva, Sketching, Qualtrics
Goals of the project:
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Is the product reaching and being used by its intended users?
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To what extent is the product deemed useful by its users?
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How could the product be improved?
Constraints (shared by client):
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Rigorous business protocols of FHI 360
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Lack of information on the current users
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Absence of web analytics
Process
Given the time constraints of the project, we decided to apply Double-diamond design thinking model (refer to image below):
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We kicked off the project by talking to the stakeholders and target users to identify problems with the current product.
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We synthesized the interview data using Affinity Mapping.
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We created persona to identify the other potential users of the product and defined the "ideal" user journey by storyboarding.
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Me & my team individually ideated the possible solutions for the user pain points and prioritized the actionable insights by conducting a "Design Studio".
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We addressed the user needs by creating a lo-fi prototype, tested it internally by conducting usability testing.
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Before proposing the new version of the website to the stakeholders, we performed heuristic evaluation on the Hi-Fi prototype.
Timeline
User Research Methods
Process looks easy, right?
Naahhh! See how...
Challenges and Solutions
There were multiple challenges during the project. Here is how we navigated the majority of them:
Challenges
Recruiting Participants
Lack of Time
Usability Testing
Collaboration
Solutions
- Snowball Sampling
- Divide and Conquer
- Iterate user guide
- Pilot testing
- Team ethics
- Open communication
Project Deliverables
Advocating for the user needs and building meaningful experiences are important aspects of research. Using the Human-centered design process and design studios, I & my team were able to help familiarize the organization with the different personas and themes that came up in research.
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We shared all the research findings through visuals and presentation.
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All the information compiled during the research was shared with the stakeholders in a shared google repository.
Deliverables included:
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Research Findings
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Sketches
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Workflows
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Designs
Project Highlights - Visuals
Below are some of the project highlights, the images in the carousel represent important data points of the study - Interview demographics, survey results, personas, usability testing, heuristic evaluation
Final Outcome
We are still awaiting information on how these recommendations will be implemented. But, we are hopeful that they will increase the tool's usability and engagement of the users.
Please click on the image below to see the final prototype.
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