© 2024 Pooja Malvi
2022
Utility App
MY ROLE
Lead Designer
Timeline
5 months
Project Type
Capstone
Providing electricity outage information to rural people by understanding cultural context of togetherness
Context
When I joined a Master’s program at Michigan State University to advance my design skills, the COVID-19 wave required me to attend classes remotely from my rural town, where I frequently faced electricity and internet outages. During the Interaction Design class, I missed half of a Zoom session due to these disruptions. This experience inspired me to pursue this idea as my capstone project, with the belief that my solution could resonate with a broader audience.
Problem
The idea was simple - How do we create a product that would inform people about outages accurately yet have an accessible and non-cluttered interface?
Goal of the project -
- Updates on the cause and timing that led to down hours.
- Duration of down hours.
- Next availability or scheduling of the utilities once it’s restored.
- Provide suggestions to the community portal for existing utility problems.
Research Findings
Out of the 6 months of the project, I spend 1/3rd of my time working on finding the target audience, creating scenarios and storyboarding, and comparing the findings with existing competitors. Since the process was long and quite detailed, Here are the summarized insights from the cultural probe exercise:
Total participants: 7
Participant average age: 27 years
Concern about outage
The familiar emotions like anger, frustration, and anxiety validated their concern for the outage.
Bonding with families
Some felt the need to bond with family, cook food (during daylight), listen to music, or just relax during the time.
Interruption in daily routine
If the blackout pertains to a shorter period, participants felt frustrated as it interrupted the routine.
Picking hobbies or socializing
If the electricity is gone for extended periods, people usually pick hobbies to socialize with family and communities.
Final Solution
The focus was shifted from providing meaningful insights about the blackout to interactive activity suggestions they can perform while going through longer outages. I wanted to encourage the people using the application to do activities that cause less anxiety and lead them to an environment where they find the most joy!
Key features designed -
- Set up alert to get information about the duration of outage.
- Send a custom message to the network about outage from the app in one step.
- View battery level of connected devices.
- List of interactive activities to perform during the outage.
Sending alerts about outage to your network and getting suggestions for interactive activities to perform.
Setting up the outage alert by finding your community easily.
Sketches & User Flow
Since the problem was straightforward, I picked “How to find out about outage” as my primary task for the sketching exercise. I had the most fun stretching my brain in every direction possible to visualize this task. Here are a few (20) sketches about how a user can find the outage information:
Sketches for how the user can find outage information.
Initial user flow to perform various tasks from the home page after receiving outage information.
Usability TESTING
In the usability test stage of the project, the participants were asked to use the app's prototype, first on paper and then with Figma wireframes. Each participant completed tasks using the think-aloud method, with follow-up questions to gather feedback. Before starting, participants were given an overview of the app’s context and used interactive Post-it notes to simulate buttons and interactions.
Phase 1: Paper Prototype
The first task asked users to inform relevant contacts about an upcoming outage that would impact daily activities. Although most found the “Inform People” prompt intuitive, one participant was unclear on who “people” referred to, which suggested the need for clearer wording to indicate contacts.
Task 1
Users struggled to locate the "Add custom" message option, finding its placement confusing. The “Add custom” input field was moved to the top of the screen for visibility.
Task 2
One user found the “Share Now” button redundant, as they had already selected contacts. Hence, solution moved to display frequently contacted people at the top.
Evolution of the messaging feature during the usability testing sessions.
Phase 2: Wireframe Prototype
In the second phase, which focused on customizing messages, users could choose between pre-filled and custom options. However, some found it confusing, perceiving it as requiring both rather than either/or. This led to the introduction of radio buttons, clarifying the selection and giving the pre-filled option a higher priority to simplify the decision-making process.
Task 1
Confusion between selecting pre-filled or custom messages. Users perceived both options as required, not either/or. Hence, replaced with radio button selection for clarity, prioritizing pre-filled messages to reduce decision-making time.
Task 2
Primary pre-outage activities were clarified by adding subheadings and a "Know why" link to make the alert banner clickable and provide the necessary context. The "Add music playlist" feature, which felt out of place before the outage, was shifted as a secondary activity to be explored.
Evolution of the home screen during the usability testing sessions.
Takeaway
The design problem initially focused on timely alerts about local outages, bill payment options, and direct connections to authorities via a mobile app. However, it evolved to emphasize meaningful insights about the blackout duration, interactive activity suggestions, and community engagement, aiming to reduce user anxiety and foster joy during outages.
Rather than providing passive information, the goal was to create a supportive, efficient, and accessible platform that brings communities together during power outages. Drawing on user insights, the design was refined to prioritize minimalistic and contextual interactions, with a focus on fostering connections through family and community-oriented activities. Here's how I refined the design philosophy while working on this project:
Redefining design philosophy -
- Focus on providing meaningful, anxiety-reducing interactions tailored to the user's immediate problems.
- Create a supportive environment by encouraging community-oriented, joyful activities.
- Design with accessibility, safety, and efficiency in mind, ensuring easy navigation with minimal steps.
- Emphasize a community-centric approach that values the social connections users seek during challenging times.
process
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insights
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