Develop a high fidelity prototype by completing all stages of the product design cycle, including:

The Rural Women’s Health Organization (RWHP) has provided health literacy education to Hispanic immigrants and families in rural north-central Florida for over twenty years.

The RWHP's educational products have always been print-based, limiting their distribution.

Some residents experience low technological literacy, limited internet access and mobile-dependent use patterns.

At this stage, my focus was to understand users' experience and their problems related to accessing the internet.

I knew the target users to be the same community served by the RWHP: newly arrived Hispanic immigrants in rural, north-central Florida (Levy County). An underserved population spread across a wide geographic area, I knew this stage of work would prove challenging.

Key actions

Key findings

Key insights

Learnings

In recruiting participants for interviews, I faced barriers unique to this context and population, e.g., rural isolation, long work hours that limit individuals’ availability, and uncertain legal status that leaves some hesitant to be interviewed.

I overcame this challenge by finding individuals who had worked directly with this community. In one case, I enlisted a colleague, who contacted and interviewed the community member herself. In this way, I got a far more precise understanding of the problem than if I'd relied on secondary research alone.

At this stage, my approach was to narrow the scope of the project.

Key actions

Learnings

Ultimately, not all of these were necessary for the minimum viable product. That said, they will make great updates in a future iteration.

Artifacts

[Include user stories, user journey, site map]

At this stage, my approach was to build prototypes of increasing complexity that could be validated in usability testing.

I’ll admit I was initially quite intimidated, having no prior experience with user interface design or design software. That said, I was tremendously proud of the growth I made: from sketching paper wireframes on butcher paper to a fully interactive prototype in Adobe XD.

Key actions

Create low-fidelity paper wireframes

Create mid-fidelity wireframes and prototype

Create high-fidelity prototype in Adobe XD

Learnings

It's easier for me personally (as a left-hander) to use markers and draw oversized wireframes on butcher paper, as opposed to scribbling in pen/pencil on notebook-size templates

It's valuable to be knowledgeable in multiple design tools, as Adobe XD afforded interactions unavailable in Figma (my preferred platform).

At this stage, it was time to validate my designs and I was eager for the feedback.

Key actions

Design usability test and script

Recruit and schedule participants

Conduct remote usability testing

Conduct preference testing

Analyze results in usability testing report

Modify final prototype based on recommendations

Learnings

Initial recruitment challenges were now complicated by the onset of COVID-19. I opted for remote testing, and I reached out again to secondary contacts to widen the pool beyond hard-to-contact primary users.

Artifacts

[Insert spreadsheet, severity analysis]

My prototype includes:

See the final prototype in Adobe XD here.

The best upgrade for this project would be additional features and functionality that serve to build community, for example:

Primary research was difficult and labor-intensive. If I had settled for desk research alone, the problem would have never been accurately defined. And a solution cannot exist in isolation of the problem.

That made the work intuitive and immediately enjoyable.