SMILING MIND

Researching a new user segment of college students for meditation app client

Research process

We used mixed methods to approach our research goals to increase credibility of insights in a short timeline. 

User Interviews

Through the tool User Interviews, we recruited 2 students who were either full-time or part-time students, completed high school, and expressed interest in meditation. 

We conducted half-hour interviews using the TEDW framework to encourage students to recall specific experiences. Afterwards, my teammate and I documented early takeaways in FigJam.

For the first 5 minutes, we focused on their background and day-to-day behaviors.

In the remainder of time, we focused on how students found out about meditation and their motivations, behaviors, wants, and pains. 

Survey

Through UseBerry, we conducted surveys with 10 students to validate findings from the user interviews.

We sought to understand why and how students practiced meditation, along with their behaviors, motivations, and pains.

Usability Test

Through Useberry, we conducted unmoderated usability tests using a prototype of the mobile app with 5 students.

We sought to understand how and why students made decisions when interacting with the app. We observed their attitudes, behaviors, errors, and success rates to evaluate the usability of the app.

Scenario and Task #1
Imagine that you want to see the different meditation programs available. Show us how you would explore.

We expected students to select the menu explore tab or explore CTA from the homepage and select the Adults category on the explore page. We did not expect students to select other categories as they were not applicable for students.

• 3/5 students selected the menu explore tab or explore CTA on first attempt.

• 2/5 students selected the progress tracker bar on first attempt, which suggested confusion around what this feature offered. They were later able to select the menu explore tab or explore CTA.

• All students were able to successfully explore the Adults category. But, 1 student also explored the Classroom category that was targeted for educators planning lessons and not applicable for students.

Scenario and Task #2
You’ve never meditated before and have limited time. You’re looking to start a program immediately. Choose the program(s) that you think would be best to try out.

We expected students to select “An Intro to Mindfulness” program because they could easily start the program from the homepage. This program was described as introductory and simple, which fit the scenario for a beginner meditator who had limited time.

• 3/5 students selected this program.

• 2/5 students selected other programs.

• 1 student selected the other program on the homepage for “Mindfulness Foundations”. This program was comprehensive and not short, so it was not the best fit for the scenario.

• 1 student selected the menu explore tab, navigated to the Adults category, and selected the “Bite Size” program. While this program fit the scenario for someone who has limited time, it took more steps to navigate there.

Scenario and Task #3
You want to begin the Mindfulness Foundations program. Start the first meditation session.

For this task, we wanted to observe the success rate of students completing the user flow from selecting the “Mindfulness Foundations” program to starting the first meditation session.

• All students successfully navigated the flow and were able to start the first meditation session.

Analysis and synthesis process

We pooled the qualitative data from each method into Dovetail and marked-up the data with category tags. Afterwards, we created an affinity map to identify the top insights.