SHRC (UX Research)

By understanding the benefits of people who have had a fruitful experience with sex ed and those who wish they knew more sooner, these insights help propel what areas of interest are essential for people. Ideally, a long-term effect would be allowing the normalization of comprehensive sex education in schools to younger generations. When planning preliminary research I wanted to be able to answer the following questions:

1. What do adults wish they had learned about in school regarding sex-ed?
2. What have young adults learned in sex ed at school?
   What resources does the audience currently use and finds useful?
3. Do they think self-confidence in sexual knowledge can help normalize the conversation of sex health/education?
4. How does a sex shop employee make sure that customers feel comfortable and safe when entering?
5. Would they be interested in a website or app that can provide accessible resources regarding sex health that feels less clinical and more conversational?

USER SURVEYS & PERSONAS

My survey ran for about a week and got about 30 responses from varying demographics. The majority of volunteers ranged between the ages of 25 – 36, with about 50% of them being female while the other half were different types of genders (male, non-binary, trans, etc.).

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With my findings, I was able to put together an empathy map and user persona that helped reflect the information I was able to find. In addition, I came up with a storyboarded scenario, and POV statements that could better help create empathy towards this and other user groups.

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POV Statements

1. A 27-year old queer, non-binary person new in town needs to find accessible local queer events because they’re anxious about not knowing many people who are relatable to them.

• How might we make a new person in town feel safe and comfortable in their community?
• How might we create an easier and safe experience for queer people to find accessible local events?
• How might we be more inclusive with accessible meetups?

2. A young millennial woman of color who is embarrassed about her narrow knowledge of sex education needs access to a more comprehensive education because she grew up in a very restricting environment that taught her the bare minimum about sex.

• How might we reduce shame when discussing sex?
• How might we provide information that is discreet and mindful of a person’s potential circumstances?
• How might we enable more confidence in a person’s understanding of sex?

3. A 30-year old man who experienced trauma regarding his body image needs to find a supportive community that can help reduce any shame about how he looks because it’s affecting his well-being.

• How might we connect someone to a community undergoing a similar process of recovery?
• How might we provide appropriate resources for someone who has experienced trauma?
• How might we create a positive impact that can improve one’s well-being with their body?

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BRAINSTORMING & USER FLOWS

Within a ten minute time constraint, I wrote down different ideas on post-it notes to help think of features and components that could potentially help create the most viable product as a starting point for this idea. After time ran out I did another round and then selected the ones I thought could be valuable to users. Most of my ideas revolved around different tools that can help users explore their topics of interest more.

Based on my research and the feedback I got from my surveys, it appeared that a wide response of what users seemed to need were the following:

• Privacy option when using site/application
• Video classes in sex education by professionals in various subjects
• Database for local resources based on specific categories
• Bookmarked content
• A feed that could be curated (like a forum)
• Wide interest in live streaming from professional sex educators

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Afterwards, I developed two different task flows for different user groups and how they might access the content they're looking for in the site. One where the user had a straight-forward process that didn't require signing up, and another that showed an account creation and then an area of interest the user may benefit from.

LANDING PAGE & PROTOTYPE TESTING

Following my research it was finally time to design the startings of the website. I created a simple landing page that explained some of the features I brainstormed on including, with some simple branding, and built out a seach engine that could help users curate where they could locate specific resources within their region. This was designed in XD, and then tested and measured on a heatmap platform to view where users were clicking. The biggest challenge in this was reminding people that this was not a fully working site, which I think people forgot after looking over the landing page.

I encouraged users to take the survey at the end of the test. However, after about 2 users saying they didn't scroll the landing page and just started clicking on buttons, I had to revise my test by asking users to look at the landing page first, then proceed with the task.

Some users found difficulty because they needed more explanation on what a prototype is, or they were doing it from a mobile device when it needed to be taken from a desktop.

QUALITATIVE RESULTS

Feedback was positive, and also constructive. One user mentioned how they would have preferred iconography or illustration/graphics on the landing page. Another user really enjoyed the visual design and how the colors made them feel. Many users expressed wanting to explore other areas of the site and seemed interested in more than just the resource search function.

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Where the majority of valuable feedback came from was hearing how much more interested users were in wanting to explore workshops that were being promoted. I think given that this is an online resource, users plan to come here to look for professional-made content, and not so much locally made ones.

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QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

Many of the users were able to successfully click the CTAs that I wanted them to. There were two hotspots that would take them from the landing page to the next area, and many responded to the CTA in the banner rather than the one placed in the main navigation. Overall, all testers were able to successfuly complete the task and reported it to be easy.

LESSONS LEARNED

Be clear with instructions during user testing. The more clear you are with your instructions, the better the testing will go.

Always go back to the user. The user's needs are always first. Don't be afraid to go back and revise to make sure you're staying open minded in your design.

Primary research is key. While secondary research through articles and statistics can help support your research, it's usually best to build it off of the source when creating your user groups.