The following is my individual reflection report as part of my Master’s in User Experience Design.

ecotravel

Last modified by Alex Bacoyannis ⋅ 3 months ago

Introduction

First Meeting

In this module, I worked on a brief as part of a diverse group working across three different time zones. Initially, we decided to focus on sustainable travel for the project and explore. However, I suggested an alternate idea (demonstrated below in Fig 1.) for consideration should we decide not to pursue sustainable travel. This idea was well received and gave me some confidence within the group.

My Experience

This project was the second time I have gone through the UX Process, having used this in the previous module. I was somewhat apprehensive about undertaking a group project but realised it was a significant growth opportunity.

Fig 1. The alternate idea I had for the brainstorming, along with feedback from my peers, (2022).

Method

Describing the Tuckman Model, Judith Stein from mit.edu highlighted in the forming stage of teamwork that anxiety may be felt and that people might wonder how 'their performance will measure up.' This mirrored my thoughts and feelings about the initial situation. (Stein 2022) I was unsure where to sit in a team with much experience. I wanted to be sure I was contributing and being an active member without hindering the process. I like to absorb information, reflect on it, and then contribute.

Choosing our tools

We discussed which method of communication would work best as we already had Discord set up whilst looking at other collaborative mediums. I had suggested Figjam, having seen it being used within the industry. Initially, we used Miro and ClickUp for our project management. However, I was also thinking about what could be different in future projects. The book 'Virtual Teamwork: Mastering the Art and Practice of Online Learning and Corporate Collaboration discusses conducting a 'needs analysis.' (Ubell 2010) This would assist in selecting the right tool to suit the needs of the project and team.

Time and roles

We managed our workflow mainly through Miro; here, we would note our hours of availability (evidenced below Fig 2).

Fig 2. Our availability and planning calendar is organised by Ryan Oliver (2022).

We met online to discuss our roles on the project, and mine was UI/UX, as shown below. However, I feel we could have benefitted from more diversity within the roles, which is something to do differently in future opportunities. In a conference paper titled: In 'Understanding the UX Designer's Role within Agile Teams', the authors broadly discuss the roles and activities associated. They note that some UX designers may include roles such as front-end development, which could be too detailed to reflect the reality of a project, as they suggest a UX designer is usually a single person playing many roles. (da Silva et al. 2013)

Backlog

We devised a task list and reviewed progress, noting where to focus each week. This felt chaotic until we gathered all the information we were looking for. We may have been too bold in our initial goals, contributing to this sense.

Specialised goal in research

Specialised Skill in Research

Within this phase, I researched our project's theme and posted it on Miro for team review. This also included the task of summarising our brainstorming and voting session. This involved distilling the themes and what was said into a few sentences. Below is a demonstration of how we used Miro Fig 3.

Fig 3. Screenshot of our brainstorming and voting session. (2022)

Once I collated all the research and brainstorming information, I submitted an initial draft to Miro and Discord. With peer feedback (evidenced in Fig 4 below), a demonstration of how the problem statement was approached is evidenced below.

Fig 4. The feedback I received from the summary (2022).

Following our kick-off meeting Q&A, I started to build a document for the market background to provide some context. It was not a complete competitor analysis but referenced the apps and sites in our discovery stage. It also looked at the broader market and considered the cost of building an app.

Fig 5. Feedback from the Market Research (2022).

This received some peer amendments, which were added to the document and introduced additional materials. I enjoyed producing this part of the project and researching further into sustainable travel, the effects of COVID and greenwashing within the sector. I wanted to ensure we could provide evidence supporting our proposal should a stakeholder ask. To provide a broader context, I looked at the more comprehensive travel and tourism industry, competitors and industry-specific terminology.

When forming the problem statement, I reflected on a piece in 'Ways of knowing in HCI', which discusses how a 'good hypothesis should hold up the experimental scrutiny'. I wanted to ensure the problem statement would do so. (WAYS OF KNOWING IN HCI 2016) Once we had gained user research and done some revision, I was happy with the outcome. Conducting this research has helped me develop a specialised skill that I have been able to bring into my professional environment.

Market Research

Surveys and User Interviews

My involvement with the user interviews and surveys was more limited than I would have preferred. My peers constructed the questions for our initial survey, and I contributed here by distributing the survey through different channels and having three people complete it. Once the survey had been completed, we undertook user interviews. My contribution was greater here. I suggested an additional question, asking participants if they could name 1-3 sustainable companies.

