Green Goals

ORIGINAL PROBLEM STATEMENT

How might we teach novice users to understand their plant’s behaviours or signs to keep them alive?

RESEARCH

I wanted to focus on understanding the user’s behaviours, needs and motivations. Specifically I wanted to know:
– how our users are currently taking care of their plants;
– what they think are signs or cues that they should react to, and;
– what steps they currently take to address a problem they have identified.

This was done by:
– conducting 5 one on one interviews, and
– creating an online survey, where 37 responses were gathered.

INSIGHTS

Top five insights:
– “If the plant looks like it’s smiling and happy then it’s healthy”
– A lot of people forget to water their plants
– Majority of participant’s problem solving method is to google
– Some of their pain points include: couldn’t describe the problem, didn’t know the plant’s name and time consuming to search for answer.
– Assumption of water + sun + fertiliser = healthy plant

PROTO PERSONA

I created a few proto personas to better understand the behaviours and motivations of our demographic.

USER JOURNEY

Stories and features to come out of the user journeys:
Global
– When I look at my plant I require the ability to know if there is an issue, so that I know whether or not I need to take any action
– When I find a problem with my plants I require relevant and accurate information, so I know how to best solve the problem

Individual
– As Evan, I require the knowledge of the plant’s name, so that I can conduct research
– As Judith, I require to know the cause of the problem, so I can conduct research on how to rectify
– As Clem, I require product reviews, so I can choose the right product

COMPETITORS

I conducted competitors research and looked at both physical and digital products. I analysed what they have done well, what the were lacking and how it would help the user problem.

UPDATED PROBLEM STATEMENT

How might we 
1. help users to maintain their plant(s), and
2. help them troubleshoot any abnormal condition

VALUE PROPOSITION

The solution will 
1. Remind the user when to maintain their plants 
2. Notify the user when there is a problem that
needs to be addressed and how to address it

EXPECTATION CHASM

On top of answering the user’s need, I want to change our user’s perceptual and experiental expectations. The following questions were kept in the back of my mind:
– How might we surprise and delight our user to create an enjoyable journey?
– How might we change our user’s perceptions of plant maintenance? 

THE SOLUTION

One solution that I explored was an app. Why?

The decision of an app made because of the following benefits:
– Personalisation: This is very important as being an individual, our users have different plants and schedules. We need the ability to remind and notify them according to their individual needs. 
– Ability to use existing technology (ie, in built camera and gps)
– Easily accessible by the user