UX Strategy, UX Research
I led a cross-functional team that overhauled Grindline’s user research process.
I leveraged my UX skillset to help Grindline generate data about skaters’ wants and needs.
Several of Grindline’s clients reported that skaters were unhappy with the design of their skateparks once construction was complete. Making changes to the concrete structures took months and cost thousands of dollars—time and money that was coming directly out of Grindline’s pockets.
I believed a more user-centered approach to research could solve the problem.
I spoke with Grindline’s CEO and Lead Designer about the opportunity to improve the user experience for skaters by validating design decisions with data.
I explained that a data-driven design process had benefits for Grindline, too. We could save thousands of dollars and countless man-hours by validating our designs before construction rather than backtracking after things were already built.
As Grindline’s Visual Designer & Marketing Coordinator, skatepark design wasn’t in my job description, but I convinced Grindline’s CEO and Lead Designer to let me take on responsibilities outside my role.
The Lead Designer prepares a survey to collect from skaters.
Data is collected at community meetings.
Data is analyzed to surface important findings.
A preliminary concept is sent to the client along with the collected data.
Strategy → Collection → Analysis → Output
The Lead Designer wanted to generate data that was detailed and useful to him. He needed to know what was most important to skaters.
Open ended questions generated responses that were unspecific and off topic. There was also no way to tell what was most important to skaters.
Asking skaters to rank the importance of a fixed set of skate elements would allow the Lead Designer to quantify the community’s desire for each element. It would also give context to the data by revealing the importance of each element relative to all others.
I worked with Grindline’s Lead Designer and CEO to generate lists of the most common skate features and amenities built in past skateparks. I used the lists to rewrite the entire survey so that it would generate quantitive data for the Lead Designer.
Strategy → Collection → Analysis → Output
During community meetings led by Grindline’s Lead Designer, community members filled out paper surveys supplied by Grindline. The surveys were then scanned and digitized.
Meetings were sometimes sparsely attended, which very little data was collected. And digitizing the data required the additional step of scanning the paper.
Using Goole Forms would allow people who could not attend community meetings to complete the survey online. Surveys could be promoted on social media by Grindline and by local skaters.
Using Goole Forms allowed people who could not attend community meetings to complete the survey online. It also saved time by immediately digitizing the findings.
Strategy → Collection → Analysis → Output
The answers to some questions can’t be quantified. Finding patterns in qualitative data is important.
Grindline didn’t have a way to generate useful takeaways from the qualitative data generated by the surveys.
An affinity mapping technique would allow us to organize a large number of ideas and generate useful takeaways from the qualitative findings.
Using Trello, an online tool for affinity mapping, I organized our qualitative findings to reveal important patterns in the data.
Strategy → Collection → Analysis → Output
Keeping stakeholders informed allows them to participate in the decision-making process and voice concerns early on.
Raw data was sent back to clients , but the takeaways from that data weren’t being shared. As a result, stakeholders didn’t understand the intent behind Grindline’s design decisions. They were often unable to communicate their dissatisfaction with the designs until it was too late.
Sending clients a PDF containing insights and recommendations would communicate the rationale behind Grindline’s design decisions. It would create a shared understanding of the data and would allow stakeholders to be included in the decision-making process.
I created graphs and affinity diagrams that made the insights from the data easy to understand. I also made recommendations by appealing to the data.
Because this level of user research is unique within the skatepark industry, the new research process differentiates Grindline from its competitors. Since being implemented, the new research process has become a selling point in Grindline’s marketing collateral and job proposals.
With folks stuck at home for most of 2020 due to COVID-19, all of Grindline’s in-person community meetings were canceled. Fortunately, the new research process could still be carried out since its execution takes place entirely online. In June 2020, Grindline’s monthly email newsletter sold the new research process as a solution to some of the problems posed by COVID-19.
For those about to rock, purchasing an effects pedal just got easier.
A company of renegade skateboarders needed to show they’d grown up. A brand refresh was just the trick.
email me at stevesachs.ux@gmail.com
