Project Overview
| Brief Intro to GoP
Green Our Planet is a non-profit organization that runs one of the most comprehensive STEM school garden and hydroponics programs throughout the United States.
| Problem Statement
Community giving is becoming common in places like the US, with many opportunities for people and companies to donate their time and money.
Green Our Planet, like many other organizations are finding challenges in reaching their funding goals for school programs.
Although hydroponic growers are gaining popularity, they have not reached viral status.
| Solution & Objective
After multiple meetings with Green Our Planet, our group decided to create a mobile app around corporate giving that enables hydroponic growers to create tribal effect with community participation. Our goal is not only to help users maintain their hydroponic garden easily with the smart functionality but also to increase user engagement, create value in learning hydroponics and ultimately obtain sponsorship.
| Role & Deliverables
In this group of 4, I was responsible for the comparative analysis, determining the MVP based on client needs and research, wireframing and prototyping.
| Outcome
We ended up presenting the complete design as a high-fidelity prototype. The final result was highly recognized by Green Our Planet, especially the ranking feature of leaderboard competition was the most attractive to them. And Green Our Planet also mentioned that they are very interested in moving towards to launch the app.
| Here's the Process!
RESEARCH
IDEATION
DELIVERABLE
INTERVIEW
Question Burst
Solution
Problem Statement
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Client Interview
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Market Research
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Essential Corporate Giving Statistics
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Comparative Analysis
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User Interview
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Personas &
Journey Maps
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MVPs
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Branding
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User Flow
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Wireframe
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High-Fidelity Prototype
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Interactive Visual Design
Interview with GOP
At the beginning of the project, we had several meetings with Green Our Planet, which also included individual meetings with their marketing team, teachers and hydroponic project managers to understand their expectations and needs.
From our conversations, it was clear that while the client did not have specific ideas for the project, they were focused on the following directions:
Reach Sponsorship
Increase Engagement
Going Viral
Promote Hydroponics Program
Q-Bursts
After an initial understanding at the meeting, our team conducted question bursts to see if we could find the potential problems and opportunities.
| Q-Bursts
Key Findings:
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What are the different types of hydroponic devices?
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What are GoP's current hydroponics promotion activities?
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Can we combine hydroponics planting with competition?
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How do users share?
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What other external apps we could integrate?
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Corporate "giving back" programs?
Problem Statement
| So here we come up with the problem statement!
Community giving is becoming common in places like the US, with many opportunities for people and companies to donate their time and money.
Green Our Planet, like many other organizations are finding challenges in reaching their funding goals for school programs. Although hydroponic growers are gaining popularity, they have not reached viral status.
Research
| Market Research:
20.7% CAGR
The hydroponics market is anticipated to register a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 20.7% during the forecast period (2021-2028).
$2.6 billion
Market size value in 2021
$9.8 billion
Revenue forecast in 2028
| Essential Corporate Giving Statistics:
71%
of surveyed employees say it's very important to work at a company that supports giving and volunteering.
75%
Employees who engage in corporate giving programs tend to have 75% longer tenures with the company.
$5 billion
is raised through workplace giving each year.
| Comparative Analysis
Comparative Analysis Chart
Strength
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Diverse online resources.
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Great connections to communities and schools.
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Provide opportunities for individuals and businesses to get involved in building gardens.
Weakness
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Service is limited to the area in Nevada.
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People are less familiar with their hydroponics programs as most of the collaborations and events are centered around the garden program.
Pros & Cons of GoP
| User Interview
In addition to studying research on the market and competitors, we also conducted interviews with our most important target audience - hydroponic users. We hope to gain valuable information from their experience sharing to understand their habits and needs when using hydroponic devices.
Saylor Rains, 24
I think they’re incredibly convenient especially for people who forget to do things for their plants, since it all connects to your phone.
Device Model: Both small and 24XL ones are from Aero Garden.
Feature:
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There's an specific app that can remotely control the devices and set reminders for liquid fertilization.
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The lights are adjustable and can set light times for different plant types.
Angie Despain, 43
I don't find it too difficult to change the water during the process, but it would be helpful for me if there was a push notification function.