Ethics Form

We discussed ethics forms in one of our group sessions, and another team member responded to a prompt about the form. When asked for feedback on the form before sending it to our supervisor, I suggested some answers for the ethics form (demonstrated below Fig 6).

Fig 6,7,8. Communication regarding the ethics form. (2022)

Post Survey

After completing the survey and user interviews, I helped interpret the information and used this to revise our problem statement once our assumptions were proven and disproven. I also received feedback for the statement and acted on this by adding this information to the statement. (See Fig 9. below)

Fig 9. Revised problem statement, (2022).

One of my team members had pulled the answers onto post-it notes within Miro, and I attempted an affinity map. (Evidenced in Fig 10 & 11 below).

I felt the communication could have been more robust here as a more precise map had been developed. In addition, I would have benefitted enormously from feedback on where and how to correct mine to make it more useful.

Fig 10 & 11 Feedback and my affinity map attempt (2022)

I used another skill to set up the initial master files for the pitch construction based on our style guide, which was being created. I also added some of the content from the analysis of the survey and user interviews. While looking at the design's colourways, I raised the colours initially selected as they did not meet the standards and suggested alternatives, as demonstrated below (Fig 12). I was given feedback about the design having a corporate look. Following feedback, I added some minor animations to some illustrations and then looked at Lottie animations to add something extra to the presentation

Fig 12. Initial colours are selected with accessibility-rated colours to the right. (2022)

HMW/Crazy 8’s

Once we had some 'how might we' questions, we ran a crazy 8-session session to think of ways to present the screens.

Below are the ideas I generated for the group session. In hindsight, I should have focused on just one (Fig 13).

Fig 13. Crazy8 rough sketch (2022)

Process Flows

I took on three flows and completed two but found the last one was completed by someone else before the due date. I was disappointed as I could have completed it within the timeframe. I was managing numerous other commitments, meaning I had specific scheduled availability, which was highlighted. Demonstrated below are the flows (Fig 14).

Fig 14. Two process flows

Lo-Fi / Hi-Fi

We split the prototype build, and I assembled the local transport flow. This was an exciting time in the build as, at one point, a few of us were working on the Miro board together, so seeing people work was interesting. We performed a usability test once we had the screens to a suitable level. Again, I had one person participate and feed the outcomes back. Demonstrated below are the user flow (Fig 16) and lo-fi screens (Fig 17). Some time may have been saved here by going straight to hi-fi development as we did not need to convey the meaning of the screens to stakeholders, as described in an article on UX Planet. (Vitali 2020) However, we decided to follow the process.

Fig 16. User flow for transport I created. (2022)

Fig 17. Lofi Screen with commentary. (2022)

Final Pitch

My contribution to the pitch was to produce the slides for 'the problem', 'What is ecotravel' and 'Accessibility and inclusivity'. Once completed, a backlog was produced, and I chose to record the part for slides 11-15. I completed this using a video recorder on my computer, tweaking the audio slightly to remove background noise and improve it. Recording myself on video is something I need to improve as I found myself very rigid and monotone.

Reflections

Working in a virtual team is a new experience and somewhat of a learning curve for communicating with people with different commitments outside the learning environment. My personal circumstance is I have a young family and work a full-time job alongside this part-time master's degree. My study style is to pick and choose pockets of time where I can focus in short bursts. I had to consider other people's commitments and working/ learning styles.

When thinking about the challenge of everyone being in a meeting simultaneously and planning future meetings around the external factors, I thought about how this functions in a work-based scenario. Then there was the realisation that in a work-based scenario, team members are paid to do a job, so the factor of having a full-time/part-time job is removed from the equation. Therefore, some of the limitations of time would be removed.

A piece of research I found relevant to this titled 'Team development and group processes of virtual learning teams' felt very familiar when reading. Part of the journal related to social interactions, which I found interesting as it referred to how a decision that could take 10 minutes in a face-to-face situation took an hour online, attributed to the lack of non-verbal social cues. (Johnson et al. 2002)

On reflection, I found two themes running through my head about how the group functioned and how I would do things differently in future settings when working in a virtual team. The two themes were trust and communication. There were instances when I found work was being completed ahead of a deadline. I was assigned a task and was frustrated it was completed after I started it. Setting aside my frustration, I asked myself what could be done differently. How might this approach change in future? I concluded I should have communicated more clearly and more often. This would have potentially built deeper trust that a job would be complete. Looking to support this thought process and validate or disprove my assumption, I found a study online: Trust in building high-performing teams – conceptual approach. The authors concluded that trust is connected to high-performing teams and that this trust is built through openness and active communication. (Hakanen et al. 2015) I will be more conscious of two things in both in-person and virtual teams.

