Role: UI/UX Designer, UX strategist
Date: January 2024 - March 2024
Project Type: Individual assessment
Introduction
As a newcomer in BC, several months ago, I participated in a program offered by a well-known immigrants serving organization to help me integrate into life in BC. In this program, a local volunteer named Josh became my mentor. Over the course of 12 weeks, we engaged in various activities, explored the city together. By the end of the program, Josh and his family had become close friends of mine. This valuable experience inspired me to design this app. Throughout the design process of this project, I delved deeper into UX strategy and experimented with more professional and effective UX methods.
Design Process
Phrase 1
Value Proposition
Problems:
Newcomers to new environments often encounter challenges such as cultural differences, language barriers, and a lack of social connections, making it difficult to integrate.
Users:
Mentees: The newcomers, such as new immigrants, international students, visitors and language learners.
Mentors: Locals want to lend a hand, share knowledge, and earn a bit of extra income in the process.
Solution:
My app serves as a platform to fulfill the needs of newcomers, language learners and kind-hearted locals. Here, on this app, newcomers and language learners can match with local mentors who can guide them, providing opportunities for city exploration, English practice, and even the chance to develop genuine friendships.
Provisional Persona
Conduct User Interviews
Summary of Interviews
Over the course of a week, I interviewed 5 individuals who fit my audience segment - young newcomers who have recently arrived in Canada. Among them were volunteers at Neighbourhood Houses, a student enrolled in language schools, a newcomer who has been in Canada for three years yet still seeking integration, and a newly settled international student. The interviews validated my assumption of their concern: That it is challenging to integrate into a new environment only through their own efforts. All 5 interviewees expressed a strong desire to integrate into Canadian society, with 4 individuals indicating concerns when interacting with locals. Ultimately, all participants expressed interest in the mentorship app.
Beyond affirming my value proposition, interviewees also shed light on the challenges they face during the integration process (WHAT), as well as their current solutions (HOW), providing valuable qualitative data for future research and development.
Screener Questions:
Are you a newcomer in Canada seeking to integrate into the local culture?
Do you want to learn/Practice English? (French if in Quebec)
Are you interested in discovering the city alongside locals and possibly forming new friendships?
Setting-up Questions:
How are you currently working on improving your English/French skills?
How do you go about making new friends in the new city?
How would you describe your interactions with locals?
On a scale from 0 to 10, how would you rate your level of integration into this new environment?
During the integration process, what challenges do you feel you've encountered?
How do you typically address these challenges?
Money-shot Questions:
Have you ever heard of or tried "Italki" and "Meetup"?
If there were an app, similar to a combination of Italki and Meetup, where you could find like-minded locals to be your mentor, explore the city together, learn about local culture, practice English/French, and even have the opportunity to become real friends, what would you think?
Results of Interview
HOW are you currently working on improving your English/French skills?
Participating in volunteer activities.
Communicating with local customers.
Practicing at work.
Watching YouTube videos.
Engaging in random conversations with others using Omegle.
Attending language school.
Conducting English presentations and conversations with clients.
How do you go about making new friends in the new city?
Using Facebook groups.
Meeting friends during the volunteer activity.
Participating in interest-based activities (e.g., weekly dragon boat paddling).
Through classmates and roommates.
Hanging out with friends and meeting their friends.
On a scale from 0 to 10, how would you rate your level of integration into this new environment? (result: average: 4.8)
7
2
6
5
4
During the integration process, WHAT challenges do you feel you've encountered?
Cultural differences: Difficulty understanding local jokes and the stories behind them.
Difficulty understanding slang and English expressions.
Perception of locals lacking patience with newcomers.
Locals speak too fast.
Arrived only 2 months ago; everything here is different from China, still adapting.
Feeling nervous and lacking confidence; prefer to communicate with people who are not proficient in English.
Slow response and concern about politeness.
HOW do you typically address these challenges?
If I don't understand, I ask questions to clarify or search on Google.
Participate in volunteer activities.
Join interest groups (such as a singing group).
