Minivillage Points System
Designing a points system to increase user engagement and encourage community interactions in the Minivillage platform
OVERVIEW:
Minivillage is a one-stop neighbourhood platform aiming to better connect communities in buiding. As the UX/UI designer, I developed a points system for the MiniVillage platform to increase user engagement by encouraging users to attend more building gatherings and support community member’s requests.
ROLE:
UX/UI Designer working with product engineer and CEO
TIMELINE:
Sep – Dec 2023 (12 weeks)
SKILLS:
UX Research, Wireframing, Reiterative prototyping, Design critiques, Storytelling & UI design
INITIAL THOUGHTS
At first, I assumed low engagement was due to excessive content, but it was actually due to a lack of flexibility and motivation.
Through research and reiterative prototyping getting feedback from users, solution evolved to provide flexibility and autonomy to users. They don't feel forced to enage with the community but more so nudged to do so.
CHALLENGE AREA
Users of the Minivillage platform lack motivation to use it on a daily basis and often do not attend registered events.
Even though this was beneficial to their overall well-being and integration into the community, due to their commitments in their personal lives, users were not making time to interact with the app. They were also registering for events and not attending these in-person community events.
UNDERSTANDING USERS AND GENERAL POINTS SYSTEMS
Conducting platform audits and user interviews revealed the importance of have different effort levels of engagement
🤝
Users would like to get rewarded for meaningful contribution through mobile-first interactions
During discussions with users, two participants expressed that they would prefer to know that they received points because their contribution or action had been genuinely beneficial or supportive to others.
🎯
The points should accessible and reward achievable
Users noted that when they engage with point systems, such as those at Shoppers Drug Mart, they often tap their cards to accumulate points without conscious thought. They rarely experience the benefits or perks associated with these points.
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I would like to gain these points anytime I make meaningful contributions; so helpful and useful comments.
"
University student living in an apartment
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I want my rewards from the points to be accessible and achievable.
"
Working female living in an apartment
WHAT DO OUR COMPETITORS DO
Competitive analysis with Aeroplan, Blume and Reddit highlighted passive methods of earning points for user motivation
I focused on the meaningful and community-centred features that could be applicable to MiniVillage as well as specific features that really spoke to users and received positive feedback. I also looked for reasons as to why users thought these systems really worked well for them. Particular insights that I took away in my process were:
KEY INSIGHTS FROM OVERALL RESEARCH
💯
Passive ways of earning points as a motivator
Users enjoy earning points on birthdays, and crossing milestones. This encourages to continuously want to use these points and also remove that external pressure of always having to actively engage to earn rewards.
🙋🏾
Various levels of engagement with user autonomy
With every user have multiple persnal schedules, people want more flexibility in their apartments/ homes. Having easy to more time-consuming levels of engagement gives the user the power to choose.
CONCEPTUALISING THE IDEA
Pooling my insights, brainstormed multiple ideas considering business and user objectives
From all of the research, I picked out key insights and matched it with business goals and user needs.
BUT WHAT DO USERS WANT?
Testing with users using a bullseye activity to inform user preferences with features
📣
Leader board was not liked as it created a competitive feeling within a home setting
📅
Daily challenges were ranked in the top 3 for all participants
MOVING AHEAD TO VISUALIZATIONS
Identifying 4 key users flows that will be implemented in the current platform to motivate user engagement
1.
Points system main page and completing daily challenges
A centralized location to find out how many points you have and also a way to access other features related to points system like the daily challenges. Users can complete a daily challenge to gain points everyday.
2.
Community rewards
These are rewards that encourage users to step outside of their homes to find themselves making more connections with people. They will be rewards that are activities and classes.
User flow of completing the daily challenges
3.
Points gained through attending events and gatherings
Gatherings are hosted to bring the community together. After attending the gatherings, users will gain points as motivation.
Users can making comments and suggestions in the comments page. If your comment is hearted, you gain points which acts as a motivation to make meaningful comments.
User flow of Heart a useful comment
MY FAVOURITE PHASE: PROTOTYPING AND REITERATING
I aimed to integrate the new features into the existing perks page. Yet, after testing multiple iterations, it became clear that we required a separate page dedicated solely to points.
My initial user flow and ideas hoped to incorporate the new features seamlessly into the current platform. I did not intend to create a whole new section/page for points. However, as I went through the prototyping phase and received feedback from diverse users, it seemed essential to have a centralized system - points page - where all users can see the capabilities of earning points and claiming rewards.
Version 1 key feedback: Low fi sketches revealed importance of having a main points page
Meeting with CEO and product engineer for feedback on mid-fidelity prototypes
During the middle of my prototyping phase, I met with the CEO in one of the weekly meetings who wanted to touch base with this project. In this meeting I presented my progress so far and he also suggested many new ideas which would further enhance the community aspect in these designs.
Version 2 key feedback from stakeholders: Showcase other users being involved in the daily challenges as added motivation
User testing revealed users needed more motivation to attend and be at the registered gatherings.
Every week as I made changes to the designs, I would conduct a couple rounds of user-testing to constantly get feedback on my work. I tested my mid-high fidelity prototypes with a user who lives in an apartment building. One of the key feedback I received was that he felt a lack of motivation when going to these events he registers for.
Version 3 key feedback from users: main points page feels too cluttered and overwhelming.
Slowly incorporating their style guide to ensure a seamless integration into the current platform
FINAL DESIGNS
Points page & Daily Challenges
The hub to understand the new points system feature with an easy onboarding.
Daily challenges increases frequency of the platform's usage by motivating users to complete challenges everyday.
Users can see who has completed and participating in the challenge as well.
Heart a comment
Users get rewarded with points for making useful and meaningful comments.
The hearts/ likes of comments can encourage users to contribute to the community more.
Community rewards
Users can making comments and suggestions in the comments page. If your comment is hearted, you gain points which acts as a motivation to make more meaningful comments.
Attend a gathering points
Users get rewarded with points for making useful and meaningful comments.
The hearts/ likes of comments can encourage users to contribute to the community more.
MEASURING METRICS
How might we measure the success of this design?
1.
Task success rate particularly for a new user to complete a daily challenge in the platform
Assess how fast the user is completing the a daily challenge and see if there are any discomfort in that flows
2.
Satisfaction surveys to assess how users felt after each community interaction or communication
Once the users goes through the platform and meets or connects with another user, the survey can analyse how smooth and seamless that particular interaction was.
3.
Check user conversion rate from onboarding to attending gatherings
With this marking we can digest how many users are actually attending the gatherings and interacting with the community.
I learned alot over 12 weeks, the important ones being
Through working with engineers and the CEO in online meetings, I learned to incorporate feedback constantly and with an open-mind
Engaging with engineers and the CEO in weekly meetings has been a dynamic and insightful experience. The interdisciplinary collaboration fosters a holistic understanding of the project. It not only provides valuable technical insights from the engineers but also allowed for me to understand the business perspective and align it with the company's vision. The diverse perspectives ensure a well-rounded approach to problem-solving and project development.
Through my design phase, I made multiple reiterations by involving users from the beginning
Involving users from the beginning of the project has proven to be a game-changer. The early engagement not only ensured that the designs solution resonated strongly with the end-users but also identified of potential challenges at an early stage. This approach not only validated our ideas but also established a sense of user ownership.
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