Thesis Documentation Casey Kallen | Fall 2019
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Business Model Research User Experience Design Visual Design / Branding Development Requirements Candidate Supplements 2
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INTRO Abstract Detailed Description Stakeholders Why Choose Gardens? Impact How Might We Statement Hypothesis Problem Statement 3
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ABSTRACT The purpose of the project is to design an application for community gardens in Philadelphia based on the research conducted on the necessity of gardens, the efforts to keep them running, and what is necessary to create more while giving existing gardens a case to keep their land.
The research documented in this book is the culmination of 12 months of interviews, designing, going on-site to gardens, and immersing myself in the process of what it is like to be a community garden member and administrator. Because of this, I have learned that while community gardens do a lot successfully, there is a disparity in the amount of effort expected versus actually required. Throughout this process, I learned that the main frustrations in community gardnens come from an inequal distribution of labor necessary to keep the garden running, which can have consequences such as losing the land if there is not adequate participation.
My goal is to help empower gardeners to be active participants in their community, while keeping the focus on the garden itself. The hope is that through this illumination, gardeners are aware of their expectations, and leadership is more at-ease with their positions.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION Gardening and agriculture have existed for millenia, so there is little to innovate that hasn’t already been done. Where the problem lies is the case for keepin the gardens of Philadelphia protected from the threat of gentrification, while improving the workflow and standardizing organization within gardens to keep them productive and positive experiences for all involved. Most garden management is done with paper logs and various spreadsheets, while gardeners also need to participate in tasks outside of mantaining their own plot. This can lead to an unequal divide in labor which may cause tension between gardeners and the leadership.
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Community Guardian will aim to ease the tension of garden management and gardener by creating a system whereby tasks are transparent and scalable to the needs of each gardener, and simultaneously establishing credibility by providing user-generated data analytics to the City of Philadelphia. This will not only give new gardens an incentive to have their lands protected, but provide the city with a valuable asset that transcends the preliminary benefits of gardening. Community Guardian is a way for gardeners to connect and communicate, while also allowing leadership an easier process for maintaining their records and providing information in a standardized format. Production, reduction in crime, and the establishment of new gardens will all be success metrics of the application.
STAKEHOLDERS Neil Harner, Advisor
Director and Professor for M.S. User Experience & Interaction Design
Thomas Jefferson University
Michael Begley, Advisor Adjunct Professor
Thomas Jefferson University
Lauren Dillard, Advisor Adjunct Professor
Thomas Jefferson University
Dan O’Brien, Funding Guidance
Deputy Director, Office of Grant Services and Community Partnerships
City of Philadelphia
Mahala Greer, Parks & Rec Guidance 6
Administrative Specialist for Community Gardens, Portland Parks & Recreation
WHY?
Gardens in Philadelphia are at at risk. Because urbanized areas do not specifically prioritize green spaces, there is a higher demand for garden plots than there are available, leaving high waiting lists that do not seem to get any shorter. Some of these garden plots are kept by members who have enough time to tend to not only their own plots, but their garden responsibilities as well. However, it can be increasingly frustrating for members who want to join, but may be blocked by plots that are underutilized by members who may be unaware of the commitment it takes to be a part of a community garden.
Without constant participation in these green spaces, they are at risk. Real estate development encroaches in on green spaces that do not have sufficient proof that they are desired and utilized. Without measurable, quantitative data to prove that a garden is being used, it may be bought quicker than it took to put together the plots.
Lack of green spaces can increase heat islands, crime rates and community health issues, all which pose a threat to the city population’s wellbeing. Community gardens are one way of combating these issues, and this research aims to come up with a solution to the threat of industrialization on one method of harboring safe, green spaces in Philadelphia.
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IMPACT Gardens have more of an impact on local communities than most people are aware of. Garden’s impact on society ranges far beyond the plots.
