Timeline: March 2021
I streamlined Orcasound's reporting flow to simplify user submission of orca sighting reports, aiming to increase engagement and gather crucial conservation data. Working with a global team of designers, I conducted user research, redesigned the interface based on user feedack, and performed two rounds of usability testing.
Problem
How can we effectively address these conservation issues through our design approach, while also enhancing data collection to support the protection of the species?
Outcome
I increased the task completion rate by 15% through the implementation of improved designs baed on user insights.
For conservationists, there is very little knowledge about orca vocalizationmaking it hard to encourage the public to help participate in conservation efforts. Currently, there are no existing educational platforms that teach people how to identify the sounds of the southern residents.Our overarching objective is to create a comprehensive solution that caters to these diverse needs, closing the knowledge gap surrounding orca vocalization, and mobilizing a broader community to actively contribute to the preservation of these remarkable creatures.
Our overarching objective is to create a comprehensive solution that caters to these diverse needs, closing the knowledge gap surrounding orca vocalization and mobilizing a broader community to actively contribute to the preservation of these remarkable creatures.
This multifaceted challenge involves various stakeholders with unique goals.
New/Infrequent User: those who have read online about the decline of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and found Orcasound through a simple google search of ways to contribute towards conservation efforts.
Marine Conservation Scientists: those who are actively involved in conservation programs and collect data in order to influence legislation or policymaking on behalf of marine conservation.
Teachers: those teaching K-12 and would like to incorporate Orcasound’s platform within their science curriculum, especially with younger kids.
The existing Orcasound mobile app represents a straightforward and functional tool created by the collaborative efforts of a global community of dedicated volunteer developers. To gain a better understanding of its functionalities and identify areas for potential enhancement, I conducted a thorough analysis of the current Orcasound app, highlighting both its strengths and areas of improvements.
I joined the Orcasound redesign project during the critical testing phase for the first prototype iteration. To evaluate usability and user experience, we conducted virtual moderated usability tests, measuring task completion rate and collecting System Usability Scale (SUS) scores.
I conducted 5 usability testing across a diverse participant group:
This range of qualitative and quantitative data provided valuable insights into how well the redesigned flow resonated across user groups. The data gathered was essential for optimizing the experience and tailoring it to our users' needs and goals.
By synthesizing the findings from our usability tests, I generated key insights into user pain points. I presented these insights to our core stakeholders in an affinity diagram that mapped out users' qualitative feedback. In particular, I grouped together common frustrations citizens scientists encountered with the report a sound flow:
Our overarching objective is to create a comprehensive solution that caters to these diverse needs, closing the knowledge gap surrounding orca vocalization, and mobilizing a broader community to actively contribute to the preservation of these remarkable creatures.
This multifaceted challenge involves various stakeholders with unique goals.
“Where do I start listing to the orcas?” Citizen scientists were confused on how to initially access and listen to the hydrophones. They expected a clear "start listening" button.
“Moving around this map is difficult” Older users had difficulty navigating the map on their small screens to access different hydrophones, which often led older users to abandon the process
“That took such a long time” New users noted reporting sounds involved too many steps. Users expected a single screen and the ability to report multiple sounds simultaneously.
Participants completed the reporting a sound process
SUS Score from the first usability test (above average but could be better)
The navigation bar was untraditional and users were confused by it. Most could not get back to the home page.
Having users drag the map around to search for hydrophones was inefficient and troublesome.
There were too many unnecessary screens to complete the report a sound task.
Based on the user feedback compiled from the first test, my design group and I made some improvements to the existing design to test with users.
Home Page
Map UI
Reporting a Sound
Once we improved the design based on the first round of user feedback, we ran a second usability study with the new and improved experience. Again, we were looking for task completion rate and and increase in SUS scores.
Participants completed the reporting a sound process
SUS Score from the second usability test
Although we increased task completion and SUS scores, I saw room for refinements like enhancing the map UI for older users and streamlining the reporting flow. The following prototypes represent the research, iterative design, and testing that was crucial to validating my solutions.
Orcasound strives to foster broad engagement in marine conservation, regardless of location. We aim to provide an accessible platform that enables simple participation, sparking curiosity about conservation in people of all ages.
The latest user interface comprises an interactive map that seamlessly directs users to select a hydrophone with heightened visual and dynamic features. Each hydrophone site showcases an image and clear instructions for orca listening, thereby promoting exploration, enhancing guidance, and ultimately increasing the number of listeners.
We crafted a reporting flow that incorporates detailed information about the hydrophone, a play button with sound waves, and a clear signifier to confirm the success of the report. This flow has greatly improved the reporting experience by ensuring seamless functionality, while preserving the integrity of the original design.
Orcasound has been an incredible opportunity allowing me to blend my background as a marine mammal population specialist along with newly developed UX design skills, allowing me to produce a design that I am incredibly proud of. I greatly enjoyed engaging users through usability studies to shape objectives and strategy, synthesizing findings, and collaborating with other designers to produce our strongest ideas.
Working with a Global Team: The value of a global team with diverse perspectives across design, development and project management. By embracing insights from London, France, Ecuador, India, Australia and the US, we created a more holistic, validated product.
Diverse representation in user testing: Embracing user testing with individuals from diverse backgrounds and age groups, highlighted important accessibility considerations beyond the redesign itself. Consideration for older users unfamiliar with the app, emerged alongside the primary redesign efforts.
Never stop testing: Even when our designs seemed impeccable to us, our usability tests consistently revealed new insights and areas for improvement. This reinforced the value of ongoing research and the necessity of continually validating our design decisions.
As an open-source and evolving project, Orcasound has exciting developments in store over the coming months. Currently, the latest iteration is in the development phase, awaiting further user testing.