Hodophile

In today’s increasingly globalized world, more and more people are choosing to live, work and study abroad. For some, living in another country is a better choice. However, many individuals choose to relocate to a foreign country to seek an opportunity of a job, to get a higher education in a more qualified university, or just to undertake a change in lifestyle. However, most people get caught up in the excitement and romance of moving to a new country, but often times a smooth transition to an idyllic new life might be disappointed. Relocation is hard work, and there are plenty of potential complications to tripping along the way.

‍

‍

The Challenge:

DESIGN A SOLUTION TO IMPROVE PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE THROUGH A NOVEL DIGITAL PRODUCT

Having been through the relocation process recently myself, I understand and empathise on the struggles and difficulties most people may face during their relocation process, such as language, transportation and socialisation etc. Hence, the problem space that I chose to further explore into was the challenges people face when moving to a new country. I know from personal experience how difficult this can be, especially when you make the move on your own and don’t know what to do or who to turn to for advice.

‍

The Kickoff:

‍

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS AND CHALLENGES

Empathy Research Process

The double diamond design thinking approach was adopted for the empathy research process, it is separated in four phases; Discover, Define, Design and Develop with various methodologies and tools adopted within each phase of the research process.

‍

‍

‍

DISCOVER

Academic Research

The transition and psychological effects of moving overseas

The process of settling in and adapting to life in a new country and institution is often described as a transition whereby one ‘unplugs’ from the old world and ‘plugs’ into the new; a process that starts with an ending and finishes with a beginning (Bridges, 2003). Bridges argues that transition is about the experience individuals have in the here and now and not what they are seeking tomorrow. He further postulates that transition should not be perceived as a passive phase but as an active and interactive process in which the transitioning individuals play a greater role in the process by accepting their responsibility and the challenges. Schlossberg, Waters and Goodman (1995, p.27) describe the transition as being characterized by a “moving out” stage, followed by “moving in” to the new situation and absorbing the norms and rules of the new place, until the individual can successfully “move through”, or navigate and survive in, the new world. Nortier (1995) asserts that “our experience has taught us that transition, whatever it may be, is a process internal to the individual, slow and progressive, not demarcated in time”. There are ‘normal’ transitions which an individual must go through that are anticipated, expected and occasionally planned and therefore these can be handled with minimum disruption (Lewthwaite, 1996; Schlossberg, 1984). On the other hand there are larger transitions which are either unexpected or unplanned and occasionally unwanted (te Riele, 2004; Zhoua, 2008). Such transitions happen outside the bounds of everyday living and involve the individual learning a wide range of new behaviors and cultural practices (Hyams-Ssekasi, 2012).

Bridges (2003) suggests that it is the ending of the old situation and identity that occurs before the move which can be the largest difficulty that people face in any transition. According to Van Gennep (1960), this ending phase, which he called, ‘separation’ involves the individual dissociating themselves from their previous communities, families and friends and the old self being erased in preparation for the new one. Tinto (1987) asserts that separation can be perceived as a temporal rejection of families and deeply rooted values leading to adaptation of new values and situations that are dissimilar to the previous experiences.

Besides psychological aspects of a new transitions, there are many other challenges faced such as the complex process of applying to university abroad and obtaining a visa occupies much of the attention of prospective migrants (Serra Hagedorn and Yi Zhang, 2011). These include completing and financing visa applications, visa interview(s) or counselling as well as coping with the anxiety of being refused a visa (Butcher, 2002). Common reasons for visas being turned down include: not supplying original documents, not being able to demonstrate sufficient funds and using counterfeit documents (Lipset, 2009).

As many authors have pointed out, the transition if often is eased with adequate preparation (Fischer, 2011; Yorke, 1999). Several studies have found that migrants who did not adequately prepare, or had unrealistic expectations, were more likely to suffer from depression (Chou, 2009; Ryan, Leavey, Golden, Blizard and King 2006).

‍When moving to a distant country, people are often reliant on very limited sources of information to help them prepare for the transition and hence, creates potential complications tripping along the way that results in a downward spiral of emotions.

‍

‍

Quantitative Insights

With the understanding of the transitional phase and psychological effects that could affect people moving overseas, a set of survey questions was crafted to further understand and gain insights into the main challenges of the moving overseas process.

35% of the respondents stated that their main reason for moving to a foreign country was because of studies and 30% stated that they have lived in the foreign country for less than a year.