• Thousands of pounds of donated food per year
• Less screen time for individuals
• Reduced carbon emissions from transported
food to grocery stores
• Reduction in crime because of protected
green spaces 8
HOW MIGHT WE How might we decrease frustration surrounding task management and accountability in community gardens by scaling responsibilities for time and motivational barriers?
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HYPOTHESIS I believe that if we can create a digital application in order to scale community garden participation based on time and motivational limits, we can increase hours per week of garden-work spent on tasks outside of personal plots by double within one year because members will have a centralized space to track all of their garden membership responsibilities.
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PROBLEM STATEMENT
Philadelphia has over 50 protected community gardens which are run exclusively by members who hold garden plots. Barriers such as time and motivation prevent members from tending to particular requirements of membership such as maintaining common spaces, attending garden work days, and taking care of their plots to prevent overgrowth and pests. This leads to the majority of the work falling into a small portion of members, and with various personal standards for how much time should be put into work at the garden, there is no consistent way to measure accountability. Efforts have been made to create applications to assist gardeners with organization, tracking, and soil health, but there are few for accountability in community gardens and much of the tracking is done on paper, spreadsheets, or reliant on memory.
If community gardens are not properly maintained, they lack the case to keep their spaces protected which will give that land back to the city or fall in the hands of real estate development, which threatens communities to lose a safe green space that is productive for community health.
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BUSINESS
MODEL
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Elevator Pitch
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Mission Statement
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Short Term Goals
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Long Term Goals
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Objectives
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Success Metrics
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Business Model Canvas
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SWOT Analysis
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Growth Strategy
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Competitive Analysis
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ELEVATOR PITCH CHARACTERISTICS • Encourages gardeners to stay
organized with their plots with
achievable tasks
• Promotes collaboration, community,
accountability and efficiency within
the garden by allowing users to log
hours
• Reduces frustration for garden
organizers and allows them to focus
on their own plots more
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Gardening is meant to be relaxing, but pressure to participate can be discouraging. With Community Guardian, community gardeners can participate in the experience at a pace and time that works for them, while giving them recognition for all the hard work they do. Users can pick up tasks at their convenience, and ensure that they meet the requirements for membership, so that they can reap the benefits of their hard work and enjoy the leisure of gardening.
MISSION
To increase participation in Philadelphia community gardens by providing reportable analytics, transparency to garden tasks, and a channel of communication for members. Community Guardian aims to create a collaborative environment that assists both gardener and administrator with gardener information and participation in a way that standardizes organization and makes it easier for everyone to feel an equal part of the garden. This application will also empower local communities to start gardens and do so in a way that allows them to have an easy starting point and have the necessary data to keep their land.
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BUSINESS GOALS Short Term Goals
• Establish partnership with the City
of Philadelphia to learn about
minimum requirements for
garden land protection
• Develop relationships with more
gardens in the Philadelphia area
and environmentally-conscious
businesses with garden space
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• Hire a development team to build
the application and maintain the
data and resources to keep it
functioning
Long Term Goals
• Attend garden shows, city
planning meetings, and
environmental conferences to
expose more communities to the
app
• Establish relationships with food
banks and charity services in the
City of Philadelphia and connect
them with gardens using the app
• Expand the market to more
cities around the United
States
OBJECTIVES • Create transparency in division of workload by allowing all gardeners to see a variety of tasks at different task/skill/accessibility levels, as well as time commitments
• Allow various ways for gardeners to have a digital log of all of their work hours, so they may get credit for the weight they pull in the garden
• Automatically create reportable data analytics for both gardeners and gardens, to prove productivity in the garden and participation from a community level. 16
SUCCESS METRICS - Participation Increase: If gardeners respond well to the app and use it, including least-participating members, we will know that it incorporates well with current garden workflow
