This week included card sorting with fellow class mates, a completed customer journey map, an updated information architecture, and brand new wireframes. I was a little frustrated with the card sorting exercise because I felt my class mates weren’t my target audience and they didn’t actually understand some of the words in English. Even though the card sorting didn’t go so well, I was able to gain a few points that I thought would be helpful to all users. Mostly, using possessive language like “My Plan” in some places confused people when it sub-sections included “My…” as well. My completed customer journey map shows the current state of a user who attempts to begin their own garden. It’s shows the high points and the low points, but mostly it shows the opportunities my app has to help the user out along the way. My new information architecture shows when a database of items will be needed and when storage of information to the database will be necessary. Lastly, the wireframes were created to start showing the very basic idea of what this app will be laid out like. So far it’s just been in my head, but it’s nice to finally have the skeleton in place.
This week I created a concept map, two mind maps, started a customer journey map, and completed an information architecture. The concept map is used to help simplify and understand what my app intends to actually do, and what someone might expect to see in different sections of the app. The first mind map I created was slightly off-style from the version we were replicated so I was encouraged to redo the assignment in the exact same style. The main issue with my first version was that I wrapped the items in bubbles and instead they should be simple lines connecting lines. The second time around I was able to simplify the process and be more specific in my goals, so it worked out. My incomplete customer journey map is posted just to show I;m making progress on it, but I was discuss it more next week. My information architecture shows exactly where someone will find the different items in my app. I have four main sections: Get Started, My Plan, Idea Board, and About the App.
This week we spent our time on creating a SSNif chart, content map, persona list, and content inventory. My stakeholders include: a high school graduate, a middle school teacher, a homemaker, and a college student. My four personas are: Sarah Fennema (26), Althea Kemmer (30), Nick Smith (22), and Darryl Gilland (19). My content inventory includes lots of items, but some of them aren’t actually needed for the final thesis project. The “…” on the content map illustrate that there is more than could be listed on the white board.
