Discovery:

Primary Research + Heuristic Evaluation

I interviewed 5 participants ages 25-55 to learn about their camping experiences and trip booking habits. I established research goals to help focus on identifying and solving the right problems for the users.

The key areas of understanding included:

• Familiarity with the current Discover Camping platform
• Participant evaluation of the current Discover Camping platform
• How participants were currently booking trips (such as camping, flights, hotels etc)
• Pain points during trip booking
• Factors that led to booking a trip (whether camping or other)

Secondary Research

I explored news articles, social media websites and forums (e.g. Facebook, Reddit) to learn what current challenges users were encountering and discussing. Gained a better understanding of pain points throughout the campsite process through secondary heuristic evaluation. 

Sample news articles, apps and other sources reviewed:

• Articles: CTV News, Citynews1130, CBC, BC Local News, Vancouver is Awesome
• Online & social media discussions: Facebook. Twitter, Reddit 
• Camping sites/apps: Reserve California, KOA, Parks Canada, Reserve America
• Other apps: All Trails, FlightHub, Trivago, Expedia, Boondocking 

The key discoveries included:

• Lack of clarity: easy to get lost as there is a lack of proper communication for booking process/steps or encountering errors
• Unreliable: search results would show campsites which were already full or not what they were looking for
• Content heavy: lack of visuals or guidance 
• Slow process: Takes too long to find or book campsites, easier to call directly

Personas:

I created a set of 3 persona’s based on the research and interviews in the discovery phase. The persona’s helped visualize and target the key problems and types of primary users. In refinement stages, Anita Reyes was the persona I pursued for the app development as she represents a key type of user (first-time trip, family, specific criteria and seeks visuals). 

Persona Overviews:

Jeremy Myers:
Interested in a camping trip for a group (business trip with co-workers) but geared towards fishing and recreation. He is looking for a larger camping spot close to fishing areas, fit for 2 vehicles, and a boat. Jeremy wants the ability to choose exactly what he needs in one go rather than external research. He is very visual and wants the option to look through images before making a decision. 

Anita Reyes:
Anita is a mom of 2 young boys and she is planning their first family camping trip. She is looking for a family friendly campground with lots of activities for the kids. They are going for a 3 day trip and would like to find a camping site that is close-by. Anita is looking for a platform that provides images and visual guidance, and shows only results that are relevant to her needs.

Carol & Ron Gibson:
A couple that is visiting with their RV from Washington State. They love nature and are planning a trip to explore BC for a summer trip. They are following a pre-planned trip and want to be able to book multiple campsites in advanced with specific dates. They are familiar with technology, but are not avid app users so the platform must be easy to learn, provide ease of exploration and be able to book or manage their trips efficiently. 

User Flow Sketching & Paper Prototyping:

I sketched the search process feature of the app and the trips section. Then, I created a paper prototype using the POP application and tested with participants.

Wireframes/Mockups:

Created and updated wireframes and mockups based on usability tests and further insights on the functionality, pain points and suggestions for improvement.

View Wireframes (Adobe XD
Click through each screen

Prototype:

During the usability testing sessions, I learned that participants wanted to dive right into a map in order to explore campsites around them. Many were interested in this because it would allow them a fast and easy method to search first based on nearby areas or general area intertest.

Participants also wanted to have the ability to easily switch between map and list view as this would allow them to transition to each view depending on how much time they had and what they were searching for.

I updated by adding visuals and branding elements while including some interactivity.

View Prototype (Adobe Xd)
Click on the visible areas for hint hotspots

Course Finale

I presented my final project, including the research and process. I received positive feedback, especially for taking the time to do secondary research, interviews, and clearly showcasing the improvements at each stage. 

I had a clearer understanding of the importance of evolution and iteration at each step to evaluate assumptions and fluidly move the process forward. Throughout the course, I learned how valuable it is to continuously iterate and build around key goals, needs and pain points of the user base, keeping in mind the stakeholders or outside audiences as well.

I also had fun researching and understanding the perspectives of direct users. User input, even if secondary brings great value and insights to dig further to understand the core problems and ultimately lead to resolving those to make a service or product better