- Analytics Generation: User participation will generate significant analytics that are deemed appropriate by garden representatives and city advocates
- New Garden Generation: Success will be proven if a new garden is generated with the incentive of using this application
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BUSINESS CANVAS Key Partners
Key Activities
Data Storage
Problem Solving
Local Government
Platform
To maintain user information and garden information
To use this tool as a standard for measurement of garden success and justifyuing preservation of green spaces
Private Property Owners
Directed towards LEED
certified buildings, residental or business structures that want to justify their use of green spaces in their property
Constant UX updates to keep current with task management software trends
Retaining platform in order to stay afloat and retain customer’s data
Key Resources
Intellectual
Software, data storage, data collection
(2nd phase)
Human
Designers, developers
Garden Members & Leadership
Grant money, eventual investors
Wanting to utilize this tool
Financial
as a means of tracking their involvement in the garden
Value Creation
Value Propositions
Newness
There are currently no products on the market specifically designed for community garden task management
Performance
Gardens currently rely on hard copy sign-in sheets or spreadsheets to record gardener information and hours
Getting the Job Done
Notifications and updated user feedback on progress allows gardeners to stay on task and informed
Communities
Users will be engaged with fellow garden members to help assist with tasks
Co-Creation
Tasks will be created by admins within the application
Self-Service
All content will be created by users in the application
Channels
Direct to
Consumer
Proving involvement and
Gardeners will be made aware of this application by garden leadership
Convenience
Grant funding from Philadelphia grants department
Risk Reduction
productivity will allow gardens to retain their land and reduce risk of real estate bids
Grants
Gardeners will have multiple ways to log their work, and garden leadership will have a streamlined portal to access garden information
Crowdfunding
Fixed Cost
Resources for program updates, and mandate from municipality Grant Writing
Using public funding in grants to produce / update the application
Customer Segments
Niche Market
This market is specifically for users who are concerned with and involved in the community garden space, especially in the public sector of public community gardens
Multi-Sided Market
This product will interest private business/property owners, municipalities, and gardeners who are interested in consistency in the community garden space, but will primarily focus on gardens in cities for the first phase.
Initial funds raised by crowdfunding
Cost Structure
Utilizing social impact, crime reduction, higher community health, and productivity as main focuses of this product
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Customer Relationships
Revenue Streams
Grant Funds
Because this product will first exist in the public space, grant funds will be necessary to build and establish
Licensing Fee
Municipalities or entities using this product will be able to brand this
SWOT Strengths
- Offers a variety of ways for gardeners to engage and communicate with other members
- Expand the app to scale to various cities, and include farms and other agricultural organizations
- Allows for transparency in division of workload, and a standardized and reliable way for gardeners to receive credit for their work
- Integrate with city standards for community gardens and recognize analytics as a recognized and valid proof of community importance
- Allows users to plan for their garden work and required hours in a format that fits their schedule best
- Provide usage of this app as an incentive to create new gardens in Philadelphia
Weaknesses - Not the only task management app on the market
- Digital data is always at risk for hacking
- Relies on users being honest about their work
- May require training for garden members or staff who lack experience with technology
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Opportunities
Threats - Gardens may want to keep the experience technology free and based on honesty
- Gardeners at first be hesitant to logging their hours in a digital format as opposed to reliance on an honor code and paper logs
- Public funding for this application may be difficult to obtain at first
GROWTH STRATEGY • Test functionality and productivity
with more gardens in Philadelphia
• Pursue the private business
market and show revenue
opportunities for residental
complexes and businesses
• Provide incentives for new
gardens to be created and for
existing gardens to adopt this
system
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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS There are many task management apps that exist on the market today, none of which explicitly garden-task-related. However, many of these applications have management patterns that prove to be useful int he design of my application. Here are a few examples of popular apps that utilize team and personal task management that have mobile and desktop interfaces. By studying these applications, I was able to create a robust design that included elements of task management with more community-based features, especially with the following two apps, Trello and Jira.
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TRELLO Trello is a large competitor in the space for its ability to create multiple boards, add multiple users, and have a waterfall interface. Users are able to assign and tag other users in tasks as well. Where Trello falls short is its lack of a social-media channel, as well as ability to message other users.
