Iron Hack Scholarship
Virgin Galactic App Concept
For my application to the Iron Hack x The Sims Scholarship I developed an app concept for Virgin Galactic. The main aim was to find a way to increase collaborations or donations.
We had to complete four sprints in four days to reach a low-fidelity prototype of our solution. The fourth sprint was to make a presentation of our findings – I will not include the presentation here.
Sprint 1 – Learn
1.1 – Pain Points
Task: Describe the pain points in the website experience. Go to Virgin Galactic Website. Browse the web to discover what you can do in it.
- Pain Point 1
After you skip the introduction, you immediately get another introduction.
User reaction: frustration, annoyance, time loss. - Pain Point 2
Recently updated Website
User reaction: Old users might find the new site somewhat unusual and therefore confusing to get around - Pain Point 3
CTA’s don’t stand out well enough – not accessibly designed
User reaction: sadness, exclusion
- Pain Point 4
Loading time is quite high – scored very low on the PageSpeed Insights from google
User reaction: impatience, frustration, annoyance - Pain Point 5
Certain sub-pages aren’t optimised for mobile. e.g. text is cut off on subpage “Mission”
User reaction: frustration, annoyance - Pain Point 6
Confusing navigation – Navigation points not consistent
User reaction: frustration, annoyance
- Pain Point 1
After you skip the introduction, you immediately get another introduction.
User reaction: frustration, annoyance, time loss. - Pain Point 2
Recently updated Website
User reaction: Old users might find the new site somewhat unusual and therefore confusing to get around - Pain Point 3
CTA’s don’t stand out well enough – not accessibly designed
User reaction: sadness, exclusion - Pain Point 4
Loading time is quite high – scored very low on the PageSpeed Insights from google
User reaction: impatience, frustration, annoyance - Pain Point 5
Certain sub-pages aren’t optimised for mobile. e.g. text is cut off on subpage “Mission”
User reaction: frustration, annoyance - Pain Point 6
Confusing navigation – Navigation points not consistent
User reaction: frustration, annoyance
1.2 – User Stories
Task: Point out the actions the user can perform as user stories. List the tasks a user can complete in this website. Hint: gain awareness and get informed are not tasks that can be completed.
- As a science student, I want to see the latest media of space science, to satisfy my interest in the topic.
- As an investor, I want to see their latest financial materials, so that I can make an educated decision.
- As a (rich) space enthusiast, I want to sign up for a flight, so that I can go into space.
- As a rocket scientist, I want to get some research papers from Virgin Galactic, so I can use it for my projects.
- As a job seeker (e.g. designer, engineer, astronaut), I want to join the team, to be part of a cool unique project.
- As a professor, I want to enquire about researching options with Virgin Galactic, so that I have data for a project.
1.3 – Task Flow
Task: How can the user become a collaborator for Virgin Galactic? Describe the task flow within the interface.
1.4 – Ways to get engaged
Task: How can the user support Virgin Galactic’s mission? Point out the existing ways to get engaged.
Virgin Galactic’s missions:
- Using space for good
To be the Spaceline for Earth - VSS Unity
Offer everyone the opportunity to become private astronauts and experience the wonder of space for themselves. Our spaceships will also offer the research community a unique platform for space-based science. - Democratizing Space
Inspiring young people through space-inspired Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives.
The user can support Virgin Galactic’s mission by:
- Collaborating with the research team
- Sign up for the seat waiting list for upcoming flights
- Join the growing Virgin Galactic Team
- Become an Investor
- Donate to Galactic Unite program
Sprint 2 – Define
2.1 -Problem Statement
Task: Define what problem you are helping your user to overcome with a problem statement. Previous analysis points will give you a few different ideas on what to improve. Pick one opportunity.
My Statement:
The space enthusiast needs a way to donate to the Galactic Unite program from Virgin Galactic’s website because he/she wants to support future generations of space explorations.
2.2 -Hypothesis Statement
Task: Clearly explain what you’re going to work on with a hypothesis statement for the app design and experience optimization. Back up your decisions using insights you got from the previous analysis. Include reasoning and process.
My Statement:
I believe providing a way to donate from the virgin galactic website for users interested in donating to the Galactic Unite program will achieve a higher rate of donations. I will know I am right when the donations for the Galactic Unite program increase by 10% through the traffic on virgin galactic.
3.1 – User flow
Task: Plan a User flow of how the user would use the app to complete the task.
3.2 – Wireframe
Task: *BONUS* Wireframe the happy path. Design the flow of a user navigating from home until they successfully completed the task. We’ll be looking into the reasoning to improve the user experience.
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