B.C. Marine Trails Volunteer Work

 

The Problem
For safety, Kayakers need places to stop every 1 to 2 hours. BC Marine Trails aims to identify, map and preserve these network of marine access points. They are looking for ways to simplify this process

Research Goal
Understand kayakers’ behaviours to identify possible app ideas that can help BCMT gather site information

 

 

Donated Time 

214 hrs of remote work

Role

  • UX Researcher
  • UX Strategist
  • Brand Direction

Tools:

  • Zoom
  • Slack
  • Google Meet
  • Notion
  • Google Drive, Docs, Calendar, and Google Forms
  • Miro

Stakeholders Research 

Why did they need to create a new app? Why now? What problems are they facing? What are their goals? What is currently happening in the organization? These were some of the critical questions that I needed to answer. To do that, I did the following:

Google Analytics Analysis

  • Understand users behaviours
  • Gather demographics
  • Understand their current process

BCMT Stakeholders Interviews

  • Clarify the business vision and objectives
  • Identify current problems and needs

Members Survey

  • Understand members behaviours
  • Compare site to current members demographics and preferences

Stakeholders Insights

Kayaking

“A marine trail cannot be deemed safe without a critical link between land and water. We need to create a marine trail along the entire BC Coast by establishing a site for kayakers to stop in every 4-12 nautical Miles”

All of the Stakeholders goals and needs fell under three categories:

Safety

Create a series of continuous marine trails that meet safety guidelines

  • Creation and publication of sites for safety
  • Outdated site data
  • Inaccurate site data
  • Data loss

Environment

Help protect terrestrial and marine environments

  • Preserve wildlife 
  • Preserve the land 
  • Public behavior affecting the environment

First Nations

Respectful engagement with FN to approve the use of sites in their lands

  • Respectful engagement
  • Mutual understanding
  • Site approval

First Nations Research

 

Because I discovered that First Nations approve many of the sites. Talking with a UXResearch expert I realized that I needed to expand my research to understand FN goals so that I could align our mobile app with First Nation goals. To do that, I did the following:

  • Talk to First Nations working group chairperson

  • Interview a First Nation Liason

  • Conducted secondary research

 

 

 

First Nations Insights

K'ómoks First Nation

“We want to know that BCMT will listen and do what we suggest”

Trust

BCMT needs to prove they are willing to collaborate and not just give orders

Same Goals

Demonstrating that the organizations goals are about caring for people and the environment 

Site Protection

It is essential to follow their guide as we established these sites

 

Grants Research

 

Also through talking with a UXR expert I realized that because BCMT is a non-profit organization that relies primarily on funding grants, I needed to see if we could somehow facilitate the grant application process. I believed that specific site data was essential to getting these grants. However, I quickly discovered that this was not the case. I found that out by doing the following: 

  • Looking at 25 past BCMT’s grant applications

  • Contacted grant experts 

Grants Insights

“We want to quickly understand why BCMT’s work matters through clear goals, metrics, and past detailed financial records”

Objectives

Demonstrate why BCMT’s work matters

Financial Tracking

Keep detailed financial records of previous year initiative spending

Metrics 

Show what types of metrics can be set in place to measure improvement in results

After understanding that kayakers need this site information for safety in the pre-plan stage. I found my problem space

How might we facilitate the kayakers’ trip planning process in order to increase their safety while caring for the environment?

Kayakers Research

 

Because 88% of BCMT members are kayakers, I focused on them as our primary audience. I wanted to understand Kayakers’ needs, behaviours, and motivations to find opportunities to match BCMT’s current goals and needs.

 

  • Survey

  • 10 Kayaking interviews

Kayakers Insights

“It is tricky to find reliable, up-to-date information when we plan our trips. Therefore, we look at several resources to compare them and ensure we are well prepared”  

Issues

  • Trip planning
  • Recording trips
  • Weather conditions
  • Cellphone reception
  • Storage

Motivations

  • Being in nature
  • Friends
  • Exercise
  • Relaxing

Behaviors

  • Enjoy being with friends
  • Like traveling
  • Take kayaking classes 

After taking to a few kayakers I quickly discovered another opportunity to research

How might we help kayakers easily track and share their trip journeys so that BCMT can collect up to date site information

Kayakers Insights

“We really enjoy taking photos of our trip and then we get together to have a good time and remember our trip”  

Issues

  • It is difficult to remember after the exact location were the photograph was taken
  • It is hard to record during the trip as we are paddling
  • Videos and high re photos take up space
  • Gather content from multiple members

Motivations

  • Sharing with others
  • Having a good time with friends
  • Show off their new accomplishments
  • Great memories

Behaviors

  • Bring a real camera
  • Take a cellphone with a waterproof case
  • Attach a camera to the kayak
  • Use drones to capture aerial footage

Chosen Archetype

 Based on our kayakers insights I was able to create an archetype to focus the business canvas model

Archetype: age production time
Archetype: Family, Teens
Archetype: Location, Small City
Archetype: Education, Diploma
Archetype: Work, Stationary work
Archetype: Wealth, Mortgage
Archetype: Free Time, Traveling big and small
Sports Semi-Pro
Archetype: Motivation Pleasure and Comfort
Archetype: Trends, Pragmatic

The Business Canvas Model

 

Based on this Archetype I am now able to construct this Canvas Model to help quickly define all the different areas of the business

VALUE

  • Pre-Planning Info 
  • Trip Recording
  • Education

CHANNELS 

  • Website 
  • Through the App 
  • Social Media Channels

ACTIVITIES

  • Solidify & Unify BCMT’s Brand
  • Website Redesign
  • Deliver New App
  • Explore New Social Media Channels

GROWIN RELATIONSHIPS

  • Web subscriptions
  • In-app Purchases & Subscriptions
  • LinkedIn groups
  • FB groups

KEY PARTNERS

  • Kayaking clubs
  • Schools & Stores
  • Data providers
  • Transportation providers

RESOURCES

  • Design & dev team
  • Technology
  • Web and social media content creators

Design Direction

After the research, I created a moldboard for their new brand

Finally I created a brand guide to ensure a clear direction

BCMT’s Global Business Opportunities

 

 

Business Opportunities

RESULTS

Insights from 348 people

  • 328 survey responses, 
  • Twenty zoom interviews

Business Opportunites

  • One key opportunity to help BCMT gather and deliver their mapping information while providing value to their users
  • Two ways to add value to their key market
  • Clear branding message and story that will connect with key partners and their target market
  • Focus marketing plan to track success metrics
  • Seven funding options BCMT can generate

 

Baseline for future grants

I defined my baseline to have concrete metrics on which to compare the results of these opportunities

These matric will allow us to mesure our ROI

BCMT will be able to clearly show the impact the company is making for future grants