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Aloe from Green Our Planet
A mobile app made for corporate giving programs, by using hydroponic growers with the goal of creating a tribal effect with community participation.
Duration
Apr'22 - Jul'22
Project Type
Thesis Project
Teammates
Alice Hsa, Sabrina Hsu, Kadie Despain
Tools
Figma, Miro, PowerPoint
Problem Statement
Green Our Planet is facing challenges in securing funds for school programs due to the rising trend of community giving in the US, the limited viral popularity of hydroponic growers, and a lack of clarity among clients regarding project goals.
Solution 1 - Site Schematic & Site Audit
To provide a clear picture of the underlying issues at the current website & identify what's need to be improved
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Excessive sub-pages
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Expired external links
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Outdated content
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Unorganized content hierarchy
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Navigation is all around the places (not user-friendly)
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Unreasonable amount of CTA
Solution 2 - Interview Stakeholder
To better understand the project goals, resource limitations, and future expectations
Meet Ciara
Co-founder
" It would be interesting if we could come out with something like Peloton (high-energy indoor cycling workouts). I always feel competitive as if my adrenaline is boiling every time when I see my ranking drop. I believe that's the kind of energy we need to improve users' engagement."
Wait a min! So gamification it is? 🤨
Team Meetings
GoP Stakeholders
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GoP wish to increase their brand virality via social media promotion
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GoP wish to obtain more sponsorship to support their school programs
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GoP wants to improve user engagement via gamification features
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GoP wants to create a new branding strategy to enhance their brand identity
Solution 3 - Brainstorming
Based on stakeholder needs, the team formulated questions to determine the optimal design solution.
Based on the brainstorm session, we proposed
Creating a hydroponic mobile app for the corporate giving program?
Solution 4 - Market Research
Conducted research to learn more about hydroponics and it's market opportunities
Fund raised / year
Approximately $ 5 Billion
20-25% ⬆️ in yield
Making it possible to ease world hunger issues
Longer tenure
75% employees engaged in corporate giving program
Water Consumption
70% of the water usage on earth goes towards traditional agriculture production
Volunteering program
71% of employee wants to volunteer in corporate program
Revenue Forecast
hydroponics is foreseen to hit approximately $9.8 Billion by the year of 2028
Solution 5 - Interview Hydroponic Lovers
To understand the user pain points, we've interviewed two candidates to learn more about their hydroponic journey
Meet Chris
A full-time teacher
I can grab the herbs I need from my garden whenever I want to
Meet Andrew
A mechanical engineer
My mom got me into hydroponic journey
It's hard to study the pH levels needed for hydroponic plants.
I sometimes forgot about changing the water
I am confused with the lighting and nutrients for my herbs
I do love the concept but it is not easy to maintain.
Based on what we've learnt about the market
We proceed with converting ideas into solutions
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Difficulty in monitoring the hydroponics health status
User's pain points
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Often forget about watering the plants
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Learn how to manage hydroponics (user manual)
User's wants
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Wants to get notified about the plant status
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How can we make it more accessible for users to monitor their plants?
Opportunity #1
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Limited funding to support the school programs
Client's pain points
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Do not have channel to advocate hydroponics
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Wants to improve user's engagement (gamification)
Client's wants
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Wants to make hydroponics a popular trend
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How can help the clients (GoP) to achieve their funding goals and at the same time advocate hydroponics?
Opportunity #2
Alright... let's map things out
Incorporating the research findings into a semi-fictional persona
Design planning 1 - User Persona (Ashton Raleigh)
Ashton says "As a new team member of Accenture, I want to be able to share my team's progress within and out of the app, so that I can visualize how we are positively impacting the community".
User Engagement
Active Participations
Immediate Feedback
Design planning 2 - Minimum Viable Products
Based on Ashton's expectations, we listed down the possible items to be included in the app and sort them out based on categories such as: Must Haves, and Nice to Have
Must Have (part 1)
Reservoir
Planting pods
User manual
Seeds
Lights
Camera
Nutrients
Water pump
pH & TDS meters
Must Have (part 2)
Log in/ Log out
Home
Profile
Settings
Navigation
Help & Support
Reminder notification
Chat box & call
Photo gallery
Nice to have
Preference quiz
Dashboard (diary)
Augmented Reality
Automatic light control
Automatic nutrient control
24/7 live support
Design planning 3 - Roadmap for Ashton
Scenario: Ashton is a web designer at Accenture. He is competitive and health-conscious, and he is also an avid user of social media. Most of all, he loves sharing his experiences with others. Hence, the Aloe app for hydroponics is made for him!
Design planning 4 - Wireframe
User Story: Ashton receives a notification from the Aloe app that one of his gardens is in need of nutrients. He uses the Aloe app to order what he needs. In the meantime, he also checks the leaderboard and gets inspiration on what to grow next from the plant menu.
Shopping page
Data Tracker
Social Media
Plant Menu
Design outcome - High-fi prototype
Ashton participated in a hydroponics program with his new company - Accenture.
My Garden
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Push notification as a reminder to check the garden's health including nutrients status.
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CTA: Sponsor a School!
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Live view to check the plant's current situation.
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Option to edit your garden.
School
Sponsors
Immediate
Feedback
Leaderboard
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The dashboard showed Ashton's current rank compared to his co-workers.
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The scoring overview reminds Ashton of how the points are being accumulated.
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Ashton gets to see his ranking for today or of all times.
Active Participations
Badging System
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The search button on the right-hand side allows Ashton to search for a keyword, for eg: names or plants type.
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Ashton can also check on the badges he collected over time.
User Engagament
Plant Menu
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Ashton study for the plant manual and decided to add two different plants to the same pod to check if both are compatible to grow together.
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He can then add the plants to the cart and purchase them.
User
Engagement
Immediate
Feedback
Delivery Time!
As the semester concluded, we presented the client with a comprehensive UX package encompassing ideation maps, wireframes, prototypes, and a presentation deck. They were pleased with the results and have decided to move forward with product implementation through the school of engineering.
Reflections
The team initially faced challenges connecting with the appropriate representative from Green Our Planet, and clarifying their expectations and goals. It took nearly four weeks to discern the project's objectives. Given the time crunch, we executed a site schematic and audit to shed light on the organization's existing challenges. We eventually integrated a leaderboard concept into the product to boost user engagement, but lacked time for extensive user testing.
Given more time, I'd expand user testing, interviewing corporate employees to assess their interest in a hydroponics-based corporate program. Such insights would refine the design from a novice user's viewpoint. Additionally, I'd develop the social media channel (via the gallery button) to further align with the goal of enhancing user engagement.