More detailed experiment design: https://highercommonsense.com/cs247b/team-13-designing-a-solution-assumption-mapping-and-experience-prototypes/
Experiment 1
Overview: For this experiment we wanted to test how people inquire about the well-being of their friends. We plan on doing this by selecting three individuals that fall in our target demographic (all three are college-age students), and then performing research in the form of contextual inquiry and focusing on how people asked about well-being, when the topic would come up, and with what frequency. We performed the study in person at a study location on campus where friends and classmates would pass through or drop in/out at the table. While the participants did not want to have their photos published online, some examples from conversations or texts are included at the end.
Who we recruited: 3 college students at Stanford university (seniors). We decided to recruit these people because they fall into the demographic of users we are targeting. We are also familiar with who they have relationships with so we could more easily track the types of interactions that were happening.
Learning Card 1
Insight name: people care about the wellbeing of their friends
Date of learning: 2/25
Person responsible: Tiffany
Step 1: hypothesis
We believed that people would care about the well-being of their friends
Step 2: Observation
We observed that our participants would verbally ask about how others are doing, and the questions would also be reciprocated. There was a level of physical reassurance that came up, in addition to emotional support. In the digital sense, “check ins” were also done. (Data Reliability: 2/3)
Step 3: learning and insights
From that we learned that people typically check in on their friends or others that they care about when they see each other in person. Most of the time, the checking in is a broad question, unless they knew about a specific event that they knew they were going to do and told them about the last time they saw them. Digital check-ins would typically have shorter responses to the “how are you” types of questions. Overall, we learned that people care about their friend’s wellbeing, and that if they had discussed something specific (talked about a trip, or an activity) the last time they saw each other that was naturally brought up (Action required 1/3)
Step 4: Decisions and actions
Therefore, we will continue with the assumption that people care about the wellbeing of their friends, especially when they have a shared interest between each other (for ex: both share the same goals).
Artifacts/Quotes
One for of digital inquiry (was the first question asked in the conversation):
Conversation notes (over the course of 2 hours):
- “Hi I haven’t seen in you in so long! How are you? How have you been?”
- “How are you feeling”
- “Any life updates?”
- “How was your run?”
- “I saw your bike ride on Strava, how did that go?”
- Each participant asked someone about the “new” person’s wellbeing at least once in the first 2 minutes of conversation
- People would respond beyond surface level answers, would get into more detail about their life and emotional wellbeing
- Respondents would also follow up after their first response and ask “Wait but how are you?” “How are you doing” “How are you feeling about __” “How was your week” “What does this upcoming week look like? How are you feeling about that”
- Each conversation had at least 2 questions asked about the wellbeing for the other person.
- Eye contact maintained, smiles, laughs, groans, audible sighs, and there were also physical greetings (hugs, grab of hands, touches on the shoulder)
Test Card associated with this experiment:
Test Card 1
Test name: Friend Care
Step 1: We believe that people care about the well being of their friends (critical score: 3/3)
Step 2: To verify that we will, will conduct research in the form of contextual inquiry. (test cost 1/3 & data reliability 2/3)
Step 3: And measure how people interact socially and how often they inquire about their friends. (time required: 2/3)
Step 4: We are right if people check on their friend’s habits
Experiment 2
Overview: For this experiment, we tested users’ investments in owning a “digital” plant that they could check up on. To simulate the “digital” plant, we physically drew a plant on a post-it note, texted it to the user, and had them check in on the plant throughout the day. The user could name the plant, and each time they checked in on the plant, we would send them a new image of how the plant was doing (i.e., if they didn’t check in on their plant in a while, the plant would get sad).
Who we recruited: We recruited 3 students at Stanford University (one sophomore, one coterm, and one Master’s). They were people that we were already familiar with so we could just text them images throughout the day, and they were people who were interested in the idea of having a virtual plant.
Learning Card 2
Insight name: people are invested in a digital plant
Date of learning: 2/27
Person responsible: Michelle and Kaitlyn
Step 1: hypothesis
We believe that people would be invested in the well-being of a virtual plant. This stems from knowing that there are people who are invested in taking care of their virtual pets, from games such as Webkinz and Nintendogs.
Step 2: Observation
(Data Reliability: 2/3)
We observed that the users were enthusiastic about naming and accessorizing their plant. They each remembered to check in on their plant throughout the day, at intervals of around 2-3 hours for one check-in. They were excited when their plant was doing well, and very invested when their plant felt lonely without them. They would constantly respond back with texts after being shown an image of how their plant was doing, showing that they were enthusiastic about “owning” a “virtual” plant.
Step 3: learning and insights
(Action required 2/3)
From this experiment, we learned that people were invested in a “digital pet” of some sort, even if it took the form of a plant shape. Users are especially enthusiastic when they get to customize their plant to their liking, such as giving the plant a name and choosing accessories for the plant (like sunglasses). Users were especially excited to check in on their plant when their plant could do different things, such as expressing love for the user or reading a book.
Step 4: Decisions and actions
We will move forward with the assumption that people will be invested in having a virtual plant. For the purposes of creating an app, we will put emphasis on being able to customize the plant to their liking and having the plant be able to do different things and express different emotions to keep things interesting.
Pictures of Experiment or Link to artifact:
Test Card associated with this experiment:
Test Card 2
Test name: Digital Investment
Step 1: We believe that people have personal investment in a digital plant (critical score: 2/3)
Step 2: To verify that we will test how invested people are in hand-drawn plants (test cost 2/3 & data reliability 3/3)
Step 3: And measure how often people check their plant, their emotional response when before and after being shown the plant, how they talk about the plant. (time required: 2/3)
Step 4: We are right if people check on the plant and if they have a positive emotional response.
Experiment 3
Overview: For this experiment we wanted to test how consistent users view their widgets to see if this was a viable way to display a user’s plant. We plan on doing this by selecting three users who are trying to wear sunscreen which is our main audience. We then send them a form to fill out that will have them put a widget down and then they have the option for selecting a number from 0 to 3. 0 indicates that they never check the widget and 3 indicates they check the widget super often. Once we get insights on the frequency they check their widget, this will provide us with information to see if visualization of the plant dying on the widget would provide enough attention where users will notice and then click onto our app.
Who we recruited: We recruited people who try to wear sunscreen everyday and people who wear sunscreen once in a while. We decided to recruit these people because we felt that they would provide helpful insights about the users we are trying to attract with our app. We definitely wanted people who are trying to wear more sunscreen and see if they also have a habit of checking their widgets on their phones.
Learning Card 3
Insight name: People constantly check on their widgets
Date of learning: 2/24 and 2/25
Person responsible: Kayla and Labib
Step 1: Hypothesis
We believe that users check the widgets on their phone consistently and often.
Step 2: Observation
We observed that two of our participants in our experiment selected three which indicated they check the widget they listed in the first question as checking super often. Only one participant selected two which indicates they sometimes check their widget. Overall they all scored high when it came to how often they check their widget. (Data Reliability: 2/3)
Step 3: Learning and insights
We learned that our participants checked their widgets often.
Step 4: Decisions and actions
We will move forward with the assumption that people will check their phone widgets. So when creating our intervention, we will have a user interface for a widget that is salient on the user’s home or lock screen.
