Case study: designing a waste management solution (2024)

Some wastes are able to be recycled. But the question is whether it can be properly recycled as a result of their condition. Waste banks exist to prevent these and yet, selling recyclable waste can be very time-consuming as most often you have to deliver the garbage to the waste bank yourself. There are a few apps that exist to provide these needs but haven’t been known enough as they’re either not functioning within my area or operating only outside of the city.

Entire research and product design, mini-branding, and validation through user testings.

• The final project, October 2019, 2 weeks
• 1st iteration (2 Usability Testings), October 2020.

• 2 weeks to do all the steps of design thinking, including the validation stage.
• Gaining credible data out of the local users as their lack of waste management pertains to cultural behavior.
• Designing a digital product from scratch to prototype.

Product-wise

Aid the user (customer) to sell recyclable waste without the existing hassles.

Personal

1. To see how far my creative process can go within a limited time.
2. Expanding my portfolio.

I’m using design thinking as my methodological approach to the case study. It’s powerful for finding the right problems by tackling the complex and unknown variables in a human-centric way. Through design thinking, I believe I can achieve a balance between the three main focuses: desirability, viability, and feasibility.

So, I have these hypotheses that:

1. Many Indonesians find it hard to separate their wastes or don’t care as they lack the knowledge of waste management’s benefit.
2. They don’t know where their wastes end up.

Now, to validate these before looking further into the user-centric matters, I first gathered facts from the experts on the magnitude of the waste separation issue.

1. Indonesian Plastic Recycling Association (ADUPI) deputy chairman Justin Wiganda said recyclers blamed the country’s insufficient waste management system. Recyclers said they were unable to obtain proper materials for their industry as much of the country’s plastic waste is mixed with other types of waste, preventing the industry from processing it into new raw materials. (The Jakarta Post 2019)
2. The separation allows the waste stream to be managed, preventing mixed waste so that cross-contamination is prevented. It allows valuable materials to be extracted, and more importantly enables downstream processing to be more efficient and the risks to the environment and public health to be reduced. Ruliana, Vita; Soemantojo, Roekmijati W.; and Asteria, Donna (2019).

There are several more articles and research I’ve found to cite from (and a ton more I feel I have to reference), but for brevity sake, these showed that waste separation indeed takes a considerable part in waste management.

I want to learn the users’ behavior in waste management, their troubles in doing so no matter how small, and their motivations.

In order to get broader perspectives and therefore the product feasibility as a whole, I divide the user criteria into two:

Having the data from both the intended users and potential users will help me lay the ground for business scope in the future.

Online Questionnaire

The primary target audience for my quantitative research is the Potential Users and the secondary being Intended Users as my aim with the survey is to mainly gain demographic data.

Out of 44 respondents from the online questionnaire I distributed across the internet, the majority are within the range of 23–26 years old (40.9%). 72.7% of them are the female audience while the male 22.7%. The majority of their profession are employees or businesspeople by 40.5%. 32,5% of respondents live in Jabodetabek (Jakarta Metropolitan Area) and the rest are spread almost evenly around Indonesia.

I divide the questions into three categories: behavior, awareness, and motivation for waste disposal management.

Then, I drew the conclusions from the data:

The survey showed that 59.1% of the local respondents are aware of the environmental damage caused by the lack of waste management. They also further explain their set of concerns.

This suggests that, by 43 out of 44 respondents, the intention to contribute is dominantly present.

Then, how might we facilitate this intention into action?

Deep Interview

In collecting the qualitative data, I arranged private sessions with 4 Intended Users to dive deep into their point of view. I focused on their pain points in performing waste management.

The highlights:

Comparative Analysis

To get a clear idea of what solutions have worked, I look into the direct competitors. This allows me to see the strengths and weaknesses between the competitors, observe the IA structure and key features that I can take as reference, and determine the USP of the product I’m designing.

“?” indicates that I can’t determine since it’s outside of my area.

Affinity Mapping

I used Affinity Mapping to synthesize the data collected as it is very invaluable in showcasing trends, themes, and areas of opportunity for discovery and improvement.

Taking the findings from both quantitative and qualitative research, I identified the insights as follow:

1. Users are frustrated that each of the waste banks has different terms of acceptable recyclables.
2. Users find it hard to get the tangible benefit from doing waste management.
3. It’s difficult to get the time for selling their waste by delivering the recyclables to the available waste banks.
4. Unaware of where their waste ends up, users don’t either monitor their waste management or deem it necessary to develop the habit for it.
5. Users find it difficult to locate the nearby waste banks by themselves and the information they found on the internet is outdated.

Then, what has to be on the design?

I took these actions as the most viable steps to do by drawing from the HMWs of the previous insights.

As I’m focusing on the customer’s (seller) journey, I translated this directly into the main features in the design.

Note: This was made under the assumption that the waste bank has agreed to the terms and conditions of the recyclables they can receive, therefore ensuring the information within the product consistent.

Who will benefit from the design?

From the data gathered, I created a user persona to represent the user whose goals match with the design.

Through Sari’s lenses, I can determine the desirable experience for her and the potential users.

User Flow

In the task of finding information on waste preparation and separation, the user can also access the Recyclables section from the ‘Setor Sampah’ page, giving them a nudge to look up the information before proceeding for the first time.

User Journey Map

The user journey map allows me to look at the flow of the application from the user’s point of view. In this diagram, Sari is going to get the information on separating her waste, putting an order, and set a schedule for a pick-up service to sell her recyclable waste.