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JIRA Jira is another application that is similar to Trello in the ability to tag users and assign tasks in a waterfall-interface fashion. Jira also can be attached to stories with points, and allows users to see a Kanban interface of organized tasks. Jira also has an activity feed, but on Desktop only. Jira also lacks a social media component and messaging system.
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RESEARCH Research Strategy Secondary Research Primary Research
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RESEARCH STRATEGY Primary Research
• User Interviews
– Phone interviews with garden
members
– In-person interviews with garden
leadership
– Local small-scale gardeners
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• Organizational interviews
– Phone interview / email
conversations
– Grants Office for City of
Philadelphia
– Neighborhood Gardens Trust
(NGT)
Secondary Research • Academic Research
– Peer reviewed articles
– Annotated bibliography
• Online Research
– Articles
– News
Secondary
Research
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HISTORY OF GARDENS Community gardening reached the United States in 1893 as a result of an economic depression whereby unemployed citizens were able to use unutilized plots of land to grow food for their families. The Victory Garden program was established in 1917, and by 1944, 20 million victory gardens yielded 40% of fresh food consumed in the United States.
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Artist: Morley Size: 27"x19" Publication: [Washington, D.C.] Agriculture Department. War Food Administration. Printer: U.S. Government Printing Office -
URBAN COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT Over 50% of the population of the world lives in cities, therefore the demand for food in urban spaces increases exponentially. 56% of the world's poor population are concentrated in urban areas. 60-80% of people's income is spent on food. In 2009, a study showed that $4.9 million of summer vegetables alone were produced across community gardens in Philadelphia.
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SOCIAL IMPACT OF GROWING LOCAL FOOD Motivation for gardening in Philadelphia is improving “social memory," consuming more food, and improving food selection. In a study done on 8 community gardens in Philadelphia, 68 different edible species were cultivated. Community gardeners consume more fruits and vegetables than personal or non-gardeners, upward about 5 times per day, reducing risk for hypertension, obesity, etc.
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BARRIERS Barriers to this solution are lack of knowledge and economic ability to start or maintain the process of urban food growth. Building and participating in a community garden requires a significant investment of time and effort. Short-term residents are less likely to put forth such effort. In order to utilize areas such as vacant lots or rooftops, there have to be sufficient negotiations to convince land owners the impact of utilizing rooftops and vacant lots for gardens.
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TAKEAWAYS Community gardens not only provide food, but are important for preserving cultural heritage
Community gardens in Philadelphia have a history of providing large quantities of food to those in need
The majority of people’s income is spent on food, much of which can be grown cheaper and healthier in raised bed plots
Considerable time and effort must be invested in building and maintaining plots
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Primary
Research
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GOALS • Understand the impact of gardens in the
community
• Quantify amount of effort necessary to maintain
gardens and who holds responsibility
• Barriers, pain points, and needs to community
gardens
• Challenges with membership
• Motivations for gardening in an urban space
• Understand the necessary requirements to
create/maintain a garden site in Philadelphia
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LEADERSHIP INTERVIEWS
Dan O’Brien, Deputy Director
of Implementation, Mayor's Office of Grants for the City of Philadelphia I spoke with Dan to gain insights as to what gardens need to keep their land, if my app would be desireable, and whether or not
Not only did Dan say that my app was something that he would be interested in helping fund, but that there are certain critera that gardens need to stay afloat in Philadelphia, such as proving reduction in crime, food production, and that members of the community are participating.
Dan also encouraged me to make sure that my application appealed to older folks in the community by providing a social-media aspect where they can share their crops, and that there is an SMS component for those who are not tech-literate.
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LEADERSHIP INTERVIEWS Jenny Greenberg, Executive Director of Neighborhood Gardens Trust I spoke with Jenny to learn more about what gardens need in the City of Philadelphia and how my app could help them.
