The Timeline
The Team
2 Week Sprint
Mo Chen - UX Designer
Claudia Rodriguez - UX Designer
Christian Castillo - UX Designer
The Challenge
Action Against Hunger (AAH) is a global humanitarian organization which specializes in food security to combat world hunger. Thanks to public involvement and donations, AAH's research team help set the global standard for how malnutrition is addressed in hospitals, health centers, and communities. Since donations play such a huge role in helping AAH accomplish their goals, my UX team was tasked with researching and designing solutions to help AAH increase continuous involvement from both new and existing donors.
My Contributions
> User Interviews & Surveys - Assisted in the brainstorming of interview and survey questions. I also helped distribute the surveys and held interviews.
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> Competitive & Comparative Analysis - Analyzed the websites of top rated non-profit organizations, prioritizing organizations that specialized in food security.
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> Affinity Mapping - Assisted with organizing and analyzing the data collected during the research phase. Helped identify key insights and patterns that informed our design decisions.
> User Persona & User Journey - Distilled our data to help us understand the needs and behaviors or the target users.
> Wireframes & Prototyping - Held design studios to create wire frames and built prototypes through Figma.
> Usability Testing - Prepared and conducted usability tests using our hi-fidelity prototype.
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The Four Phases of the Project
Research
Goal:
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To discover key insights and pain points regarding a donor's behavior when interacting with non-profits.
Methods:
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Interviews
Surveys
Competitive Analysis
Comparative Analysis
Site Map
Synthesis
Goal:
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To distill the data gathered from the research phase in order to inform and focus our solution.
Methods:
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Problem Statement
User Persona
User Journey
Ideation Session
Design
Goal:
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To make visual design decisions, create wireframes, and build prototypes guided by our research.
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Methods:
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User Flow
Design Studios
Lo-Fidelity Prototype
Hi-Fidelity Protoype
Testing
Goal:
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To test each iteration of our prototype to ensure that the product is usable and meets the users' needs.
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Methods:
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Usability Testing
Research
We started by doing an initial UX audit of Action Against Hunger's current website, and conducted usability tests on it to understand what works and doesn't work. Next, we brainstormed interview and survey questions which we used to gather the bulk of our data. We also analyzed the sites of successful non-profits to under their strengths and weaknesses. After collecting all our data, we used an affinity map to discover key insights that we can use during our design process.
Pain Points of AAH's Current Site
The homepage's lack of information about AAH's programs and the overabundance of donation requests lead users to question the legitimacy of AAH.
50% of users expressed the homepage had too many requests for donations.
75% of users stated there's not enough information about the organization's programs and impacts on the homepage.
​100% of users struggled with navigation when donating to a specific care package despite this being the unanimous preference when it comes to donation methods.
Affinity Map
Key Insights from Interviews & Surveys
> Showing accurate statistics and up to date financial reports can bolster the reputation of non profit organizations.
100% of users value transparency when judging the legitimacy of a non-profit organization
83% of users express distrust with how non-profits utilize donations
> People are more likely to make a one time donation to causes that personally impact them or their communities.
85% of users discover non-profits through close connections like immediate friends and family
85% of users donate to organizations that make a difference in their community
50% of users tend to make one-time donations with no prolonged engagement.
Synthesis
After thorough analysis of our research, we created a user persona to gain a better understanding of our users' needs, preferences, and pain points. Then we created our user journey to understand the users' thoughts, feelings, and actions. Next we came up with a problem statement to outline the issue we are trying to solve, and to serve as a foundation for our design process. Finally, we hosted ideation sessions to generate and explore a wide range of ideas and solutions for our design problem.
User Persona
Biography
Floyd and his parents immigrated to the US, but maintain close ties with their extended family in Nicaragua. Being exposed to the hardships that his relatives are facing overseas, Floyd's very aware of the challenges Nicaraguans face especially when it comes to food security. He feels compelled to help and contribute in any way he can.
Behaviours
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Budgeting his finances is important to him. He likes to know how his money is being spent.
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Very involved in his local community and stays current with events in Central America because his family is of Nicaraguan descent.
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Actively uses social media for personal networking with his extended family in Nicaragua and as a source of local and global news.
Challenges
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His involvement in finances makes him wary of how organizations are not always transparent with how they allocate their donation funds.
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He doesn’t want to pressure or guilt his friends or acquaintances into making a donation because he’s not sure about their financial situation.
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He avoids bringing up his philanthropic values in person because he is not sure of other people’s perceptions and beliefs.