Lo-fi sketches

Before designing the Hi-fi prototype, I first sketched the wireframe according to the user flow. The intention with wireframing is so we can present the structure of the app to the stakeholders without getting distracted by visual elements such as colors and images.

High-Fidelity Prototype

Eco Let’s Go version 1 Hi-fi Prototype.

Usability Testing: Part One.

At this stage, I conducted usability testings to validate my design with this goal:

To evaluate whether the product worked to solve the proposed problems.

But since my time’s short, I only did small usability testings.

Issues and findings I’ve gathered from both listening and observing are:

1. Navigation from inputting order to choose the waste banks available is complicated.
2. Testers were flustered by the amount of information provided.
3. The general flow is still complicated to utilize the product instead of being intuitive, judging by how long it takes to navigate.
4. There isn’t enough color contrast which makes the copy hard to read.

In conclusion, I decided to restructure the wireflow after taking into consideration the evaluation received.

Wireflow restructuring

With the aim to make the journey more compact and smoother, I reworked with the scenario of a first time user.

For ordering the pick-up service, the user doesn’t need to take a longer time in deciding which waste bank is available as the data matching system will look for the collector and waste bank suitable to their information and schedule.

To get a better idea of what features should be on the app before proceeding on to the wireflow, I use a 2x2 matrix to prioritize based on the time and user value after the feedback and the new user flow.

Note: as I work solo on this project, these prioritizations are made within the scope of my capabilities and role. This can change when working with stakeholders, especially concerning the Data Matching System.

After I brainstormed the flow, I translated it into a set of wireflows to accurately visualize the concept. This will bring more efficiency to design the hi-fi prototype and minimize errors after I conducted a small usability testing.

Usability Testing: Round Two

The goal for the second usability testing:

To discover and eliminate the problems of the product after the iteration.

To show how I do the testing, I will ask 4 participants that matched Sari’s persona and my mentor for feedback. Due to the pandemic situation, the testing can only be done remotely.

Prototype tool: Adobe XD
Method: Remote moderated testing.
Medium: Screensharing using Discord and Google Meet-Up.
Scenario: First time using the application to order pick up service and sell their recyclable waste.

Here’s the result.

Overall, the solution worked to aid in selling recyclable waste. They find that the product is straightforward to use and convenient to set a pick-up schedule.

Upon discovering the problems, the parts that needed the most improvements are:

Other minor problems such as progress indicator looked like a button and taking a little too much visual space, divide between the name and address, and Kilogram information.

Psst, you can play with the prototype too. ;)

In answering the need for a reward, I’d start at designing the order progress flow from pick-up to receiving the reward.

Defining the big goal

I think that the product should not only serve the end-users’ needs but also able to improve their life where they can be a better version of themselves and the environment they live in. While it can facilitate their intention to contribute, how can I show and ensure the outcome of their contribution?

Some implementations

I’d implement a progress book to monitor how much waste the user has saved. This will keep them motivated and be updated on their cause, combined with a planner to schedule multiple dates of pick-up order in advance so the user won’t have to input order one by one. It’s sort of like budget planning but with waste. ;)

In regards to the reward system, I’d design gamification of measure progression. This can be incorporated with sharing their achievement of how much waste they’ve saved to SNS, aiming to increase the conversion rate.

The other users

Since this is focused on the customer point of view, I need to get a better and in-depth understanding of the buyer (waste bank) and collector (driver) sides to know their needs and goals and how I can align it with the design.

For instance, concerning the agreement for the terms and conditions of recyclables they can accept.

Collaborators

As the data suggests, aside from government intervention, having local community involvement will greatly affect the habit of waste management. By embracing the local go-green organizations, it will help strengthen the product’s connection with the end-users.

Accessibility

Thinking in the long term, I want to give broader accessibility where people with disabilities can use the product and contribute to a better environment too.

From the early phases of the final project

Using Jobs-To-Be-Done Framework to align user(s) goals with business goals in the early Define stage.
The limitation I faced is personal: during my time studying at the course and doing the final project, I can’t perform optimally due to health and family situations.

2nd Usability Testing:

I would’ve done guerilla research to study the local's behavior more accurately with the usability testings, but due to the present pandemic situation, it’s highly unlikely to conduct.

From a realist standpoint, this passion project will need a great deal of time, effort, and teamwork to be viable to produce. I fear that there are biases as I work alone and being with a team will help clear a lot of uncertainties and thus narrow down the most workable goals in achieving the MVP.

It’s not just the right answer, but asking the right question.

Not only that research is important, but diving deep into the user’s point of view by asking the right questions is a must. To do that, I have to be a lot more open to different perspectives in order to design a truly purposeful product.

But sometimes, this leads me to second-guess everything and almost made me bite more than I can chew. So I’ve learned that…

Done is better than none.

Cut the goals into smaller phases, trust the process, and see it to completion. Because any new flaws created will be the opportunity for betterment (that’s what it means to iterate, right?).

And most of all I really enjoy this exercise that pushes me to find a balance between the data, creativity, and empathy to create a meaningful impact.

Huge thanks to my mentor Kenneth Mahakim for evaluating the project and continuously giving valuable inputs even after I’ve finished the course, and this study case won’t be finished without my friends and family as my support system!

Comments and feedback will be very appreciated so please don’t hesitate drop them or hit me up at trisya.krishna@gmail.com!

Thank you for reading through the first article I’ve ever written in my entire life (seriously.) I hope you find it enjoyable in one way or another! (Will I write more case study? Stay tuned.)