Defining the Next Steps of the NÓS Project

Defining the Next Steps of the NÓS Project

April 2021

About the Project

NÓS - Nosso Olhar Solidário is a project aimed at reducing the distance between institutions in need of donations and donors. Awarded the iF Social Impact Prize 2021, the project has an app available for Android and iOS that displays institutions filtered by proximity to you and by the items you add to your donation basket. At the time, I contributed to the design of a new app version after validating the MVP created in 2020, as well as conducting this exploratory research to understand some aspects of the relationship between donors and institutions before expanding the platform to a web version.

Research Context

To increase our user base and, consequently, the donations made through the app, we launched an iOS version and began planning a web version of the app, where the project's design team started sketching the screens. During this process, we realized there were many experience deficits in our app that would carry over to the new version. This led to the creation of this research, aiming to investigate whether a new product was genuinely needed at this stage of the project and whether the products we currently have are effective.

Research

The research aimed to listen to both sides of the donation process (donors and institutions) and our team, to decide how to proceed and whether everyone agreed on the project's direction. The research was divided into:

Donor Data Collection

Donors are our primary users, so we needed to understand how these people usually use the app and, more importantly, how they use it. With this in mind, we conducted:

  • Market research on the use of internet-connected devices in Brazil;
  • Performance and conversion analysis from app stores (Play Store and App Store);
  • Usage data analysis and retention rate tracking through Firebase;
  • Perception and engagement research via NÓS Instagram stories;
  • Desk research on Facebook to investigate donation group behaviors.
Institution Data Collection

Institutions are the beneficiaries of our app, so we gathered information about the institutions in our database, such as their most common needs, types of actions, and whether they could collect donations.

We also conducted qualitative research with three representatives from institutions in our database, asking about their current needs, the last time NÓS contacted them, and when the last donation occurred.

Team Data Collection

In addition to gathering user data, we consulted the project team to understand their perceptions of our product and next steps. We reviewed the results of a workshop conducted a few months earlier, which identified potential user and team pain points, and used a form to ask the team about their thoughts on our current workflow.

Insights and Directions

Based on this organization, we cross-referenced data to identify certainties, assumptions, and doubts, grouping them to highlight key points for the project.

1 - Not on the Same Page

Project members generally do not believe the app has reached its full potential, nor do they share the same project vision.

🚩 Direction Idea: Align and discuss who NÓS is for and how we can achieve that!

2 - System Breakdown

Does the current donation model reflect the best way for people to donate? Are the institutions people find the ones most in need at the moment?

🚩 Direction Idea: Review how donations are made and who they are being donated to.

3 - Why with NÓS?

Our service focuses on verified actions. However, looking at donation pages on Facebook in Curitiba reveals higher engagement in person-to-person contacts.

🙋🏽‍♂️ Question Raised: How can or should we fill this gap?

4 - Who Are You?

When users contact institutions to arrange donations or volunteer work, they often encounter a personal WhatsApp profile. Who is this person? Not knowing whom they are speaking to or if the contact is correct can be problematic.

🙋🏽‍♂️ Question Raised: How can we ensure that contact information is always up-to-date and that users know who they are speaking to?

5 - Who Are We Helping?

We lack clarity about the actions and needs of the institutions beyond what is in our spreadsheet.

🚩 Direction Idea: Conduct continuous research with institutions to understand their real needs and keep our database updated.

6 - Focus on Focus

We have various information about institutions that can guide actions focused on specific results.

🚩 Direction Idea: Better promote delivery options for donors and identify common pain points across support networks.

7 - Who Are We?

We cannot extract some data and usage metrics from Firebase over a long time frame. This leaves us blind to how well (or poorly) we are performing.

🚩 Direction Idea: Switch to an event tracking platform (e.g., Mixpanel) for better control and insights.

8 - Being Present Where Everyone Is

The three most accessed social networks in Brazil are Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube, where we have minimal engagement.

🚩 Direction Idea: Be more active on Facebook without abandoning Instagram, join donation groups, and identify our audience and potential donors!

9 - They Gave Up on Us

Our conversion rates, both in the app and app stores, are minimal, with most users uninstalling the app.

Data collected from app stores (Mar 2020 - Apr 2021):

740 users downloaded the app during this period.
569 users uninstalled the app during this period.

Here are two accounts from institution representatives:

Testimony 01

"[...] I remember you guys, but I don't remember what was done, you know, because other NGOs come here, right? And now I can't recall. Do you have any records of actions you did here?"

Juliana from Vila Corbélia community, mentioning she doesn't remember NÓS.


Testimony 02

"[...] I'll be honest, it's been so long I can't even remember. What I recall is a guy came by, but I don't remember his name. We contacted each other a few times via WhatsApp, but schedules didn’t align, and I needed help with marketing and website work [...]"

Tatiana from Associação Beneficente de Mãos Unidas, saying it's been a long time since someone contacted her to volunteer.


🚩 Direction Idea: Improve app store presence, clarify the app's purpose, and enhance the user experience.

10 - Why a Web Version?

The majority of internet access comes from smartphones, and desktop usage has declined. Moreover, we have larger issues with institutions, donors, and ourselves to address and understand.

🚩 Direction Idea: Improve app store presence, clarify the app's purpose, and enhance the user experience.

About the Future (or Present?)

This research took place in April 2021. Since then, we have deepened some insights, worked on resolving experience deficits, and transformed some of the research directions into follow-up studies conducted the following month.

Regarding the web version, we deprioritized it but continued with an important aspect: the institution registration, which was previously handled through a Google Form.

iF social impact prize 2021

Presentation - follow up of new actions for NÓS

institution registration - Figma Prototype