Overview
Client
The Sanga Initiative
My Role
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Project Manager
Tools
Figma
Miro
Google Suite
The Sanga Initiative (TSI) is a youth organization under the religious institution known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON is a worldwide organization that supports spiritual growth of its members regardless of their race, religion, sex, culture, etc. TSI aims to embody these same values in youth all across North America.
संघ [sanga] — community
The Challenge
TSI has many members spread across North America along with ongoing initiatives that happen on both a local and national level throughout the year.
Various mediums of communication are used to send updates about events and initiatives (Facebook, Instagram, GroupMe, email, etc.) but none are used consistently for all types of communications and most members only use a few of these mediums as opposed to all of them.
The Problem
TSI members need an easy way to exchange communications with TSI so that they can remain updated on TSI events and engage with other members on a regular basis.
The Research
User Interviews
I conducted 5 user interviews with members of TSI to help grasp what challenges they currently face and how I might be able to address those through a mobile app. Here are some of the questions they were asked:
What type of information do you typically receive from TSI?
What information would you like to receive from TSI?
How would you like to engage with TSI remotely?
Are you interested in engaging with content created by TSI members such as yourself?
How do you typically find out about youth events happening in your local area?
How do you typically get in touch with TSI guest speakers / well wishers?
Journey Map
I then created a Journey Map to visualize what the current TSI member experiences. With this exercise I was able to identify some key pain points that would be important for addressing in my solution.
Affinity Map
I collected a lot of useful feedback from my user interviews but I had to synthesize it in order to identify common themes across the experience of various TSI members. These buckets allowed me to hone in on what common challenges TSI members face and how I might be able to begin addressing them.
Before beginning the design process, I wanted to bring together these various research elements and create a persona that would embody the average TSI member.
Please meet:
Convivial Vamsi
Needs and Goals
Convenient way to stay informed about upcoming webinars
Would like to be able to send questions/comments to other TSI members and guest speakers
Wants to know about TSI efforts going on in other areas
Wants to stay connected to friends within the context of TSI
Behaviors
Attends the TSI Summer Retreat every year
Tends to stay in touch with TSI friends for some time after summer retreat but communication eventually fades
Tries to maintain spiritual practice throughout the year but goes through phases of losing enthusiasm
Tries to maintain spiritual practice throughout the year but goes through phases of losing enthusiasm
Frustrations
Wants to attend webinars but often finds that he forgets when they’re happening or remembers too late to catch the whole thing
Has questions and ideas that he would like to discuss with the TSI community but isn’t sure where/how to share his thoughts
Feels uninspired to go through various social media platforms to access TSI content
At this point I had a good understanding of user values and pain points. How might we approach a solution that would address those?
Provide sufficient event updates to TSI members
Make it easy for TSI members to contact guest speakers
Help TSI members engage with each other outside of yearly retreats
Inform TSI members about initiatives in different geographic areas
The Design
Paper Sketches
I started brainstorming ideas by going through a design studio exercise where I time-boxed myself to come up with rough ideas. I wanted to get some ideas out that would address each aspect of the solution that I was beginning to envision.
Greyscale Prototype
I then created a testable greyscale prototype in Figma and ran 3 usability tests with it to identify pain points and room for improvement.
All users tested were able to complete the tasks asked of them and important feedback was provided that would help me refine the final prototype. Some of the key insights I got from the usability tests are listed here:
Users should have the ability to post anonymously/privately on Sanga and Mentor pages
Users should be able to interact with different cards on the home page according to what type of card they are (i.e. a Newsletter card vs. a card advertising an open volunteer position)
Users would like to have a calendar or some method by which they can be reminded of upcoming events rather than having to scroll through the news feed to find details
Users would like the ability to access recorded media from prior webinars and events
Hi-Fi Design Decisions
Outside of the annual summer retreats, TSI typically has 4 types of communications (Newsletter, Webinars, Chapter Gathering, Open Position). I wanted to showcase those here.
Most members find out about upcoming webinars through instagram but they typically find it difficult to access zoom webinar details through instagram so I wanted to make it easy for them to access through the app.
TSI is centered around creating a safe space to discuss all topics related to self improvement, both spiritual and otherwise. I decided to include a sanga tab in order to facilitate open discussion about whatever TSI members would like to talk about.
TSI is connected to a large network of mentors that provide all types of guidance ranging from philosophical to relationship advice. I wanted to make it easy for members to access mentor-specific content and reach out to mentors according to their area of expertise.
I also wanted to give members the ability to post anonymously. TSI encourages asking questions that may be beneficial to its community but it also facilitates anonymity as members sometimes like to ask about sensitive topics.
The main national effort that TSI has going on right now is called TSI Chapters. As a result of the large concentration of members in different cities across North America, Chapters was created as an effort to connect members within a given area so that they can have ongoing discussions and gatherings on a local level. Because sensitive information is sometimes shared in local Chapters (i.e. someone’s home address), I wanted to create a verification process that requires users to request access before being allowed into a Chapter. For the purposes of this prototype, I have showcased here what it would look like requesting access to a new Chapter as well as what it would look like to access a Chapter you have already been accepted to.
The Final Product
The Next Steps
Ability to direct message other members and mentors
Detailed breakout of profile menu options (i.e. having a calendar of events, seeing favorited news items)
Provide mentor content (i.e. previously recorded webinars, lecture recordings, etc.) within the app rather than linking out to their various social media pages
Design push notifications for various types of TSI updates (i.e. upcoming webinar with option linking straight to the zoom meeting)