Jenny gave me great insight as to some of the struggles that keep gardens afloat, and what NGT does to help them protect their land. If a garden comes to the city with an empty plot, the way that NGT can help advocate for that land is if they show that the garden is making a contribution to the neighborhood. If it is doing so, then NGT will use funds to help purchase that plot of land for the garden in order to protect them from being taken over by real estate development.
This conversation enlightened me to what gardens will need in order to be created and be protected. 35
LEADERSHIP INTERVIEWS
Mahala Greer, Administrative Specialist for Community Gardens Portland Parks & Recreation I spoke with Mahala to learn more about what it would look like for my app to be implemented as a city-wide mandate.
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Mahala gave me incredible insight as to what the content and data requirements would be, especially if this application were mandated for an entire city. Portland’s 51 community gardens are all run by the city, so having a way for this application to be monitored by the city would be taken into consideration. From her perspective, this application would be a necessity to mandate in all gardens across Portland, Oregon.
Mahala expressed interest and desire for this application to be created for Portland, Oregon’s Parks and Recreation department as a way to standardize reporting for all apps.
END USER INTERVIEWS Who were my users?
11 Interviews Total
9 Community Garden Members
1 Community Garden Starter
1 Porch Gardener
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Goals:
Understand the impact of gardens in the community
Quantify amount of effort necessary to maintain gardens and who holds responsibilit
Barriers, pain points, and needs to community gardens
Challenges with membership
Motivations for gardening in an urban space
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What is your motivation for gardening? How did you get started? Tell me about a time you wanted to garden but it was difficult for situational reasons.
2. What is your favorite part about gardening? What would you tell someone who wants to get into gardening but doesn’t know where to start?
3. How did you start gardening? Why are you a part of a community garden?
4. What types of commitments do people need to make? What barriers have prevented members from contributing to their own plots or to the garden as a whole?
5. Tell me about the smallest space you gardened in. Was it successful? What did you grow?
6. What does the garden need that it currently doesn’t have enough of? Where do you go to get what you need?
7. What are the challenges you face as a member of the garden? What kind of support do you need in order to overcome these obstacles?
8. What are some changes you would like to see in the garden? Tell me about a time you needed something and where you went to find it?
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9. How do you keep track of accountability for your own plants or members contributions to the garden? Are there any tools or applications you use?
RESPONSES
Link to Responses 40
TAKEAWAYS Biggest sacrifice: time and motivation
Frustrations with existing in small community where tasks should be evenly shared but are not
Garden leadership is frustrated with trying to get consistent membership participation
Benefits outweigh the pain points if you can really involve yourself with your neighbors
Threat of acquisition is present if land is not maintained
Cities need quantitative analytics in order to prove that a garden deserves funding
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CONSTRAINTS “Time has been a big constraint. Going to all of the garden meetings and work days are hard when life gets in the way. I don’t remember as many work days or meetings in the past, but now the garden is cracking down more on efficiency on members. I don’t remember feeling as pressured to doing more things at the garden, and it’s hard because some members care way more. It feels like there’s tension because some people feel like they're doing more work than others.”
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SHOWING UP “I think you need to make sure you can put time into it so you can follow through, or gather the support of others. Spend enough time at the garden to connect and get tips. I learned so much over the years that has kept with me from other people. It's important because of the people involvement that you can't do it if you have no time to put into it. If you have the time to put into it and enjoy it and not make it a chore, you learn so much getting to know people and it's worth it.�
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TIME COMMITMENTS “People need to spend at least 10 hours a week. Cleaning up the areas around the plots, making sure that their plots aren't overgrown, showing up to work days. People don't realize the amount of time.”
“People need at least 3-4 hours per week of time to commit.”
“People only really need 1-2 hours a week, some when it's actually necessary such as watering so up to 4 hours a week. Realistically I should be able to put that in and have it be okay.”