‍

When asked further about the challenging aspects of moving to a foreign country, 61% of the respondents found that making social connections was the most challenging, followed by accommodation, immigration process and cultural differences.

‍

‍

Qualitative Insights

Taking into consideration the insights gathered from the academic research and survey, interviews was carried out with 5 foreigners living in New Zealand to dive deeper into the challenges that faced before, during and after the relocation process.

Questions asked during the interview includes:

• Could you tell me a bit about your moving abroad experience?
• What was the most difficult part of the moving abroad process?
• During this difficult part of your moving abroad process, how did you feel?
• Is there something that you wish you had, that would have made your experience better?

After the interviews, not only a much clearer view of the problem space was presented, but also a better understanding of the problem I was seeking to solve.

To pinpoint the central or most prominent problem to solve, a series of affinity mapping using data gathered from the survey and interviews was carried out.

‍

Affinity Mapping - using data gathered from the survey and interviews

‍

The affinity map was a crucial moment to identify the area of focus. Empathizing and understanding who they are, what they go through, and what they are experiencing is crucial to try and understand how to potentially solve their problems.

‍

‍

‍

Deeper Insights

Before

• They would like to have a guide and better information on the country that they are moving to
• They find it stressful and frustrating during the immigration process, which includes many administrative paper work to fill up and there is no way for them to check for their application updates

During

• They would like to have a support system or someone familiar with the country’s landscape to guide them during their process

After

• They find it difficult to adjust and settle down in a new country because of the difference in culture
• They find it difficult to make new friends in a foreign country
• They feel homesick living in a foreign country, without any friends and family around

‍

‍

‍

DEFINE

Reframing the problem space

How might we ease the roadblocks and challenges faced by people before and during their moving abroad process?

Taking into consideration of the timeframe and project scale, the first phase of the project is targeted at solving the problem space before and during the relocation process instead of after the relocation process, because that is the first inception point and most crucial process for anyone and everyone who had made the decision to move abroad.

This leads to the question on:

Who are we designing the experience for? And what’s their job to be done (JTBD)?

‍

‍

Personas

Two personas was crafted from the insights gathered from the qualitative and qualitative research methods to illustrate their goals, pain points and needs.

Main Persona: Theresa Jamie | Fresh Undergraduate Student | Adventurer who has decided to take a leap of faith to pursue her masters degree

Secondary Persona: Dave Jones | Working Professional | Workaholic who has to relocate due to his work

‍

‍

‍

‍

Storyboards

In order to create a better product that solves the problem, it is essential to must what’s going on in the user’s world and understand how their products can make the user’s life better. Hence, storyboards were crafted to represent the journey the users have to go through before and during their moving abroad process.

‍

Initial Sketches

The initial storyboard sketches for both of the personas focused on the specific tasks that they have to go through in each stage of their moving abroad process. The storyboard starts from the moment they decide/know they have to relocate to New Zealand, follow by the moving abroad process (immigration, pre-arrival research etc.) and when they have arrived in New Zealand, at each stage, they have specific uncertainties around the process that they have to go through. For example, when they are going through their pre-arrival research, they will have uncertainties such as:

Main Persona

• Has her visa been approved?

• Does she need to find accommodation at this stage?

• What's the culture like in New Zealand?

Secondary Persona

• When would he know the status of his work visa?

• How does he go about finding accommodation?

• What does he need to do now?

‍

Final Storyboards

To present a more cohesive narrative flow, the sketches were further refined to focus on behaviours/feelings of the personas rather than specific tasks. This allow for more breathing space for ideation, clarity, authenticity, simplicity and emotions of the personas.

‍

‍

‍

‍

User Stories Mapping

Before the user stories are being mapped out, the phases of moving abroad and their goals are written down to ensure that the user stories are crafted based on the various phase of their moving abroad journey and goals.

