// Mobile app product.

LIVE, DUCKI, LIVE!!!

The plucky character that simulates the cause and action of water-responsibility.

Project Description

I lead a 4-person team through a 10-hour Hackathon where we had to design a response to the issue of water scarcity in Australia, with our study site specifically in Newcastle.

'Live, Ducki, Live!!!' aims to gamify users relationship with water usage in a variety of life simulated scenarios. The project aimed to address a problem found in our users which is a severed connection between their water awareness and how it's affecting the environment around them.

We found that by creating a character that personifies the cause, action and solution to water scarcity - users can feel more engaged with their conscious use of water, and introduce them to various scales of water wise interventions.
// My Role
Project Leader
UX researcher
Lead UI Designer
// Tools
MIRO, Figma, Clip Studio Paint, CSS, node.js, react
‍
// Duration
10-Hour Hackathon
// Team
Keegan, Rod, Sarah and myself
Disclaimer: This project is a part of the New Futures Hackathon for Water Security organised by the University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network (I2N), City of Newcastle and Hunter Water.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Problem Areas //

  • Population Growth:
    ‍    Newcastles population is expected to grow from 322,000 to 440,000 in 20 years. Population growth causes stress on water supply through all facets of population growth including development, agriculture, business and basic survival.
  • Urban/Suburban linear water waste:
    Less green spaces and more impermeable surfaces means that rain fall isn’t being optimised in urban areas. This can also cause flooding and damages to subterranean infrastructure.
  • Users are separated from contextual information,
    practical (on-site) education and data:
    COVID has not only restricted people from learning and understanding changes to the environment, but it was also eclipsed awareness in the media.
  • Decentralised communities have less favouritism of their water needs and are enforced stricter, more frequent water policy:
    Pretty much every largely-populated city is guilty of this. Inland towns that depend on the same water supply as Newcastle are given the brunt of water restrictions because of their lower rainfall and the construction/maintenance of water transporting infrastructure.
  • Normalising a ‘water wise’ attitude.
    Understanding that a holistic approach to water management doesn’t mean forbidding water use, but rather a cautious approach that consists of interventions aimed at optimising the use of water.

The Solution //

After research, ideation and prototyping; I was able to come up with this solution statement:

By creating an interactive water-responsibility simulation game, we are able to place the user in the context of how their environment is affected by their interaction with water.

The Process //

Research //
5 guest speakers: A mixture of experts located in Newcastle that specialise in multiple aspects of water-responsibility such as conservation, reservoir levels, agriculture, urban infrastructure and filtration.

Data Synthesis and Analysis //
-Looking at the research from provided documents and identifying opportunities in water-responsible design.
-Determining which archetype represents the best potential for design opportunities.
-Defining pain & gain points and identifying a design goal through a problem statement.
-Using the research to create storyboards that holistically onboard the user through steps on how to succeed in the game.
Problem Statement //
School students need an interaction life simulation experience to understand the impact of water-responsibility.

'How Might We...' Design Speculations //
-How might we help Lifeblood communicate an urgency for donating blood in a more impactful way?
-How might we help users experience the impact of becoming a regular donor so they can routinely make contributions to Lifeblood?

Prototyping //
-Paper prototyping.
-Digital Prototyping.
-Functioning, programmed product.

Deliverables //

-Basic prototype with functioning code
-A slide deck
-A 5-minute pitch followed by Q&A from the judges
-Project roadmap
-Speculate product makers, developers and other stakeholders

The Problem Area //

  • Population Growth:
    ‍    Newcastles population is expected to grow from 322,000 to 440,000 in 20 years. Population growth causes stress on water supply through all facets of population growth including development, agriculture, business and basic survival.
  • Urban/Suburban linear water waste:
    Less green spaces and more impermeable surfaces means that rain fall isn’t being optimised in urban areas. This can also cause flooding and damages to subterranean infrastructure.
  • Users are separated from contextual information,
    practical (on-site) education and data:
    COVID has not only restricted people from learning and understanding changes to the environment, but it was also eclipsed awareness in
    the media.
  • Decentralised communities have less favouritism of their water needs and are enforced stricter, more frequent water policy:
    Pretty much every largely-populated city is guilty of this. Inland towns that depend on the same water supply as Newcastle are given the brunt of water restrictions because of their lower rainfall and the construction/maintenance of water transporting infrastructure.
  • Normalising a ‘water wise’ attitude.
    Understanding that a holistic approach to water management doesn’t mean forbidding water use, but rather a cautious approach that consists of interventions aimed at optimising the use of water.

The Solution //

After research, ideation and prototyping; I was able to come up with this
solution statement:

By creating an interactive water-responsibility simulation game, we are able to place the user in the context of how their environment is affected by their interaction with water.

The Process //

Research //
5 guest speakers: A mixture of experts located in Newcastle that specialise in multiple aspects of water-responsibility such as conservation, reservoir levels, agriculture, urban infrastructure and filtration.

Data Synthesis and Analysis //
-Looking at the research from provided documents and identifying opportunities in water-responsible design.
-Determining which archetype represents the best potential for design opportunities.
-Defining pain & gain points and identifying a design goal through a problem statement.
-Using the research to create storyboards that holistically onboard the user through steps on how to succeed in the game.

Problem Statement //
School students need an interaction life simulation experience to understand the impact of water-responsibility.

'How Might We...' Design Speculations //
-How might we help Lifeblood communicate an urgency for donating blood in a more impactful way?
-How might we help users experience the impact of becoming a regular donor so they can routinely make contributions to Lifeblood?

Prototyping //
-Paper prototyping.
-Digital Prototyping.
-Functioning, programmed product.

