SUBMISSION FOR MY REVIEWING OF ONE OF MODULE OF MY CHOICE.

STORYTELLING

Storytelling for Urban Commuting Woes

Challenge: My city has a notoriously bad public transportation system. Buses are unreliable, crowded,
and often run behind schedule. This makes commuting to work a stressful and frustrating experience.

1. Challenge: Redesigning the Onboarding Process for a Fitness App

Challenge Description: Many people download fitness apps but struggle to stay engaged after the initial
sign-up. The onboarding process for this particular fitness app is clunky and fails to capture the user's
goals and preferences. This leads to a generic workout plan that isn't personalized or motivating,
resulting in users abandoning the app.

2. Selection: Storytelling

Out of the three design thinking tools, I chose storytelling (Module 2) to tackle this challenge.
Storytelling allows me to step into the shoes of the target user and understand their motivations,
frustrations, and aspirations related to fitness. By crafting a user story, I can identify pain points in the
current onboarding process and use that insight to design a more engaging and personalized experience.

Application: Crafting a User Story

I began by creating a user persona, Sarah, a busy professional who wants to get in shape but feels
overwhelmed by the idea of creating a workout routine.

Here's Sarah's Story:

Goal: Sarah wants to lose weight and build muscle tone.

Challenge: She doesn't have a lot of free time and feels intimidated by complex workout plans.

Experience: Sarah downloads the fitness app but gets discouraged during the onboarding process. The
app asks for her fitness level, but the options are vague, and there's no opportunity to specify her goals.
She gets assigned a generic workout plan that doesn't consider her preferences or limitations. Feeling
lost and unsure, Sarah abandons the app.

Insight: Empathy and Personalization are Key

By storytelling from Sarah's perspective, I gained valuable insight. The impersonal onboarding process
fails to understand her needs and goals. An effective onboarding process should gather more specific
information about the user's fitness level, goals, and time constraints. This would allow for a
personalized workout plan that is both achievable and motivating.

Approach: Using Storytelling Throughout the Design Process

Next time, I would use storytelling not just to understand the problem but also to envision the ideal
solution. I would craft a story of Sarah successfully using the redesigned onboarding process. This would
involve a clear explanation of her goals, a personalized workout plan based on her preferences, and
ongoing support and guidance from the app. This would not only guide the design of the onboarding
process but also influence the overall features and functionalities of the app.

This approach would create a more cohesive user experience, with the onboarding process seamlessly
transitioning into a personalized fitness journey for Sarah and users like her.

By using storytelling throughout the design process, I can design with empathy and ensure the app
addresses the user's needs and aspirations, ultimately leading to a more successful fitness experience.

Selection: I decided to use storytelling (Module 2) to explore this challenge. Storytelling allows me to
step into the shoes of commuters and understand their daily struggles on an emotional level. This
empathy can be crucial in designing solutions that truly address user needs.

Application: I created a short story from the perspective of a young professional named Sarah who relies
on the bus to get to work. The story details her morning routine – the frantic wake-up call, the long wait
at the bus stop, the sardine-can ride, and the inevitable arrival at work flustered and behind schedule.

Insight: Writing this story helped me see the human impact of a poorly designed system. Beyond the
inconvenience, unreliable public transportation can lead to stress, anxiety, and even job insecurity. This
insight highlighted the importance of designing solutions that not only improve efficiency but also
consider the well-being of commuters.

Approach: Next time, I would like to expand the story to include different types of commuters –
students, parents, and senior citizens. This would provide a more well-rounded perspective on the
challenge and potentially reveal additional needs and considerations. Additionally, I could conduct short
interviews with real commuters to gather their stories and experiences, enriching the narrative with real
-life details.

By using storytelling to build empathy and understanding, I believe we can design a public
transportation system that is not just functional but also user-centered and improves the daily lives of
commuters in my city.