seek by iNaturalist
adding a step-by-step ID feature for an app to identify plants and animals near you
overview
This project was completed as the first capstone project for Phase 2 of the DesignLab UX Academy. The project was to add a feature to an already existing mobile app. Changing the product brand was non-negotiable, and the final deliverable was a high-fidelity prototype.
The new feature has not been sent to developers.
summary and scope
my role
UX researcher UX/UI designer
project period
December 2023 to March 2024 (~60 hours)
product goal
To create a feature(s) that allows Seek users to record accurate observations of species.
skills
ux research, affinity mapping, information architecture, wireframing, ui design, prototyping, usability testing
design process
define → research → analyze → design → prototype → test → iterate
understanding the background of the platform
Seek is an app released in 2019 by the organization, iNaturalist, which is “an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature”.
As stated on the website:
“Take your nature knowledge up a notch with Seek! Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi and participate in monthly observation challenges.
Get outside and point the Seek Camera at living things.
Identify wildlife, plants, and fungi and learn about the organisms all around you
Earn badges for observing different types of species and participating in challenges”
The app also shows lists of commonly recorded organisms in your area. Seek is free for users and can be downloaded on both the Apple Store and Google Play.
what’s the problem with the app?
Though Seek is continuously updated and improved, there are still new features that could be implemented to mitigate new and recurring issues. There are many instances where the app cannot correctly identify the species, even though that is the primary function of the app; it tends to struggle even with a perfectly clear image to make the identification, which isn’t always possible to achieve depending on the phone being used or if the organism is moving, etc.
identification issues
To understand more about the problem space, user interviews were conducted, as well as a competitor analysis analyzing other popular plant/animal identification apps.
competitor analysis
Competitor analysis allowed me to find opportunities for Seek to improve the outcomes of the observations by looking at what the other apps have to offer.
key opportunities from competitor analysis
Merlin’s Bird ID app includes the ability to create an identification by answering a few questions and then being able to select your species
All apps include many additional educational resources about the identified species
what can we learn from user interviews?
Determine what motivates the user to use the app.
Understand how using the app fits into the users’ daily life.
Learn what users desire to accomplish when using the app.
Understand the process the user takes to record observations in the app.
Discern if there are any difficult or frustrating parts of that process or of using the app overall.
analyzing interview results through affinity mapping
pain points from user interviews
Uploading photos into the app is a clunky experience
Users don’t know how to improve their photos if the app is unable to identify the species
Users are unable to give feedback to the app on if the identification was correct or not
Users wish to help the app narrow down options, especially if they know generally what the species should be
Once the pain-points were defined, it was time to start brainstorming solutions. I first developed two POV statements, which were then converted into specific “how might we” questions; these helped me move forward to develop the two new features to be added to the app.
ideation to prioritization
telling the story through storyboarding
With my two main problems organized as HMWs, I created two storyboards to represent possible solutions with positive outcomes from the user; these stories helped show an ideal app experience.
creating user personas
After gaining major insights from my interview analysis, I was able to create two user personas: “Jack” encompasses users who utilize Seek for more work purposes, while “Jill” represents users who use Seek more for fun and hobby purposes.
prioritizing features
Following user interviews and the competitor analysis, it was pretty clear at this point what the main features needed to be, so it came down to documenting what already exists in the app and other potential future additions.
The features were prioritized ranging from “must-haves” to “can come later,” by deciphering which features would have the most impact and could be implemented within the given project timeframe.
Next, I was able to move on to user flows, which included the old steps as one pathway, as well as the new feature pathway.
interaction design
visualizing the flows as low-fidelity wireframes
With the two user flows in hand, it was time to develop screens to match each step. I began by taking screenshots of existing screens on the app and replicating its elements to use on the new screens that branched from the existing flows.
After receiving feedback from other students and my mentor, I made a few iterations before moving on to higher-fidelity screens in order to ensure its usability and to save time in future steps.
user interface design and high-fidelity wireframing
Because the Seek brand already exists, I had to make sure my new components matched the style and dimensions of the current interface. I found a font as close as possible to the original, matched the colors, replicated the bottom navigation bar, and created new frames over existing buttons so I could format them as needed on new screens. After the UI components were created, I put everything together into my first iteration of high-fidelity wireframes.
After my first high-fidelity iterations of screens were complete, it was time to validate my design through usability testing. I conducted interviews where users were asked to complete the two following tasks using provided photos.
planning a usability test
through testing, I wanted to accomplish this goal: →
“To find if users can easily find and use the new Step-by-Step ID feature, along with the ability to edit previous observations; additionally, to ensure the 5 usability principles are met.”
user tasks
The user will use the new Step-by-Step ID feature to identify a snake they found.
The user will edit a previous observation and select the correct species.
analyzing & prioritizing test results
Following the testing, I prioritized which possible iterations would be actionable at this time, and I documented them on the screen so I could visually see exactly what needed to be changed. I landed on a few main actionable recommendations to be iterated, as well as future recommendations.
Move “edit observation” button/interaction higher or move it back onto the main “My Observations” page to maintain consistency with current design
Change the “select multiple options” radio buttons to checkboxes to maintain consistency with general usability standards
Update text on “This is my species” button, and change button interaction in prototype
Increase question prompts’ text size to 16 px
Edit random spacing in current UI
actionable recommendations
Additional distinctive features section on species details page to help users gain confidence that their species is correct
Add ability to do a side-by-side comparison of two species from the potential species list
Use different graphics to show size options- something to help the user better gauge the size of the species
Decide on set number of questions, regardless of what is being identified, or use a progress bar for more flexibility with number of questions
Include questions for identification or labels on species that are pets or houseplants to include in the possible species
future considerations
final prototype
Overall, this project allowed me to complete a more real-life design scenario where I worked with an already existing product. I completed research and prioritized ideas to come up with the most beneficial app feature(s) for the users, and I continued to get more practice designing and working with UX platforms. I created user personas based on research, and designed features based on the needs of the personas. Also, usability testing allowed me to validate my new designs and ensure they meet the needs of the users.
conclusion
A major struggle I had during this project was time; I was working two jobs, so that really put me behind. It was also difficult to find Seek users to interview- I knew of two right away, but the other users I interviewed were people who downloaded the app to help me out.
Also, it was difficult to know what questions to include in my step-by-step ID flow. The questions would likely depend on the general classification of the species and its location (like how many possible species are in that area). Some questions could be more beneficial than others, but I don’t think I would really be able to figure that out until the feature has been implemented and the accuracy of observations could be assessed.