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CHALLENGES “Biggest challenge is that a lot of them have insecure land tenure, don't own or lease or have permission to use the land that they're on. As redevelopment is happening, threat of losing land is happening so we want them to transfer the land to NGT. If it's well cared for and members are involved, if they're donating a lot of food, it helps their case to preserve their land. We want to know that there are enough people involved for a consistent period of time that there will be people involved to keep it in good condition to keep it going in the future. It's not hard to find people who want to be involved, but there is a lot of work. It's easier to get people to sign up for a garden than to get them to chip in, and garden leaders feel like a lot of it falls on them.�
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USER
EXPERIENCE
DESIGN
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User Overview Persona Development Storyboard MoSCoW Empathy Map Original Site Map Original User Flow Risk Assumption Matrix Validation Wireframes Usability Testing Revised Site Map / User Flows
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USER OVERVIEW The user I am aiming to solve for are members of communities with a garden who care about the benefits that community gardens have to offer, but don’t have the “preferred” time or motivation to contribute to the garden.
Challenges • Time requirements
• Insecurity due to pressure to work more
• Wants recognition for their effort
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Goals
• Maintain personal garden plot
• Accomplish membership task requirements
at their convenience
• Connect with garden members
Needs • Flexibility
• Accountability
• Ease of organization
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STORYBOARD
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STORYBOARD
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STORYBOARD
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USER FLOW (ORIGINAL) Admin Task Input
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Admin Gardener Directory
SITE MAP (ORIGINAL)
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SITE MAP (ORIGINAL)
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VALIDATION Because my application was meant for grant applications as opposed to traditional marketing methods, in addition to a lack of available users, I was unable to do traditional pretotyping methods to validate my riskiest assumptions. My approach was to start wireframing as soon as possible in order to validate my assumptions through usability testing, and drastic iterations if necessary.
My first two assumptions were validated through my interviews with Dan O’Brien from the City of Philadelphia, as well as garden leadership. According to the various garden leaders I interviewed, the need to pressure gardeners in a gentle way is the only way they can get some gardeners to participate.
My third assumption is that users care about seeing analytics, just like their admin counterparts, and this could only be validated by showing users the possibility of what they would generate.
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risk assumption detail
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INITIAL WIREFRAMES My initial wireframes consisted of 5 major sections: Dashboard, Messages, Time Log, Analytics, and Settings for the mobile interface for the majority of end users. I also created two desktop screens to gauge interest and content for the admin interface. My goal of these wireframes were to use testing as validation for the risky assumption that users wanted an analytics screen, and understand what type of analytics and content were expected and desired for all end users. My intent was to get as broad of a spectrum of content as possible, so that I could iterate as necessary during usability testing.
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DASHBOARD, ANALYTICS, SETTINGS Dashboard and Create Activity Post Goals: see your analytics and other user’s posts, create a post
Feedback: users gave input for what analytics they’d be interested in here, expressed interest in sharing in “activity log” for garden updates
Analytics and Settings
Goals: see in-depth analytics, be able to adjust notification settings if you don’t need to be reminded
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Feedback: users said that analytics section was unnecessary and confusing, suggested a “my plants” section instead
TIME LOG, MESSAGES Time Log
Goals: see claimed, assigned, available, and completed tasks, add them to your personal calendar, see gardener information
Feedback: calendar integration was helpful, needed to make elements larger and more explicit, this was a good feature for transparency
Messages Goals: send a message to a gardener
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Feedback: users said this might be a better way to communicate than giving out personal numbers, liked the aspect of requesting a phone number before seeing it (element of privacy)
DESKTOP Dashboard
Goals: see more analytics and a broader view of activity feed for review
Feedback: liked that there was a desktop view for administrators/leadership, “workload compare” didn’t make sense, likes being able to see more activity
Analytics Goals: create a printable PDF for sending to grantors or city
Feedback: there were too many charts that weren’t all relevant. When asked what they would like to see instead, it would be a list of invoices or a running total calculator because finances are also something that are sent to financial grantors
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USABILITY TESTING QUESTIONS Dashboard
Claim Task - Calendar Integration
What does it look like you can do on the dashboard? Does this have what you’d expect to see when you first open the app?
