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Restore the Balance
An engaging case study that helps RTB organization understand their user base, website analytics and to increase awareness about political Extremism
Team : Renooh Sivakumar, Gyslain Kabisa, Yuchen Zhang, Nathan Clarke
My Role
UX Researcher
Client
Timeline
March - April 2024
Tools & Skills
User Interviews, Usability Testing, A/B Testing, Participant Recruiting, Mod Guide, Business Strategy, Desk Research
Overview
Prompt
Restore the Balance was Founded in 2021 in response to the January 6th insurrection and the political extremism creating distrust in our governmental institutions and a partisan divide damaging to the democracy
Background
The background for conducting a UX research study for Restore the Balance stems from their mission to combat political extremism and promote civil discourse in response to the events of the January 6th insurrection and the growing partisan divide.
Understanding user behavior, preferences, and motivations is crucial for optimizing the platform, attracting new users, and sustaining the organization's impact beyond the 2024 presidential election.
Initial Research
Target Users
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Concerned Citizens: Those troubled by political extremism, prioritizing civil discourse.
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Unaffiliated Voters: Individuals seeking nonpartisan resources for informed voting.
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Young Adults: Engaged millennials and Gen Z disenchanted by polarized politics.
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Community Leaders: Local activists fostering dialogue and collaboration.
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Educators/Students: Teachers and students promoting civil discourse in education.
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Media Consumers: Online news consumers seeking reliable political information.
Methods Used
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Interviews
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Desk Research
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Usability Testing
How Might We Questions ?
01
How might we uncover user insights like behaviors, habits and motivations ?
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How might we understand what could be improved in website ?
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How might we understand way to increase awareness/ discoverability ?
Usability Testing
Insights for the RTB website
Through multiple user interview participants interacting with the client's website, the following insights were obtained..
#1
Most users felt that the Information Hierarchy isn’t clear i.e the navigation menu seemed confusing.
Recommendation :
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The Homepage layout could be improved to prioritize important features like About Us, Donate, Pledge Signup, Upcoming Events and Candidate info on the navigation menu.
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Sub Menus can be added into each webpage for a cleaner theme and increased readability
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Users expressed that they would like to see the calender of events on a separate page instead of scrolling to the bottom to find it.
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#2
Q) What if anything do you dislike or find confusing about this website?
Most users felt the website design and font system is outdated although they liked the color palatte
Recommendation :
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Redesign certain aspects of the website to suit the changing needs of the users
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For example, using a more modern font family like Roboto, Inter etc.
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Make use of Negative space, for a more modern look and feel of the website with consistent Hierarchy and Imagery that suits RTB.
#3
Q) Is there anything that RTB could change to make the organization more appealing?
Users are more likely to trust content online if they can easily access the data behind the claims in the article.
Recommendation :
With every claim published on the site, make sure to back up the claims with facts and links to the sources.
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#4
Q) After the 2024 election in November, what topics would you be interested in seeing in the context of this website?
Passive users felt that they are likely to stay engaged if issues that are affecting them or their communities are put in the spotlight
Recommendation :
Address topics like Cost of Living, Economic Conditions, Trust in the federal, local, state government, Proposition HH, Trust in 2024 Elections, Trust in Public Figures, Black Lives Matter, Race Relations passively through articles while leveraging the existing writer's group.
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#5
Q) Are you interested in signing the pledge to reject political extremism?
Users felt that it is confusing to see a feature that lets you sign up for the pledge without having the opportunity to read it first. This can be misleading for some users.
Recommendation :
Have the layout of the pledge sign up page in such a way that users have option to sign the pledge after reading it.
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#6
Q) Are you interested in becoming a potential RTB user?
New users are interested in seeing exactly how RTB engages in political discourse and what a healthy conversation might look like.
Recommendation :
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Display powerful imagery, video or text samples on the homepage of how RTB conducts its healthy discourse in real time
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Have meeting links to join events that are conducted in real time as many RTB users may live far away but may want to passively participate.
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