Just settled in, haven't started addressing this issue yet.
Pretend to understand what they're saying and then guess on my own.
What would you think about this app? Would you use it?
Assumption → Decision Table
Assumption | Decision |
“Newcomers to a different place, facing challenges such as cultural differences, language barriers, and the lack of a social circle, may find it difficult to integrate into the new environment.” | This Assumption has been validated. No further decisions are necessary. Let's move on. |
"Our users need local mentors to assist them in integrating into their new environment and practicing English/French.” | This Assumption has been validated. No further decisions are necessary. Let's move on. |
“Our users are willing to pay local mentors for their services.” | According to user interviews, there isn't a strong inclination among users to pay. In that case, we might consider developing a membership service or other options to meet users' payment preferences. |
After conducting research and interviews, it was determined that challenges faced by newcomers during the integration process, as well as their strong desire to integrate quickly, are indeed genuine. Our previous assumptions regarding user needs have been fully validated. However, the willingness of users to pay for solving this issue has been overestimated, indicating the need for further research in service pricing in the future.
Customer Profile
Priority Chart & Rationale
Based on user interviews, it was found that the hierarchy of user needs is as follows: practicing English, integrating into the local culture, making friends, and exploring the city. This hierarchy also serves as the primary basis for sorting "Jobs" and "Gains". As for "Pains", I primarily ranked them based on the level of dissatisfaction users experienced with their mentors. Additionally, during the interviews, it was revealed that users place significant importance on the cost of this service. Therefore, I have also elevated the priority of addressing their financial concerns.
Phrase 2:
Competitive Matrix
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ol28s_z7QiQ3LHC2cpXKhs_498TWuO967izUBs42eNY/edit?usp=sharing
SWOT Analysis
Italki:
Meetup:
HelloTalk:
Tinder:
Immigrant-serving Organizations (e.g. MOSAIC)
Current Marketplace:
After conducting market research analysis, I have found that there are no direct competitors in the market yet. In other words, there isn't a real product targeting the same audience with similar solutions. By delving deeply into user needs and integrating excellent features from indirect competitors, there is a possibility to explore new opportunities.
Opportunities:
Studying and integrating standout features and excellent solutions from top products in various fields can help my product meet diverse user needs.
Leveraging Tinder's success in aspects such as easy-to-use user experience, tutor profile content, and the matching mechanism where both parties feel they can make friends.
Learning from Italki in terms of showcasing tutors, implementing a tutor-student evaluation system, and building a community.
Taking cues from Meetup in arranging online-to-offline activities.
Learning from Immigrant-serving organizations in effectively assisting newcomers in integration, and actively seeking collaboration opportunities with them to achieve mutual benefits.
At the same time, avoiding the negative reputation pitfalls, like those faced by "HelloTalk," by steering clear of blurring the lines between language learning and a "dating app."
Recommendation
After conducting the competitive analysis, it has been determined that my product is headed in the right direction. However, in the absence of direct competitors, it is crucial to proceed with caution when exploring this field. Moving forward, it is essential to continue delving deeper into the key features of relevant products, analyze how their solutions meet user needs, and devise a well-thought-out plan on how to integrate the strengths of other products into mine. It is imperative to identify what to include and what to avoid, focusing on how these features can best serve the needs of my product's users.
Phrase 3:
Value Map:
User Workflows:
Main user workflow:
The other 2 user workflows:
Content Objects:
Hierarchy Diagram + UI Components Collected:
Prototypes:
Conclusion
Through this project, I underwent the intricate design process from ideation to wireframes, employing several UX methods I hadn't previously utilized, such as the Value Proposition Canvas, Priority Chart, Hierarchy Diagram, and more. From formulating assumptions based on the Value Proposition to validating them through user interviews, and conducting competitive matrix and SWOT analyses to assess the business landscape, to finally completing the prototypes, I gained a deeper understanding of design processes and strategies. This experience has equipped me with valuable skills and insights, particularly in applying Lean Startup methodologies, which I can leverage in future endeavors.
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