My Role

I was a sole product designer from start to finish. I conducted secondary research, sketched potential ideas, built wireframes with high fidelity mockups, and performed usability testing to validate the end solution. Design feedback and Critique - Anna Lopriore

Tools Used

Research - Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Sheets, Canva, Miro.

Design - Sketch, InVision, Photoshop, Paper and Pen.

Duration

5 months, February - June 2021

Overview

I moved from Europe to the United States seven years ago. In my time here, I have observed the different waste segregation methods and rules around the country. The items people throw into the recycling bin in Boston, MA are not necessarily recycled in Seattle, WA. In Portland, OR house-holds divide their waste on average between four different bins, yet in some places in Kansas, the average household barely has a two-bin system to divide their waste into. Being passionate about sustainability, I was inspired to learn about the issue and explore solutions to this challenge as a conceptual project.

The Problem:

“How can we connect people 

with different recycling facilities

in their local area?”

Since the topic of waste management is so big, I had to narrow my options down and decide the specific direction I wanted to focus on. I have decided to dive deeper into studying waste management in individual homes and how people can benefit from having easier access to local recycling services.

The Solution:

I designed Waste Right as a mobile application that provides a specific item-based search of various recycling facilities, that help people connect with their local businesses and support the local sustainability movement. Additional simple and practical tools make waste segregation accessible and effortlessly help build right habits in the long run.

Research/Discovery Phase

Secondary Research:

For my first step, I conducted secondary research by  reading articles online to learn more about the statistics and facts on waste management in the U.S. and find out the main problems people face when managing waste in their households. According to my online research, recycling materials and food waste are the two most common types of waste generated in the average American household.

Key findings from secondary research

Empathizing with the users

In order to learn more about the problem space, I used google forms to conduct a survey to understand people’s thoughts and  habits when managing their waste at home. After getting 27 survey responses, I conducted user interviews that were done over online video calls. I specifically chose five people that were living in different states, to learn about specific systems they have been using, managing their waste as well as people’s feelings about the concept. It was thrilling to talk to people and find out how, within the same country, different states and cities can have such different rules concerning waste management.

Synthesizing the Research

Context

As I was doing my primary research, I was looking to find out main pain points users have when it comes to composting and recycling.

Affinity Map

Affinity mapping

In order to find common themes from the users I have interviewed, I created an affinity map using Miro to organize the insights from each interview. I did this process using physical sticky notes at first, but decided to convert my findings into the digital map for ease of reading.  

Empathy Mapping

After organizing the affinity map, I took the data and synthesized the observations into what users were Feeling, Thinking, Saying and what they were actually Doing. This step of research synthesis was very helpful in identifying what kind of users I would potentially be designing for.

User Personas

With the synthesized user research, I was able to create two distinct user personas that helped visualize their frustrations, needs and goals. Although these are two defined individuals, they each combine different characteristics of many people.

Introducing user persons - Ben and Emma

How Might We? (HMW)

Defining a problem statement after my research. 

With Ben and Emma’s pain points, needs and goals in mind, I began to wonder: 

     1. How might we make people feel more supported by their city/town administration?

     2. How might we help users make sense of what is recyclable and what is not?

     3. How can we connect people with the different recycling facilities in their area?

User Stories

Before starting sketching potential ideas, I layed out user stories and chose MVP (minimum viable product) to help me determine basic features that best solved my target user problems.

Ideate

Sketches

Using iPad and pencil, I sketched out early ideas, all possible services, and the tools this future application could serve. Since I still didn’t have a clear vision of what I would like to make of it, the sketching process helped me compare and filter out the ideas.

Early Idea Sketches

Guerilla Testing

After sketching out main screens for the two red routes, I conducted Guerilla usability testing with five users to gather feedback on any usability issues. 

Guerilla testing included two task scenarios:

     1. To find a composting facility and save the address for later.

     2. To share a recently saved address with a friend.

Sketches for Guerilla Testing

Participant feedback:

     1. Users wanted to see their current location on the map.

     2. Most users were confused by having two “search” options (button on the menu and search bar) on the home page.

     3. Having the “bookmark” icon instead of the “like” button felt more appropriate to most.

     4. For the saved locations screens, users agreed that having an additional visual map showing their saved locations would help them to navigate through the information faster.

Design

Wireflows

I used Sketch to build the two-dimensional screen interfaces to illustrate the content better and showcase the functionality of the elements.    

Now that the wireframes were built and the changes from the usability testings were applied, I created wire flows to see the step-by-step actions and made sure all the elements on the screens made sense before moving forward with the design.

Design process, Rationale and UI Elements

High Fidelity Screens

Using the wireframe designs I started building high-fidelity screens in Sketch.

Design process, Rationale and UI Elements

Validate

Usability Testing

After defining, ideating, and prototyping first high fidelity screens for Waste Right. I conducted five moderated usability testings to find out the strengths and pain points for the high fidelity UI design elements and overall user experience while using the app.

Test questions/tasks:

      1. Do users find any issues while searching for an item on the “discover” page?

     2. How do users respond to home page UI and general navigation?

     3. How do users see and understand the “profile” menu screen?

Outcome:

During my first and second usability testings, I have interviewed different people, and several users were curious to know if this app would be launched since they were interested in using it.

In designing this app, several of my friends got inspired to learn specifics about recycling in their cities and towns. One of them started composting at home. How great is that!?

Next Step:

Since multiple usability testings have shown that users want to use search fields, I would work closely with developers to avoid user frustrations by making sure the search engines work flawlessly.

I would further develop the product by researching and designing features like reminder settings, adding location features, notifications, etc. I believe these features will benefit and enhance the experience of existing users. 

From the positive feedback I received while conducting usability testings, I believe that Waste Right could help in spreading and supporting habits of a sustainable lifestyle.

Reflection:

In the beginning of the research phase, I felt ambitious to develop a solution that will help solve EVERYONE'S problems around waste segregation. When I started following the process of design thinking, I realized fairly quickly how important it is to establish clear target users and design specifically for their needs without distraction.

I would also explore ways of adding gamification or progress tracking charts into the app to potentially increase user engagement and inspire their learning process. For example, by having the user become a member of the local recycling facility(s), their ranking would grow in the app and be seen by local users.