Deliverables //

-Basic prototype with functioning code
-A slide deck
-A 5-minute pitch followed by Q&A from the judges
-Project roadmap
-Speculate product makers, developers and other stakeholders

What I Learned //

How to prepare for a Hackathon.
I entered the hackathon two weeks ago with a very solid understanding of water-security and permaculture. But since this was my first Hackathon I wanted to join a group that already had a project idea, and I would use my design skills to flesh it out, but that didn't happen.

As a result I had to create an idea quickly and my UX process was shoved into a time crunch... not ideal. So next time I'm definitely entering a Hackathon with a fully researched concept - with some nice user interviews and usability testing goodness!

Prepare the slides as you go.
Same with any project, really. Nothing is worse than scrambling to get the slide deck together minutes before submitting. I loathe being unprepared.

I had fun.
The experience was as exhilarating as is was intimidating. I was competing against some very established product designers, engineers and people that own their own drone business.

I was just super proud that we designed and programmed something within the deadline. I earned that G&T after presenting

Apparently I'm the least awkward person in the world.
No matter what group I'm in I'm always encouraged to be the main presenter. All those years entertaining on-stage didn't go to waste, did it.

What I Learned //

How to prepare for a Hackathon.
I entered the hackathon two weeks ago with a very solid understanding of water-security and permaculture. But since this was my first Hackathon I wanted to join a group that already had a project idea, and I would use my design skills to flesh it out, but that didn't happen.

As a result I had to create an idea quickly and my UX process was shoved into a time crunch... not ideal. So next time I'm definitely entering a Hackathon with a fully researched concept - with some nice user interviews and usability testing goodness!
Prepare the slides as you go.
Same with any project, really. Nothing is worse than scrambling to get the slide deck together minutes before submitting. I loathe being unprepared.

Have fun.
The experience was as exhilarating as is was intimidating. I was competing against some very established product designers, engineers and one person even owns their own drone business.

I was just super proud that we designed and programmed something within the deadline. I earned that G&T after presenting

Apparently I'm the least awkward person in the world.
No matter what group I'm in I'm always encouraged to be the main presenter. All those years entertaining on-stage didn't go to waste, did it.

IN-DEPTH SUMMARY

We started the project with research by collecting insights from domain experts and speculating who our user is going to be.

Our research goals were to find out:
  • How much water does each resident of Newcastle use a day?
  • What percentage of reservoir water goes to farmers, and what percentage goes to urban areas/housing?
  • What initiatives are in place to educate people about water-responsibility?
On the night of the Hackathon we were given the opportunity to listen to five water experts who work in Newcastle. Their insights helped us determine which user would make the biggest impact with the limited time and resources we had.

Newcastle’s population currently sits at 322,278 people (2016) and is expected to increase by another 120,000. According to one expert, the average Newcastle resident uses 180–220L of water a day, equalling to 57,960,000 litres of water used by the city, everyday.

For more information about Hunter region's reservoir capacity, visit this link.
Through our talk with Jose we could determine that designing a product for farmers poses a higher risk since;
‍1. Most of them have a private dam and an inherited attitude towards water-security and;
‍2. Farmers are a very complicated user where they require water to sustain both land and business.
3. A solution implemented towards farmers would require a larger effort in holistic management tailored to each farmer's water needs.

Heather’s expertise was centred towards urban responsibility and intervention towards the domestic environment as well as the streetscape; informing us that the water use in urban environments is too linear and wants there to be a more cyclical system where water is treated and repurposed. She was also very upfront about the solution being feasible and cost-effective.

My next step was identifying the user archetype. We wanted to follow Heather's advice and design a cost-effective product with the
biggest impact.

School students represent a number of user advantage points:
  • They are impressionable and curious, especially when it comes to interacting with technology. Impressionable users are important because their less likely to be unmotivated by a product as long as it's entertaining and captivating.
  • Schools represent a communal hub that's connected to people all over Newcastle. From teachers to city council members; schools can facilitate the inception of design ideas, and are the best people to test design ideas on.

With students being the user and a game simulation being our solution, we needed to acknowledge our main challenges before ideation.

1. Finding a balance between education and entertainment.

If not done right, gamifying a serious cause can cheapen or distract users from learning about water responsibility. However we were also faced with a balancing issue that if the game became too educational or wasn’t unique or captivating enough, users wouldn’t be motivated to play it.

This issue will be resolved through usability testing, reiterating and refining the storyboard.
'Crescent Head' by Mitch Revs

2. The Newcastle Context

Another challenge was to place the game in the context of Newcastle to prevent the game from being detached from local water issues. Our solution is to program a geo-location feature similar to ‘Pokemon Go’.

This way users can place Ducki in a familiar setting and interact with water issues in their yard or neighbourhood, there could even be a feature where users can add friends and solve water issues together.
A geo-location feature also implies that the weather has real-time effects on the game.

We also want to commission local artists to help design the graphics of the game. Someone like Mitch Revs who’s amazing at illustrating the comical and iconic Castlemaine beaches.

IDEATION & PROTOTYPING

My next strategy was to create a site map of the different scales users can interact with. Each scale has their own storyboard along with advantages and obstacles users need to navigate so that they don't waste water.

The scales are split into 4 areas:

Storyboard 01: Domestic

Level 01, Scenario 01: Bathroom - user fails to resolve water issue on-time
Level 01, Scenario 02: Kitchen- user succeeds in resolving water issue on-time

Storyboard 02: Garden

Level 02, Scenario 01: Garden - user installs an irrigation system to mitigate water use

^^ TA DA ^^
If you're keen to learn more about the process, check out my article on medium.com

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