Phases of Moving Abroad

1. The Process
2. Visa application
3. Sorting out accommodation
4. Understanding the country's culture and environment
5. Pre-arrival
6. Visa status
7. Sorting out accommodation
8. Understanding the country's culture and environment
9. Sorting out transportation options
10. Getting help from friends and family
11. Ensuring that everything is settled

Goals

1. To be able to adjust and settle down in New Zealand smoothly
2. Make new friends
3. To call New Zealand home
4. Understand the culture and blend in; not being the odd one

User Groups

1. Migrants who are making the move to New Zealand
2. Locals (Kiwis and others who have been living in New Zealand/been through the moving abroad journey) who wants to help migrants

User Story

1. As a migrant, I want to transition smoothly into New Zealand so that I can start my new phase of life.
2. As a migrant, I want to forge social connections with people in New Zealand so that I will not feel home sick.
3. As a migrant, I want to be able to have a basic understanding of the life in New Zealand before arriving in the country so that I know what to expect what I arrive.
4. As a migrant, I want to navigate through the country with the help of locals so that I can meet new people and understand the culture from a local’s perspective.
5. As a migrant, I want to know the various information such a healthcare, transportation etc. so that I know what are the options for me when situation arises.
6. As a local, I want to help migrants through their moving abroad journey so that they can see what New Zealand has to offer.
7. As a local, I want to be able to answer any questions they may have through their moving abroad journey so that they have a smooth transition into New Zealand.
8. As a local, I want to be able to share my experience through specific journey so that others would know what to take note of.

‍

‍

‍

DESIGN

Ideation

‍

‍App Name

H O D O P H I L E

Lover of roads // Love of travel

Logo Design

A series of logo forms was ideated to determine the final logo for the app.

‍

‍

‍

Final Logo

‍

‍

‍

Layout

Various layout was explored to best cater for the user stories and before diving into mid-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes. Informal usability testing was conducted to gather insights on which layout options are more intuitive for the users.

‍

Storyboard

The to-be state of the moving abroad journey is illustrated in the revised storyboards for both personas - life with hodophile.

‍

‍

‍

‍

DEVELOP

‍

High-fidelity Design

The next step was to develop hi-fidelity wireframes of the app, taking into consideration the user stories and feedback from the informal usability testing.

The user stories that was prioritised for the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) of Hodophile includes:

1. As a migrant, I want to transition smoothly into New Zealand so that I can start my new phase of life.
2. As a migrant, I want to be able to have a basic understanding of the life in New Zealand before arriving in the country so that I know what to expect what I arrive.
3. As a migrant, I want to navigate through the country with the help of locals so that I can meet new people and understand the culture from a local’s perspective.
4. As a migrant, I want to know the various information such a healthcare, transportation etc. so that I know what are the options for me when situation arises.

‍

‍

‍

‍

USABILITY TESTING

Usability testing was conducted with 5 users - 4 students and 1 working professional whom have just moved over to New Zealand in the past 2 years.

‍

‍

Insights

‍

Through the usability testing, some key findings includes:

‍

Iterations

‍

A couple of rounds of iterations was done based on the initial usability testing findings and as more usability testing was conducted.

‍

‍

FUTURE PRODUCT ROADMAP

‍

The next phase of the product roadmap would include the addition of the remaining user stories, most importantly, local view of the app. How the local view of the app is envisioned to be a list of request for help from migrants and a profile view of the migrants, with the areas that they need help as the main content hierarchy and locals will be able to connect (message) with them to provide assistance in the area(s) that they need help in.

User stories for the next phase:

1. As a migrant, I want to forge social connections with people in New Zealand so that I will not feel home sick.
2. As a migrant, I want to navigate through the country with the help of locals so that I can meet new people and understand the culture from a local’s perspective.
3. As a local, I want to help migrants through their moving abroad journey so that they can see what New Zealand has to offer.
4. As a local, I want to be able to answer any questions they may have through their moving abroad journey so that they have a smooth transition into New Zealand.
5. As a local, I want to be able to share my experience through specific journey so that others would know what to take note of.

More concept and usability testing will be required as well to further validate the use case of the app and gather more insights into areas that require changes to suit various phases of the moving abroad journey and situations that may arise.

‍

LEARNINGS

‍

Time management is the key in a 4 weeks project, often times more and more features popped up and as the project moves forward, feature prioritisation becomes impossible as everything seems like an important feature for a product’s MVP. However, when situation like this arises, going back to the root of the problem that we are trying to solve helps in prioritisation, and avoids adding good to have features that may/may not help solve the problem space.

Creating magic in a product ain't easy, but adding essence of magic in the form of a narrative flow is a baby step to creating good products that targets an existing problem and aid in solving that problem.

"Often the most difficult path lead to the best results. It’s not about how fast you get there, what matters is how you get there and the learnings you take out of it."

‍

‍