Improving quality of life on military bases
Generative Research Study
AAFES owns all the stores and other amenities including gas stations, food courts, etc on the military bases. They are amongst few other organizations on base which combined together define the living experience for those living on a base. AAFES started building a mobile app with a goal of improving the quality of life on base, but they started to wonder if a app is the way to go. That is where we stepped in . .
10 weeks
45 research participants
2 military bases visited
2 ideation workshops
270 survey responses
Research Director
Research Lead
Design Researcher (me)
Data Scientist
Project strategy, workshop facilitation, qualitative analysis, note taking, concept generation, preparing deliverables, surveys
Getting Started
We kicked off the project with an stakeholder alignment meeting. Our goal was to seek answers to the following questions:
What is being built into the mobile app? What led to those decisions?
What efforts were already made? Why did/did not they work?
Establishing a communication strategy, project timeline, primary points of contacts.
Identifying target users and primary stakeholders
Based on the information we gathered thus far we identified potential user groups and various areas of life where AAFEs could focus. For this first iteration we wanted to be very broad in order to get a better understanding of the lives of people living on the base.
We sent out a preliminary survey to identify potential participants for research while also gaining more stimuli for further research about factors including - services and amenities users use or wish to have,
Shortlisting participants and preparing them for focus groups
Based on the preliminary survey responses, we identified four user groups we would be talking to: single soldiers, married soldiers, military spouses, and retirees who all live on or nearby the base.
We sent out another survey to selected participants with two objectives: to gather insights into what their day to day lives are like, and encourage them to reflect on their experience living on base.
Conducting research on military bases
We visited two military bases and conducted 10 focus groups with 45 participants across all user groups. Participants where encouraged to use the stickers seen below as probes to help trigger memories
Additionally we conducted an ethnographic study to understand the life on base better. We visited all the facilities soldiers and spouses use, and spoke with various other organizations which add to the overall experience of living on a base
Generative Toolkit
We used these labels and stickers to help users tell their stories across several aspects of their lives living on base. Stakeholder interviews and survey results helped us come up with the list of topics
A canvas built by a participant. I later worked with our data scientist to do trends and pattern analysis on all the data collected via the canvases
Participants working on their respective canvases as we collectively discuss several aspects of their daily lives including housing, shopping, finances, health, career, etc.
Ethnographic study - Few of the powerful images captured as we were visiting several facilities in an attempt to understand the life on base better
Making sense of the data
We conducted an affinity mapping with all the data nuggets gathered from talking to over 60 people including the participants and those who run other services on base. Additionally, I worked with our data scientist to draw statistical insights, trends, etc which could inform us further.
We eventually identified and mapped all our user groups’ needs and wants against the challenges they face in achieving them. This led to a narrowed down list of 6 opportunity areas where our client, AAFES could focus.
We identified these six opportunity areas where our client could focus.
Helping clients visualize how they could help
I led a workshop with our UX colleagues at g2o to ideate several concepts which we later used to help our clients imagine in what potential ways could they create useful solutions in the identified opportunity areas.
My colleagues posting their design concepts during the workshop
Multiple concepts generated for each opportunity area
Helping clients strategize their efforts
With our consolidated findings we headed to the AAFES headquarters where we conducted our final workshop. After walking them through the lives of all the target users living on the base and challenges they face, we facilitated a workshop where we helped them brainstorm solutions to solve problems in the identified opportunity areas.
Finally, we did a value v/s risk assessment of shortlisted solutions, thereby helping them prioritize what features and services can they implement with highest impact
Storyboards used to put our clients in customer’s shoes
Risk assessment exercise conducted to assess which initiatives could be most beneficial for AAFES to take up.
Canvas used to help clients ideate
What happened after?
This research helped clients shift the app focus from ‘what can we build’ to ‘what will benefit users’.
Alongside the app, we helped clients identify several other areas, some even including policy changes, and new services to benefit soldiers
We left them with personas they started using right away in the conversations. (single soldiers, married soldiers, spouses, retirees)
AAFES invited us to conduct further research on air force bases and to evaluate value and feasibility of few of the shortlisted solutions
Reflection
I got first hand experience of doing a full-fledged project which even involved scouting and recruiting participants, and help shape strategy for an altruistic project helping improve the quality of lie on base. It was a rare opportunity!
Of all the things, I would have never imagined that lack of affordable and convenient child-care is one of the biggest factor which stops military spouses from having a career.
