Wild Scavengerz

Overview

Wild Scavengerz is an adventurous mobile app solution for scavenger hunts. This unique app offers an interactive gaming experience that is fun, challenging and engaging for individuals and their social circles.

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My Design Process

INSPIRATION

Discover, define & understand the problem and carry out user research

CONCEPTUALIZATION

Analyze research findings, empathize and ideate possible solutions

DESIGN & ITERATION

Sketch ideas, create wireframes and prototypes, carry out user testing and iterate

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Understanding The Problem

Before I could begin designing, I took some time to define and understand the problem at hand by doing some preliminary research. After reviewing the possible problems, I was able to craft the problem statement below.

Problem Statement:

Scavenger hunt game users need an easy, reliable way to organize games customized to their location and personal preferences because they would like to explore different locations/destinations, while having fun with friends by sharing and capturing unique moments.

We know for this to be true when we see how many gamers use the app to organize scavenger hunts and how many would recommend its use to others. 

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Competitive Analysis

Next, I performed an analysis on two competitors that I found on the market, Scavengerhunt.com and Geocaching.

The analysis helped me to asses the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of these competitors and see how they were attempting to solve problems for scavenger hunt game users.

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Research Analysis

Once I was done conducting research on potential users and their experience with scavenger hunts, through user interviews, I was able to gather some useful data.

I gained insights about the needs, wants, goals and frustrations of users during a typical scavenger hunt experience. I used affinity mapping to group and sort my data.

Below is a brief summary of my findings and insights on users.

Goals & Motivations:

Social Interaction, Friendly Competition, Ice Breakers

Preferred Tasks:

Information Finding, Silly Tasks & Laughable Moments, Challenging Tasks, Team Building Tasks, and Photo & Video Tasks

Wants and Needs:

Status Updates, Feedback and Tracking, Reward System

Frustrations:

Organization & Planning, Length of Hunt, Lack of Hints/Help & Info Along the Way

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“I want to see instant feedback when a challenge is submitted.” _{-Quote from a user interview participant #2}

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User Personas

Based on my research insights, I was able to craft two user personas to help represent the users that I am designing for. These personas guided me in building empathy and putting myself in the shoes of the user, to further understand the needs, goals, motivations and frustrations they encounter.

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User Flows

As I moved forward in my design process, I then mapped out the users' tasks to figure out how the users could effectively reach they're most important goals in the simplest way possible, while using the product. This breakdown helped me sort out the users' journey before I moved to my next phase.

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Sketches

One of my favorite parts of the design process for this project was sketching out my ideas on paper.

Keeping in mind the insights I gained from research and user flows, my sketches and the proceeding wireframe iterations were focused on three main features: Utilizing Hints, Navigating to a location, and Tracking progress on leaderboards.

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Wireframes

Once the basic functionalities had been solidified, I proceeded to create mid fidelity wireframes on Balsalmiq, that focused a little more on putting together the form and specifics of the UI.

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My high fidelity wireframes, created with Adobe XD, added a little more detail to provide a basic preview of the user interface.

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Usability Testing

My next phase was usability testing, to test the working high fidelity prototype with potential users.

My main goal was to observe and measure if the users understood the app, its value and how to complete necessary app functions such as utilizing hints, navigating to a desired location, and viewing game stats.

"I feel like I need instructions on what to do next after 'Task Complete'. What is my next goal?" _{-Quote from Participant #4 during Usability Testing}

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Usability Testing Summary & Results

Usability testing for the Wild Scavengerz mobile prototype was completed with 6 participants. The tests were conducted using both moderated in-person and moderated remote methodologies.

My findings from the completed tests were sorted with an affinity map, that outlined the errors, observations, positive quotes and negative quotes. I then used a rainbow spreadsheet to further organize my data and develop possible solutions.

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Iterative Improvements

The results from my usability testing sessions were categorized by issue severity and I made adjustments to my prototype according to the gained insights and the new solutions I came up with.

Once I made the necessary adjustments to the design, I then collaborated with some fellow designers for a peer review on my work. I received some valuable feedback and made further iterations to refine my design.

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UI Improvements

After getting additional feedback on my design, I made some general improvements to the user interface to give it a more polished look and feel.

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Login & Home

Improvements seen on the left include a lighter shade background for all screens in the prototype.

For the login screen, I made the Sign up button the same size as the others and separated the Log in button, which I made a smaller since ideally returning users would be logged in automatically. 

Due to the color change for the background, I removed the darker overlay on the Create an Account screen for a cleaner look.

I also polished the home screen icons and made them look more consistent with the logo colors.

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Navigation

On the Choose Your Hunt screens and Task List screens, I dropped the bottom navigation so the user can focus more on the given hunt/task and prevents them from accidentally navigating out of the hunt/task screens.

In addition, moved the hint button closer the the input field and I expanded the Submit button since it is a CTA button.

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Map Feature

Here, I broadened the map preview to be side to side on the screen. I also made improvements to the buttons by removing borders and expanding the Start button a little.

Lastly, the map gives the user more detail and system status. 

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Leaderboard Buttons

On the leaderboard screens, I added light separator lines to give a more organized look. I then darkened the selector button for Teams/Individuals to be more distinguishable. 

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Design Language System

I developed a design language system and style guide to make development hand off easier and to ensure that consistency is maintained in the overall design of the product.

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Final Design

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Takeaways

This was an exciting project to work on and I am very happy about the work I have done. All throughout my design process, I made it my goal to be as thorough as possible, while keeping the users at the forefront of my mind. Event still, there is always room for improvement.

Looking back, one thing that could have been done better was having a plan in place for a pilot run of my user testing, to ensure that all the kinks were worked out of the testing process.

On the other hand, one thing the went well were the initial user interviews and research analysis. I feel that having clear research goals laid out was helpful and effective for moving in a focused path.

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Future Iterations

Moving forward, I would continue to build and make iterative improvements on my design for this app.

For instance, I believe users will benefit if the search box is expanded on the "Choose Your Hunt" screen and the labeling is adjusted. This could result in greater understanding and a smoother user flow. Another round of user testing or preference testing would be implemented to validate this prospective iteration.

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