Team Performance

When thinking about our team's performance, it felt as though we spent more time in the 'norming' stage of Tuckman's model. We were better at providing feedback and were comfortable with each other. We also had some moments of 'storming'. There were some conflicts with availability to meet up and some friction where experience met with inexperience. It felt like those who were less experienced, asking questions and desiring to follow the process we were learning through this course, clashed with some more experienced group members. This slowed the process somewhat; once we established a structure and design system for our prototype, we switched to 'performing' for a time. This felt positive, fluid, and fast-paced, with us all moving in the same direction at the same velocity. Before, the workload was heavier on us with the least experience. But, this could also have been due to learning and putting this into practice. I feel somewhat incomplete with the group deadline passing and writing this report. We started to be nervous and cautious of each other, leaving with stronger relationships and a sense of sadness that this module was closing. ("Forming, Storming, Norming, And Performing: Tuckman's Model For Nurturing A Team To High Performance" 2022).

Partway through this module, we undertook a SWOT analysis of our team (As evidenced in Fig 18). No surprises were generated from the SWOT analysis, but we were reserved in what was said. From this, we devised an action plan of start, stop, and continue, as evidenced below. Looking back, I can see the benefit of completing this exercise if we were in a group for longer. In the book 'SWOT Analysis', the author notes that the SWOT analysis should not start with the 'strengths' as this can generate a long list of self-congratulatory' answers, which we did not consider when completing ours.

Fig 18. Our SWOT Analysis (2022)

Conclusion

Looking Back

This module was challenging for different reasons; it was a new experience working in a remote team – let alone one where we all have different demands outside the course. It was a steep and rewarding learning curve working with different people. We had agreements that allowed us to move along with pace. We also had disagreements, and we needed to find a compromise. My anxiety about working in a virtual team quickly disappeared, and I found a place within the team. The most enjoyable part was looking into the market we are aiming our product towards.

Looking Forward

Communication is critical in both verbal and written forms. Going forward from this module, I will use the tools available to help improve my written communication. When I am part of a team, I will ensure I communicate what I have done and what I will be doing more visibly to reduce the chance of crossover.

Overall, I look back on the journey taken, both within a group and as an individual, and I am proud of what we have achieved. The module has helped my professional practice develop and improve my understanding of the process by being in a group and observing different ways of working.

References

DA SILVA, TIAGO SILVA, MILENE SELBACH SILVEIRA, CLAUDIA DE OMELO and LUIZ CLAUDIO PARZIANELLO. 2013. "Understanding The UX Designer's Role Within Agile Teams". Design, User Experience, and Usability. Design Philosophy, Methods, and Tools 599-609.

"Forming, Storming, Norming, And Performing: Tuckman's Model For Nurturing A Team To High Performance." 2022. Mindtools.com [online]. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm [accessed 11 Aug 2022].

HAKANEN, MILA, MIA HÄKKINEN and AKI SOUDUNSAARI. 2015. "Trust In Building High-Performing Teams – Conceptual Approach". Ejbo.jyu.fi [online]. Available at: http://ejbo.jyu.fi/pdf/ejbo_vol20_no2_pages_43-53.pdf [accessed 10 Aug 2022].

JOHNSON, SCOTT D et al. 2002. "Team Development And Group Processes Of Virtual Learning Teams". Computers & Education 39(4), 379-393.

"Miro Customers." 2022. Miro [online]. Available at: https://miro.com/customers/ [accessed 13 Aug 2022].

SARSBY, ALAN. 2016. Swot Analysis. Spectaris Ltd.

STEIN, JUDITH. 2022. "Using The Stages Of Team Development | MIT Human Resources". Hr.mit.edu [online]. Available at: https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development [accessed 13 Aug 2022].

UBELL, ROBERT. 2010. Virtual Teams. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

VITALI, SILVIA. 2020. "Lo-Fi Vs Hi-Fi Wireframes, And The Importance Of Designing The Flow". Medium [online]. Available at: https://uxplanet.org/lo-fi-vs-hi-fi-wireframes-and-the-importance-of-designing-the-flow-9b283ae62982 [accessed 14 Aug 2022].

WAYS OF KNOWING IN HCI. [Place of publication not identified]: SPRINGER.