User Research
This project was completed in the course MS IDS 405 User Research in the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies. The intended purpose of this project was to conduct full-scale user research on a proposed application concept as part of a group project. My group, the UX Flockstars, conducted research for an app that centers local hobby farmers and home gardeners to provide them with a platform to trade/sell/give away excess produce and goods that they collect.
Here is the final research report for the project. You can view the final report here, or view the final presentation. A brief summary of the project is provided below.
Summary of Project and Employed Research Methods
Introduction
Addressing food waste is crucial in the fight against climate change, and our team aims to contribute through an application facilitating the sharing of excess produce within local communities. To inform the design process, we're conducting research to grasp consumers' desires, needs, motivations, and frustrations concerning fresh produce and animal products.
Objectives
Our research has two main objectives. Firstly and primarily, we aim to understand consumers' attitudes, pain points, wants, and needs regarding local produce and animal product exchange. Secondly, we want insights into hobby farmers' and backyard gardeners' needs and pain points. By achieving these goals, we aim to grasp user mental models and potential feature needs for the successful design and development of our application concept.
Problem Statement
In communities filled with hobby farmers and backyard gardeners, there is no single well-functioning platform to share excess produce and animal products such as eggs; thus, a dedicated two-sided marketplace application is needed to connect individuals to foster local exchange while preventing food waste.
Methodology
Our research plan employs various methods to understand consumer wants, pain points, and needs. We start by defining objectives, problem statements, and identifying key stakeholders. Our methodologies involve field studies, user interviews, and surveys to gain deep insights into how consumers think about fresh produce and animal products. This data provides us with deep knowledge into how users think to properly guide our design decisions.
Timeline
Phase 1: Write Research Plan | Identify target audience & recruitment methods
Phase 2: Determine all methods & develop a research schedule
Phase 3: Implement methodology and begin data collection
Phase 4: Analyze and summarize results
Phase 5: Prepare deliverables | Final report & presentation
Conclusion
Our research shows that most participants are keen on preventing food waste, embracing sustainable eating, and seeking more fresh produce options. Notably, 82% expressed interest in obtaining produce from local sources monthly, with 51% preferring weekly access. These findings underscore a robust demand for local produce, indicating consumers' proactive interest in such options and support our hypothesis for the need of a two-sided marketplace to connect consumers with local home gardeners and hobby farmers to acquire fresh produce.