Personas and Empathy Maps

In-depth research, including 12 interviews with Hatch leaders, uncovered three key archetypes. The "Project Lead" archetype was identified as having a significant influence on tool adoption across the organization. The research highlighted the need for better understanding of the “why” behind DPD’s adoption and its long-term benefits. Persona cards were created to better define these archetypes and guide the solution development.

Key Findings

• The "Project Lead" archetype is the key to driving adoption among other employees.
• Employees struggle to see the immediate benefits of DPD, as the value is realized over time.
• Questions like "Why do I need to work differently?" and "What's in it for me?" were central to employee resistance.

Methodoloy

• Workshops and Interviews: Engaged Hatch’s leadership in workshops to better understand the key pain points and opportunities for improving tool adoption.
• Persona Development: Personas were based on insights from the interviews and empathy maps to help inform design decisions.

Workshop in Providence

During the workshop in Providence, we used design thinking exercises to align the team on the problem at hand. Key activities included:

• Journey Maps: Mapped out the current employee journey in using DPD, highlighting pain points and opportunities for improvement.
• Empathy Maps: Used to better understand employee concerns and motivations.
• Hurdles and “How Might We” Questions: Identified major barriers to adoption and framed them as actionable design opportunities.
• Crazy 8’s: Generated multiple ideas to address the challenge of tool adoption, with the goal of selecting the most impactful concept.

Outcome

The insights gathered from the workshop and interviews led to the development of multiple creative solutions designed to promote DPD adoption and communicate its value to employees. Among the solutions, we chose to create an interactive chatbot experience within Microsoft Teams that would deliver the "why" behind DPD, engage employees, and educate them on its benefits. This approach allowed us to meet employees where they work, making the experience both familiar and easily accessible.

Other solutions we developed during the ideation phase included:

• Keystone Chatbot Experience:
The "Keystone" chatbot engages employees through multiple-choice questions, allowing them to collect rewards as they learn about the benefits of DPD. This experience not only educates employees but also helps Hatch monitor platform success and collect personalized feedback from users, fostering a sense of progress and achievement.
• Engineering the Future – World Building Game:
In this futuristic city-building game, employees can construct their own metropolis using Hatch's tools, simulating the long-term benefits of adopting DPD. As they mine for data (currency) or spin turbines to collect more resources, employees face strategic challenges that highlight the practical benefits of using DPD. This interactive game integrates real-world applications of the tools, encouraging employees to see the potential impact of their work on future projects.
• Give a Little, Get a Lot – Train Tracks Around the World:
This game showcases the communal value of shared data. Employees are tasked with laying down train tracks connecting Hatch's global offices. As sections of the track are completed, they can see who contributed, further reinforcing the collective effort required for DPD's success. The game integrates DPD's methodology and benefits by providing employees with actionable insights and helping them understand the positive impact of their contributions on a global scale.

Through these solutions, we crafted a strategy that not only informs employees about the DPD system but also actively engages them, helping them see the value of their participation in this digital transformation. The focus on gamification and interactive learning makes the onboarding experience more approachable and aligns with Hatch's goal to improve adoption of their new tools.

Methodoloy

• Workshops and Interviews: Engaged Hatch’s leadership in workshops to better understand the key pain points and opportunities for improving tool adoption.
• Persona Development: Personas were based on insights from the interviews and empathy maps to help inform design decisions.

Thinking Outside the Box

This project wasn’t a typical UX project, as it required us to think creatively while still applying core UX principles. The solution was to leverage gamification and AI to create an interactive chatbot experience in Microsoft Teams, where employees could learn about DPD through a narrative-driven RPG-style game.

• AI Bot in Microsoft Teams:
The chatbot would act as a guide, engaging employees with quizzes, games, and feedback. It provided an opportunity for employees to learn about the benefits of DPD in a way that felt natural and aligned with their workflow in Teams.
• Research on Teams Features:
We explored existing features of Microsoft Teams to understand the limitations and opportunities for the chatbot. The tool could support videos, images, and quizzes, but was text-heavy, limiting interaction types.
• Gamification Approach:
The idea of creating an RPG-like game was spearheaded, where employees could go through various phases accomplishing tasks and finding new storylines.
• Narrative Voice:
We designed distinct voices for the chatbot, including a playful, relatable character (Coach Cooper) who would guide users through learning about DPD. Some others were “The Time Traveler,” and “The Sage”.

Key Challenges

• Chatbot Limitations: Teams’ chatbot interface had limitations (e.g., heavy reliance on text), so the game had to be designed around this constraint.
• Integrating Real-World Benefits: We ensured the games subtly integrated real-world DPD benefits, making the learning experience both fun and informative.
• Story Alignment: The story had to resonate with the employees' experience and align with their concerns about adopting new tools.

What I Learned

• Leading Workshops: I gained valuable experience leading workshops, facilitating design thinking exercises, and collaborating closely with leadership to uncover insights.
• AI Prompting: I became proficient in AI prompting, using tools like MidJourney and Adobe Firefly to generate most of the visuals for the project. I created 85% of the images myself, which enhanced my understanding of generative AI in the design process.
• Balancing Creativity and Constraints: I learned how to balance creative concepts with the technical constraints of Microsoft Teams, ensuring the game experience was engaging while adhering to platform limitations.

What I Would Have Done Differently

I would have realigned the messaging and storyline with the client earlier in the process. Since we didn’t do this upfront, we had to make adjustments late in the design phase, resulting in rework on visuals and flow. Aligning the messaging earlier would have minimized this rework and streamlined the process.