The Prime Buddy
A friend to sit on a student’s desk, lend them a hand, and make them smile.
Client: Prime Digital Academy is a company that offers full-time programs that are designed to launch students into the tech industry. Prime was looking for a gift to give its incoming Full Stack Engineering students to welcome them into the program. Through Observational Research of full-stack students and a Heuristic Analysis of the original gift, I determined a new gift needed to be created. From here The Prime Buddy concept was born.
Overview
Problem: Prime was looking for a gift to give its incoming Full Stack Engineering students to welcome them into the program.
Results: A prototype was created to provide something of value to the user while also making them excited about Prime Digital Academy. The design was centered around making the user feel at ease in times of stress, while also being a tool to help make work easier. The branding element is intended to help to serve as a reminder of Prime, not only as they go through their current journey, but after graduation as a reminder of their accomplishments in completing the program.
Approach: Observational Research | Heuristic Analysis | Usability Testing | Stakeholder Pitch Presentation
My Role: Researcher, Interviewer, Designer, Presenter
Scroll Down to see how The Prime Buddy came to life.
The Challenge.
Design a welcome gift of value for Prime Full-Stack Engineering Students that helps ease stress and spark joy.
Observational Research
The first thing I did was gather information about who Prime Full Stack Engineers are and what their needs might be.
Method: Observational Research
I watched a video of each participant walking and talking through the home workspace set up that they were using to complete their Prime coursework. While watching these videos, I recorded handwritten notes on an observational guide allowing me to look for patterns and key insights.
Participants: 12 Prime Digital Academy Full Stack Students that were in the process of completing tier 1 remotely
Based on the observational research that I conducted:
10 out of 12 Prime Full Stack students have objects on their desk that they used to relax, spark joy or feel at home.
These objects were a way to assist the students by helping to manage their stress levels.
Some examples of these objects included:
Figures (toys,animals, & characters)
Posters or pictures
Plants
Heuristic Analysis
Next, I conducted a Heuristic Analysis on the current Prime gift to see if this gift was usable for incoming students based on what I found from the observational research.
Research Goal
The aim of this study was to test 5 aspects of the water bottle’s usability to assess its use as a gift for Prime students.
Fillability
Drinkability
Transportability
Water Level Knowledgeability
Clean-ability
Method: Think Aloud Usability Testing
Based on the findings, I determined that a water bottle was not a usable or valuable gift for incoming students. I decided to design a gift that better fits the needs of a Prime Full Stack student.
Concept Creation
Next, I created three original concepts using the application Sketch that I believed better fit the needs of the users.
Based on the observational research, many Prime Full Stack students had objects on their desks that helped them relax, brought them joy, or made them feel at home. All three concepts were designed with that intent in mind.
The branding element of each concept was intended to help to bring about a positive association with Prime Digital Academy.
After presenting the concepts to a small group, I allowed them to vote on which concept they felt was the best fit for the user’s needs and matched the original intention.
The Prime Buddy was selected as the winning concept.
Prototype Construction
With the concept design completed, I needed to create a physical prototype that I could put in front of users.
The body was created out of wooden blocks and blue foam. Plastic legs were created and pipe cleaners were used to demonstrate the moveable arms. The Prime Buddy was assembled using hot glue and the logo was drawn by hand.
The Prime Buddy Prototype
Evaluation Plan
To test the prototype, I developed an evaluation plan and script that I used to conduct usability testing with participants. The goal was to test the concept and prototype’s intent.
Prototype Intent:
Brings joy
Provides comfort and encouragement
Gives them feelings of positivity and excitement towards Prime Academy
EVALUATION GOALS
Gauge the emotions that the product brings about
Gain insight into how a student would use the product
Identify how this product would fit into the student’s life
Gain insight into how they would associate the relationship between this product and Prime
Evaluate how likely the user is to use the product in the short term and long term
STRUCTURE
Duration: 15min
Location and format: 1 on 1 interview on Prime’s Campus
Materials needed: Prototype, notebook, Post its, computer, phone
Methods used/type of session: Think-Aloud Testing
Usability Testing
The next step was to conduct the usability test to make sure the prototype was working as intended and gain insight into what improvements were needed.
Methods: Think Aloud Testing
Participants were asked to talk through everything they were thinking and doing while using the prototype
Participants: 3 current Prime Full Stack Students
I used the Evaluation Plan and script explained above for each session.
Based on the findings of the usability testing I determined that The Prime Buddy met all of the intended goals and would be a valuable gift for incoming Full Stack Students.
Presentation
The last step was to present The Prime Buddy as a welcome gift to replace the original water bottle to Prime Digital Academy Stakeholders.
This presentation included all the research I completed to design and determine that The Prime Buddy would be a valuable gift for incoming Prime Full Stack Students.
Key Insights and Improvements
Sparks Joy
3 out of 3 Users visibly smiled or laughed happily when looking at the prototype.
Rubber Duck Function
2 out of 3 users thought the prototype was intended to be a rubber duck which is a tool Prime students are taught to use. The Prime Buddy could replace the traditional rubber duck to create even more value for the Prime Full-Stack students.
Improve Stability
The biggest improvement that needs to be made to the prototype is improved stability of the feet. I determined that the feet should be made bigger and The Prime Buddy should have its original white high top sneakers that it wore in the concept.
Conclusion
The Prime Buddy successfully met its intended goals and was proven to bring about positive emotions that could ease Prime students’ stress and make them happy. It also made users associate Prime Academy with positive emotions and made them feel welcome. While not all of The Prime Buddy’s functions were obvious to users, my research indicated that this gift could be used as a “Rubber Duck” which is an object of value to help program engineers externally problem solve. In conclusion, The Prime Buddy solved the challenge and would be a great welcome gift of value for Prime Full-Stack Engineering Students that could help ease stress and spark joy.