What kinds of stats would you want to see here?
If you were to go and log your hours, how would you do that from here?
Now I want you to go and claim a task.
When you find it, I want you to add it to your phone’s calendar. Show me how you would do that.
Is this something you would find useful?
Log Hours
Tell me what you see. What do these mean to you?
How do you feel about this screen?
Do you care about seeing these?
Are there analytics you’d like to see? What would you like to see instead?
How would you learn more about a task?
Now we’re going to pretend that you’re going to log this task. How would you upload a receipt?
How would you mark this as complete?
What do you think those tags do?
Message
Pretend as though you are sending a message to this gardener.
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Analytics
Closing Questions
Did you feel like this made sense?
Is there anything you would want to see that wasn’t featured?
Why is this important?
How would this impact your experience at the garden?
How would you describe this experience in 3 words?
KEY USABILITY TESTING TAKEAWAYS 4 Tests
• Features were understood, but there needed to be more fidelity in the
content, to which users informed what they would like to see in final app.
• Add a “My Crops” page which allows them to keep track of their
watering/fertilizing/planting schedules, instead of “Analytics” page
• Admin dashboard should have invoices to send to grantors/funders in addition to certain analytics
• User tags and checkboxes needed to be larger for usability purposes
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Because my usability testing showed that I needed to replace the “Analytics� page, I needed to update my sitemap and user flows. The following pages reflect those changes.
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USER FLOW (UPDATED) Admin Task Input
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Admin Gardener Directory
SITE MAP (ORIGINAL)
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VISUAL
DESIGN
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Identity Moodboards Branding UI Kit Visual UI Design Future Recommendations Final Prototype
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Words generated from my peers during a discussion about my app
To the right is a Mood Spectrum chart, visually explaining my app in order to create the right moodboards.
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MOODBOARDS 69
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BRANDING When choosing the branding for this app, I decided to use the “Heritage� moodboard to inspire earthy and complementary tones. The typeface of Playfair Display is a clean and unique way to display a nostalgic feel on a highly digital app.
The orange is a stark call-to-action color that represents the terracotta of common planters.
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A secondary tone of green was used to represent the green of the garden. It reminds the user that they are meant to be with the earth even while using a digital application.
Typography & Color Playfair Display
Regular
Small Caps Text Background Icon
#B46D33
Logo: Vertical & Horizontal Layouts
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VISUALLY
DESIGNED
WIREFRAMES 77
Login, Create Profile, Find Gardener Key
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Dashboard
Add to a List
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Time Log, Gardener Details
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Messages, Message a Gardener
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My Crops, Share to Facebook, Add to a List
Settings
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Admin Dashboard / Analytics
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FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS Because time was a constraint, there are a few aspects of this project that I would like to accomplish at a future date. Because the design process is complete, these are the future recommendations I have for upcoming designs:
• Seed packet scan to USDA recommendations for My Crops for
watering and fertilizing
• SMS system for allowing users who are not
tech-literate/without smartphone to log hours
• In-depth desktop wireframes for Admin users
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FINAL PROTOTYPE I used Figma to design my wireframes and prototype my designs.
