Voteapp.io
A nonpartisan mobile app that educates users on who politicians are, how they’ve voted, and where their funding comes from.
Challenge
Gain insight into engaging users while providing clarity and scannability to dense political information, then create interactive design prototypes displaying these methods. Then, taking initial client feature ideation into account, work to understand user needs in the space, evaluate effective interaction patterns, and create a design prototype for a native mobile application that allows users to access and interact with key data points with an initial focus on voting record and funding sources.
Solution
Several files containing our research findings, information architecture, visual assets, high fidelity design files, and interactive mobile design prototypes showcasing primary interaction flows.
Key Deliverables
Methods
Deep diving
Comparative audit
Prototyping
Scenarios
Surveys
Speed dating
Information architecture
Usability testing
Tools
Paper + pencil
Otter
Trello
Keynote
Google Forms
Sketch
InVision
Axure
client meeting
First, my team met with our client in person.
understand expectations
This was to understand our client, her expectations, and the opportunity space.
scope of work
My team synthesized what we learned from Anna, our client, and decided what we were doing over the next few weeks. We wrote on a whiteboard, using bullet points and a calendar format, and created a scope of work document.
set expectations
This was so we could all be on the same page, plan out what our actions, and set expectations for ourselves and our client.
secondary research
My team split up to do initial research, then came back together to review our findings. Personally, I conducted secondary research into behavioral psychology and gamification. My teammates conducted a comparative audit of apps with similar functions, as well as a deep dive into market competitors.
gain a base for primary research
This was to cover a lot of ground at once and launch our efforts faster, in order to have a strong base to interact with users with.
scenarios and prototypes
Nex we created scenarios and sketched low fidelity prototypes on paper.
tangible ideas for user testing
To prepare for speed dating, giving our participants a tangible, general idea of the concept of VoteApp.io
survey and speed dating
Let our survey run over the weekend while conducting speed dating tests. Essentially, we showed people physical copies of our low-fidelity prototypes, gave them a basic scenario, and then asked pertinent questions.
Comprehensiveness of user flow
[look up in purple methods book] To gain an idea if users understood the general user flow of our prototype.
synthesize data
Now that we had a boatload of data, we synthesized our speed dating and survey data by both whiteboard and paper.
improve prototypes
This ensured that we were all on the same page, and could use those insights to further improve features for the prototype. Additionally, this was valuable data we could later show our client.
Information architecture
We the created IA (Information Architecture) of VoteApp.io, via a lot of markers and drawn lines. Later we digitized it via Whimsical.
aid developers
This ensured we understand the flow of the app, and would make things easier for the developers after we handed off our research.
Usability testing
Next, we moved into conducting usability tests with low fidelity prototypes.
gain user insight
We needed to understand user needs and desires, and getting the info straight from the source is the best.
Once we had gained that feedback, we then moved into formalizing our research and high-fidelity prototypes. I personally assisted in synthesizing our insights for both verbal and written reports.
Presentation
At that point, we then presented a brief overview of our work to our client.
overview for client
This summarized our findings and showcased our prototype both visually and verbally.