Scout

Scout is a platform designed to take the stress out of planning and organizing an outdoor activity.
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Scout allows users to efficiently, plan, organize, and coordinate activities.

View Prototype View Prototype

My Role

UX/UI Designer

Timeline

2022, 7 Weeks

Team

Project Manager
Developer

Tools

Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator

Problem

People struggle to plan and organize outdoor activities.

Outdoor activities are incredibly fun when everyone is well prepared, knows where to go, what to bring, and what to expect. Why is there not a platform to assist in facilitating this?

Solution

We created a product where users can plan, organize, and coordinate all in one ecosystem. With Scout, users have access to fully customizable templates and dashboards where they can input and access all needed information. The collaborative and convenient tools can span from a leisurely hike to a multi-day, multi-activity trip.

Home Page• Homepage explains the product
• Moves the user to the planning page
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Profile Page
• The user can view their completed activities, personal gear inventory, and favorites

Planning Page
• Allows the user to toggle between    different planning options
• Users can start from scratch or    utilize a pre-made resource

Template Page
• The home base of the activity, where    users will store their information
• Features include APIs to geolocation and    weather databases, in-house        group messaging

Planning Page
• Allows the user to toggle between    different planning options
• Users can start from scratch or    utilize a pre-made resource

Template Page
• The home base of the activity, where    users will store their information
• Features include APIs to geolocation    and weather databases, in-house        group messaging

Planning Page
• Allows the user to toggle between different planning options
• Users can start from scratch or utilize a pre-made resource

Template Page
• The home base of the activity, where users will store their information
• Features include APIs to geolocation and weather databases, in-house group messaging

Gear Page
• Ability to catalog gear for upcoming activity
• Able to sort and filter based on tags

Gear item page
• Users can input individual gear items
• Able to browse for newer models of their current gear and/or accompanying items

Solution

Interactive Prototype

Research & Design Approach

Design Thinking

We used the design thinking approach as our framework for tackling this project. This was the best option as we wanted to emphasize and iterate with the problem as much as possible. We wanted to be able to continually define, ideate, prototype, and test until we arrived at an acceptable solution.

Research

Assessing the Landscape

Before gathering hard data we needed to evaluate the current environment. To do this I ran a competitive analysis and conducted users interviews with the goal of answering the following questions.

1. Determine if the platform has interest from potential users.
2. Understand the process of how people currently plan outdoor activities.
3. Understand barriers faced while planning outdoor activities (in groups or individually).
4. Find out if this product could attract new users.

Research

Competitive Analysis

After analyzing the potential competitors one issue kept standing out. There is no single product that focuses on outdoor activities and allows for coordination/planning. These products touch on similar issues and needs, but none are combined in a convenient, meaningful way. Find full report here

Research

User Interviews

Number of participants: 5
Demographics: 23 to 50 years old
Activity level: Outdoor activities at least once a month
Find full interview report here

Interview Outcomes

After combing through the interview information and organizing them using an affinity map, a handful of common needs began to emerge. Find full affinity map here

- Efficient tool to organize and plan trips
- Able to plan trips with friends if needed
- Messaging platform other than text messaging
- Location for notes and ideas for previous and upcoming trips
- All needed information in one place (trail info, weather, gear, checklists)

Research

User Personas

User personas were created to synthesize the research findings and give a better understanding of the needs and wants of the user. Full persona report here

Research

Finding the Problem

The research was boiled down into two main questions. These were the building blocks of our design.

- How might we provide multiple sources of outdoor information (trail info, weather, checklists, gear lists) in one easy-to-use location?

- How might we track/manage outdoor gear and equipment to minimize hassle and avoid misplacing items?

Building the Solution

Ideation & Design

To get the creative juices flowing we utilized the following methods to assist us in our design thinking framework.

Card Sorting

The goal was to see how participants grouped items into provided categories. We wanted to understand how users think about the given information, as well as organize content in ways that users will connect with. Full card sorting report here

Sitemap

Through the sitemap we were able to better understand how to structure the product for the user. Our goal was to keep the structure simple and concise. We wanted to add value through convenience/ease of use and keep intention at the forefront of our design. Find full report here

User Flows

We decided to focus on two main user flows. Through these flows we were able to spot potential snags in the maneuverability of our proposed navigation. Our goal was to exemplify a user-focused experience. Find full report here

Task Flows

We created the following task flows to better understand and validate/invalidate assumptions made during the research phase. Through these flows we were able to iterate our process to better serve the user. These were used a reference point once we began build out the wireframes. Find full report here

Building the Solution

Wireframes

Based on card sorting data and user/task flows we decided to focus our attention on developing our minimum viable product with the following key features. We approached these wireframes by trying to align the needs of the user with the business goals of the product. Find complete wireframes here

Planning page

Template page
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Gear item page
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Building the Solution

Wireframe Iteration

After feedback the designs were simplified for usability, and additional screens were added. Full design here

Planning

Template

Gear

Gear Item

Building the Solution

User Interface

Scout’s logo and color scheme began to emerge. Home and search pages were added.

Home Page

Search

Template

Gear Item

Profile

Building the Solution

Usability Testing

The goal of the usability testing was to determine the following:

- How the participants interact with the product
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- How long it takes the participant to perform certain tasks
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- Identify confusing areas or issues while using the product

Type of test: Moderated usability test (in person and via Zoom)
Number of participants: 5
Demographics: 23 to 49 years old, go on outdoor activities at least once a month
Prototype hotspot hints: Turned off
Find full testing report here

Testing Outcomes

After analyzing the testing results, common issues began to emerge with the prototype.

- Users had difficulty figuring out how to understand and use the ‘Planning’ page
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- Users had trouble navigating the ‘Search’ page when trying locate various activities
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- Users did not respond favorably to the color scheme on the ‘Planning’, ‘Template’, and ‘Gear’ pages

Building the Solution

Final Design

Based on the testing outcomes a final design iteration was crafted. We addressed the testing outcomes by completing the following revisions. Full revision report here

Revision 1: Improve ‘Planning’ page hierarchy and usability

Users had difficulty figuring out how to understand and use the ‘Planning’ page.
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After the revision:
- Text was added for page explanation
- Additional screens were created to improve UI and ease of use
- Color selection was improved for more contrast

Revision 2: Improve the search function

Users had trouble navigating the ‘Search’ page when trying locate various activities.
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After the revision:
- All activities were added
- Additional screens were created for each section
- Color selection was improved

Revision 3: Change color scheme for ‘Planning’, ‘Template’, and ‘Gear’ pages

Users did not respond favorably to the color scheme on the ‘Planning’, ‘Template’, and ‘Gear’ pages.
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After the revision:
- A different color palette was used
- Text color was changed where needed

Finale

Unsolicited Ruminations

Cheers if you’re still here.

Scout was product built out of personal trial and error. It was a sublime experience to turn an idea into a usable platform. Hopefully this product will help get people outside, appreciating our beautiful planet.
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If I had more time during this process I would have changed the following for Scout.
- I would work more on the structured hierarchy of information for each page and iterate through more ideas.
- I would dial in the UI to a more granular degree, i.e. color scheme and card layouts.
- I would spend more time in the research phase getting feedback from industry specific users.