Link to prototype
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DEVELOPMENT
REQUIREMENTS Gantt Project Timelines Functional Requirements Content & Data Requirements Database Structure Development Practices
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BRANDING
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TIMELINE ACTUAL
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FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS Feature
Description
Database & Storage
Collects and saves users information and creates analytics for user-generated inputs
Camera Access SMS Data Collection External Application Integration 89
Allows users to upload images and take photos via the phone’s camera Allows users to submit data via text message Allows users to receive push notifications, schedule via phone calendar, and social media share
CONTENT & DATA REQUIREMENTS - User Information Database
- Invoice Calculator Database
- SMS to Data Input Database
- User Generated Data CMS
- Task Generation Database
- Link to USDA Crop Database
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DATABASE DIAGRAM
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DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES - Agile development best practices
- HTML, CSS, JS for front-end code
- SQL for building databases
- iOS and Android native programming
languages
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CANDIDATE
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Candidate Bio
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Reflection Paper
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Resume
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Selected Works
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REFLECTION
My journey as a User Experience Designer began out of a quest for a career path that would be rewarding and filled with growth. I have always been a very passionate person, on a journey to discover what in life is my true purpose. After trying out careers in photography, magazine design, and even yoga teaching, I desired something that would combine my love for helping others with a way to use my practical and analytical side of my brain. With the guidance and mentorship some close people in my life in the technology industry, I was introduced to a field that was everything I was looking for and more.
Coming into the program was something I took a chance on. I had heard very little about UX design, and was hoping that this program would end up showing me a career path that I loved. I’m fortunate enough that my risk paid off, and that I’m coming out of the program with not only a love and passion for design, but a newfound self-respect for my work ethic and capabilities.
My professors and classmates at Jefferson University have shaped me to think critically and objectively about my own work, while learning new skills such as accessibility consideration and a variety of wireframing and research methodologies.
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My thesis project aims to combine my love for digital design with my concern for the environment. By starting on a small scale, I hope that my project inspires others to be involved with green spaces in their local communities, and understand the importance of protecting those spaces and knowing the effort and energy necessary to grow the food we consume.
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SELECTED WORKS Designing for Accessibility
Goal: Identify a problem through card sorting and solve it using user experience design research methods. I chose to study students with disabilities at the university.
Skills Used: Interviewing, card sorting, branding, wireframing, coding
Airbnb Site Redesign
Goal: Tasked with finding a website that I felt needed a UX update, I chose a website that I use for one of my passions: traveling.
Skills Used: Interviewing, card sorting, usability testing branding, wireframing, prototyping
Garden Share App
Goal: Create a peer-to-peer mobile app to connect local gardeners with consumers hoping to purchase produce locally and sustainably
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Skills Used: Usability testing, wireframing, visual design, prototyping
SUPPLEMENTS
Appendix
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APPENDIX
Bertoncini, Alzira Politi, et al. “Local Gardening Practices Shape Urban Lawn Floristic Communities.” Landscape and Urban Planning, vol. 105, no. 1-2, 8 Jan. 2012, pp. 53–61., doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.11.017.
Eigenbrod, Christine, and Nazim Gruda. “Urban Vegetable for Food Security in Cities. A Review.” Agronomy for Sustainable Development, vol. 35, no. 2, 2014, pp. 483–498., doi:10.1007/s13593-014-0273-y.
Garrett, Amelia, and Michael A. Leeds. “The Economics of Community Gardening.” Eastern Economic Journal 41.2 (2015): 200-13. ProQuest. 2 Feb. 2019 .
Lawson, Laura J.. City Bountiful : A Century of Community Gardening in America, University of California Press, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/philau/detail.action?docID=227286.
Litt, Jill S., PhD., et al. “The Influence of Social Involvement, Neighborhood Aesthetics, and Community Garden Participation on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.” American Journal of Public Health 101.8 (2011): 1466-73. ProQuest. 2 Feb. 2019 .
Pearsall, Hamil, et al. “Urban Community Garden Agrodiversity and Cultural Identity in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.” Geographical Review 107.3 (2017): 476-95. ProQuest. 2 Feb. 2019 .
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Zick, C. D., PhD., Smith, K. R., PhD., Kowaleski-Jones, L., Uno, C., M.L.I.S., & Merrill, B. J., B.S. (2013). Harvesting more than vegetables: The potential weight control benefits of community gardening. American Journal of Public Health, 103(6), 1110-1115. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.philau.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.philau.edu/docview/1370735611?accoun tid=28402
Changing communities, one garden at a time.
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