Leila Byron
Service Designer
reusage-blog-free-texture-paper-grunge-napkins-grayscale-black-and-white.png

pillar

THESIS TOPIC:
Exploring the area of women's sexual health. Follow this blog for continued updates.

Prototyping 1 - Data Matching

Language and tone

  • “Pass it back” exercise:
    Pick a life changing event, something you needed support in. What would you say to your past self,  what questions would you ask to your future self.
  • Finding out what data points define our likeness, what data would you like to be matched up on, if this service lives in a digital environment. 
  • Looking into extensions for the chatbot to analyze language and tone.

Goal of this prototype:

  • How to use data to connect people in the same situation but a few weeks difference at different stages.
  • How can a chatbot be used to facilitate communication and be a window into when human support is needed.

Tools used

Prompt cards - prioritize the most important data points for matching

Prompt cards - prioritize the most important data points for matching

Testing the idea of 1 step ahead, 1 behind program

Testing the idea of 1 step ahead, 1 behind program

Jeppe - PArent’s divorce at age 8.

“I can see the chatbot providing feedback to the user as a way for the support to be self-reflective”

When asked to pick a life-changing event where he needed support that was not offered to him, Jeppe picked the time his parents got divorced when he was 8 years old.

  • To say to past self:
    “Don’t take on your mother’s grief and sorrow”
  • To ask future self:
    “When will it get better at home?”

Looking at data points Jeppe recognised Education level and tone of language used as the most important for younger children using the service.

  • 4 Data points to be matched on:
    Education Level
    language (tone)
    Emotional temperament
    No. of children

agenta - relocated for a job/second-time mother

“I google alot... but If I knew that was a place I could maybe ask somebody, I would use it but I would like to have it private.”

When asked to pick a life-changing event where she needed support that was not offered to him, Agenta picked the time she moved to Germany for a job offer.

  • To say to past self:
    “Believe everything will work out, you are in charge of your own destiny”
  • To ask future self:
    “Will I be the ‘best’ in what I do? Will I be happy?”

When asked about the future of the 'mother group' that doesn't have to rely on the current data points being used (location, time of birth and if you are a first time mother) Agneta stated the following as the most important on matching for her:

  • 4 Data points to be matched on:
    Education Level
    Age of Child
    No. of Children
    Music Taste

clare -first-time mother

“I can see it being really valuable because you can say exactly how you feel and not be judged, [chatbot] may take some time for me to get used to using it.”

When asked to pick a life-changing event where she needed support that was not offered to him, Claire picked having her first child later on in life.

  • To say to past self:
    “No matter what way you decide to parent your child it will be ok” “relax”
    “Enjoy every moment because it goes too fast”
  • To ask future self:
    “What things/elements do I need to look out for?”
    “How to navigate going back to work?”
    "How to work weaning/solids (breastfeeding)?"

Although she sees the value in the mother groups she would have prefer the matching to have been made on the following data:

  • 4 Data points to be matched on:
    Education Level
    Hobbies
    Location
    Language
    Age

Chat bot

I have set up a simple chatbot over SMS and I test with some users the service, I will jump in and act as the bot to a/b test language and to define at what point the network should take over.

  • How to create value in talking to a bot.
  • How to share the value in talking to chatbot as an unemotional unbiased anonymous figure with no risk of judgement.
  • At what point does the chatbot introduce the network?
  • Using watson as an added layer of the chatbot to check for personality traits and tone analysis.

Testing hypothesis

  • If the language is more sensitive, clearly defining the role of the chatbot then users will connect more with the anonymity because chatbots have no judgement, unemotional.

  • If the language and tone is analyzed then users will be better matched because it will be focusing on sentiment analysis and emotional temperament.
     

To find out more:
- Initial Research Methods
- Design Challenge
- Initial In-Depth Interviews: Data Matching
- Experience Prototyping: Wrappers and Value Proposition 
- User Testing: Content and Conversational Style
- Building the back-end.
- Validated Concept
- Final Product: www.ourpillar.com

Leila Byron