Goals
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He wants to be involved and an active force of change in his community in the US and in Nicaragua.
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He wants to find a reputable organization that fits his cause.
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He wants to know that the money he donates are actually going towards helping people in need in Nicaragua.
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He would like transparent and easy communication with members of the organization should he have questions or concerns.
User Journey
Problem Statement
Floyd wants to find a trustworthy organization that champions food security so he knows that his financial contributions are making a visible impact on the community he cares about.
Ideation Session
My team conducted several rounds of ideation sessions where we asked participants to address our persona's challenges and goals using How Might We statements.
> How might we convince Floyd that a nonprofit organization is reputable and trustworthy?
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> How might we show Floyd exactly where and how the money he donates is being used to make an impact?
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> How might we convince Floyd to donate money to a nonprofit organization on a month-to-month basis?
Design Principles
After affinity mapping the responses from our ideation sessions, our team discovered three key design principles to guide our next steps.
Transparency
Donors will know where their money is going and how it'll be used before making a donation.
Impact
​Donors will see how AAH is making positive impacts on people's lives.
Engagement
Donors will take ownership and pride in their involvement with AAH.
Design
Design Studios
To ideate key pages of our redesign, we held multiple design studios. These wireframes helped guide our hi-fi prototype.
Hi-Fi Prototype
Key Features
Transparency
To establish trust and transparency with donors, we prominently featured AAH's international programs and global impacts through interactive visual infographics.
Program Statistics
Rather than burying this valuable information in financial reports where they currently are, we proudly display them on the home page because they provide donors with a powerful overview.
Pictures & Testimonials
Donors expressed that pictures and stories of AAH's beneficiaries highlight the organization's impact on communities and people around the globe.
Interactive Map
Since donors often focus on causes close to their hearts, this features allows them to see how AAH's programs have positively impacted specific regions.
In our initial UX audit, every donor stated that they preferred donating to a specific program over making a general donation. Our redesign makes this option more visible and accessible.
Impact
Accessibility of Choice
We address the navigational challenge most donors had with the original site when they tried to donate to a specific care package. This option is now readily accessible below the general donation.
Care Packages
Allowing donors to donate to a specific care package promotes transparency and helps them visualize the impact of their contribution.
Progress & Goals
​Donors can now see fundraising progress and goals to help them make a more informed decision. Program info, statistics, and comments from other donors are also included.
Engagement
We aimed to raise donor engagement by encouraging more ownership for their contributions and involvement with the organization. This tier reward system allows donors to earn points and redeem rewards from our corporate partners.
​We implemented this concept to shift the mentality that donating is a one-and-done thing. If donors are regularly engaged and build a connection with our organization through this reward system, we believe this will naturally lead to more consistent donations as well.
Redeem Rewards
Donors can redeem their reward points for gift cards, deals, and products. They can also donate points as a financial contribution back to AAH.
Manage Donations
​Donors can see their donation history, manage monthly donations, and download tax forms.
Social Media Advocate
​Donors can earn reward points by linking their social media accounts. They can raise awareness for an important cause and overcome the mental block many face when discussing non-profit organizations.
Testing
Usability Test
We conducted several usability tests with different individuals to evaluate our design. We observed the tester complete different tasks using our prototype, and concluded the tests with questions to gain insight on the tester's thought process.
These are the four tasks we had our testers complete:
Participants will interact with the homepage and share their impression of AAH.
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Participants will complete a donation towards a project in AAH's food security program.
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Participants will sign up for an account and interact with their profile page.
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Participants will explain how they can earn reward points and become a social media advocate.
Usability Test Report
Establish Trust & Transparency
Clear & Simple Navigation
Tier Reward System
Social Media Engagement
​100% of participants stated the program statistics on the homepage made them trust AAH's impact and reputation.
100% of participants stated the program statistics on the homepage made them trust AAH's impact and reputation.
87% of participants stated that they liked this feature because they can stay involved without financial contributions.
80% of participants expressed willingness to connect their social media accounts to earn reward points.
Initial Unfamiliarity
Clarify Objectives
Information Scaffolding
Sign Up Hesitation
60% of participants did not associate non-profit organizations with a reward system, which caused some initial confusion.
60% of participants were unsure about what actions can earn them reward points because instructions were too vague.
100% of participants stated there's too much new information to take in when learning about the reward system and becoming a social media advocate.
​50% of the participants expressed reluctance to sign up for a wide range of reasons.