Device Model: Small system built out by user herself.
Feature:
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A homemade wicking system.
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Using it for planting avocados and other starter plants but not using them to consistently grow food.
From the user interview we learned that:
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Users usually choose small to medium-sized hydroponic systems for home use.
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Remote control, automation settings, reminders and notification functions are convenient and helpful for users.
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Home growers usually grow vegetables and fruits as their main crops. Water and nutrient need to be replaced and added by themselves.
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Users may grow different types of plants between cycles.
Solution
After multiple meetings with Green Our Planet, our group decided to create a mobile app around corporate giving that enables hydroponic growers to create tribal effect with community participation.
| Let's wrap it up here, now we have a strategic solution!
| And also the objective!
Our goal is not only to help users maintain their hydroponic garden easily with the smart functionality but also to increase user engagement, create value in learning hydroponics and ultimately obtain sponsorship.
Ideation
| Persona & Journey Map
Character: Ashton
Hi, I'm Ashton, a new team member at Accenture. I'm competitive, health-conscious, and I'm also an avid user of social media. I want to be able to share my team's progress within and outside of the app, so that I can show how we are positively impacting the community.
| Minimum Viable Product
Must Have
Nice To Have
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Preference quiz
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(Dashboard) Diary
-Document harvests and overall experiences
Wishlist
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AR technology
-Identify plant type
-AR help
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Automatic light control
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Automatic nutrient monitor
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24/7 live support
(Dashboard)
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My Gardens (data trackers)
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My Ranking (leaderboard)
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Shop (limited to hydroponics supplies)
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Plant Menu
(Hamburger Menu)
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Log in / Log out
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Social platform
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Chat
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Education
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Help & Support
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Manual
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Settings
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Profile
Starter Kit
| Branding
A logo designed for the mobile app named Aloe.
The name Aloe is inspired by the multiple uses and benefits that aloe brings to people, just like the app we design for Green Our Planet can provide hydroponic growers with great help.
The design of the logo is based on Green Our Planet's brand colors and elements, combined with the shape of aloe and water drop that symbolizes hydroponics.
| User Flow
Scenario: Ashton is a web designer at Accenture. He is competitive, health-conscious, and he is also an avid user of social media. And most of all, he loves sharing his experiences with others. So the Aloe app for hydroponics, is made for him!
User story: Ashton receives a notification from the Aloe app that one of his gardens is in need of nutrients. He uses the Aloe app to order what he needs. In the meantime, he also checks the leaderboard and gets inspiration on what to grow next from the plant menu.
| Wireframes
Dashboard
Data trackers
Leaderboard
Plant menu
High-Fidelity Prototype
| Push Notification and Data Tracking
The users receive push notifications from Aloe app to understand the status of their garden as well as to receive information updates.
"My Garden" tracks data from hydroponics devices, so users can view garden health and growth progress by clicking on their different gardens.
|My Ranking on Leaderboard
Growing hydroponics can also be as fun as playing online games! On the leaderboard, users can compete with their colleagues, friends and other hydroponic growers by ranking. They collect badges by completing different tasks. The more points accumulated by the badges, the higher the ranking they got.
| Get Inspirations on Plant Menu
Is it a hard decision to choose new members for your hydroponic gardens?
Now users can pick the plants they are interested in on a regularly updated plant menu and successfully grow crops by following the care instructions. Additionally, the comparison pods help users to check whether different plants can be grown together.
Conclusion
I'm very glad that the final design of the Aloe app turned out as well as I expected. What we did most in the past 3 months was constant meetings and communication, whether it was with Green Our Planet or our group. By exchanging ideas we have taken into account the needs of hydroponic growers in every detail. On the one hand, the Aloe app can provide substantial help to hydroponic growers, and on the other hand, our main competition features also increase user engagement and make hydroponic growing more attractive. Finally, the impact of community participation helps to achieve the goal of corporate giving.
I can envision Aloe being released in the future, the only thing I think is a pity is that we don't have more time to go through user testing. But overall we've taken it to the final stage of design and received great recognition from Green Our Planet.