UK3766
**Submission 1 - Data Collection and User Evaluation**
**Team: Poliwag**
Siyu Zhu - 33608245
Tao Wan - 34296743
Yuhan Zhou - 33781931
Pinliang Chen - 34128573
**Introduction**
With the increasing cost of living, more people are depending on charities and food banks for support. This project aims to develop an app to assist individuals in donating food to charities and food banks, helping those in need. In this assignment, we will gather data through surveys, analyze the collected information, and create personas, user stories, and requirements based on this data.
### Part 1: Survey and Data Interpretation
1. **Brief description of your target audience (1 paragraph)**
The target users of this food donation app are adults who wish to donate food to charities and food banks. These may include socially responsible individuals, restaurant owners, environmentalists, and similar groups. These users are likely to have stable incomes and be dedicated to social good. They are highly concerned about food waste and have both the time and willingness to use simple technology to facilitate donations. Their interests include social service, environmental protection, and community building, and they prefer platforms that are easy to use and promote food donations effectively.
2. **A survey with 15 questions (No fewer, no more than 15)**
3. **Survey responses (minimum of 10 participants per group member) and interpretation**
**What do these patterns reveal?**
**Demographic Information**
In terms of demographics, the survey indicates that our user base consists primarily of young people with relatively high levels of education, but with a polarized income range. 37.5% earn less than AUD $10,000, while the rest are evenly distributed across income brackets ranging from $10,000 to over $150,000, accounting for 10%-20% each.
**Table 1: Age Distribution Overview**
**Table 2: Gender Distribution Overview**
**Table 3: Employment Distribution Overview**
**Table 4: Income Distribution Overview**
**Table 5: Educational Attainment Overview**
**Food Donation Behavior**
The survey on food donations shows that those who donate regularly remain a minority, with most respondents either not donating or doing so infrequently. The primary motivation for donating was to help those in need and to reduce food waste, with motivations exceeding 30% more than those who had donated, indicating that many people are willing to donate but are held back for some reason.
**Table 6: Food Donation Experience Survey**
**Table 7: Frequency of Food Donations**
**Table 8: Motivations for Donating Food**
**Food Donation Locations**
Half of the respondents knew where to donate and prioritized location when choosing a donation site (51.3%). Most learned about donation locations through social media (69.2%), and a majority (76.9%) expressed interest in learning about food donation sites.
**Table 9: Awareness of Food Donation Locations**
**Table 10: Factors When Choosing a Donation Location**
**Table 11: Information Sources**
**Table 12: Interest in the Destination of Donated Food**
**Food Donation Challenges**
In our survey, hesitation about food suitability was one of the factors hindering donations for over half the respondents. Participants primarily determined food suitability by guidelines and expiration dates. Common challenges included time constraints, transportation issues, uncertainty about food suitability, and lack of knowledge about donation sites.
**Table 13: Uncertainty About Food Suitability Survey**
**Table 14: Determining Food Suitability**
**Table 15: Challenges in Food Donation**
**What have you learned about your users?**
Our survey analysis has provided us with key insights into our user base. Most users are young adults, with 50% aged 18-24 and 37.5% aged 25-34. There's a slight gender imbalance, with 52.5% male and 40% female users. In terms of employment, 45% are full-time employees, and 37.5% are students. Income levels vary, with 37.5% earning less than AUD $10,000 annually. Most users are well-educated, with 47.5% holding bachelor's degrees and 35% with master's degrees.
When it comes to food donation habits, 60% have donated food before, though not within the last year, indicating infrequent donations. The primary motivations for donating are helping those in need (71.8%) and reducing food waste (56.4%). Location was the most significant factor (51.3%) when choosing donation sites, followed by reputation and types of donations accepted. Social media played a critical role, with 69.2% using it to learn about charities and food banks. Notably, 76.9% of respondents expressed a desire to know where their donated food goes, highlighting the need for transparency. However, 53.8% hesitated to donate due to uncertainty about food suitability.
These insights suggest that while our users are socially conscious and well-educated, they value convenience, transparency, and reassurance in their donation activities.
**How will these insights guide the app design?**
1. The demographic data indicates that most respondents are students and full-time employees, which suggests they may not have sufficient time to donate food. The app should offer a scheduling feature for donations, allowing users to make appointments to avoid missing donations due to time constraints.
2. Based on the food donation section, most respondents are willing to donate to help others, but have never donated before. The app can include stories and data on how donations help to encourage them to donate.
3. The majority of respondents prioritize location when choosing a donation site. Thus, the app should include a map feature that allows users to find nearby food banks and navigate to them.
4. Since many respondents want to know where their donated food goes, the app should have a tracking feature that shows the final destination of the food.
5. Most respondents gave up donating due to uncertainty about food suitability. The app should provide a detailed guide for food donations and a photo feature that allows users to confirm if their food is suitable for donation.
**Challenges faced during data collection or aspects that may have skewed the data**
When designing the questionnaire and collecting data, several challenges may have affected the accuracy and quality of the data. First, it became clear during the group meeting that most members had no experience donating food, making it difficult to find suitable offline venues to distribute the questionnaire. As a result, we distributed the survey primarily through online platforms and social media, which led to a concentration of young internet users. This limits the diversity of respondents, as it is more difficult to gather responses from older individuals or those who rarely use the internet. Secondly, limited responses may result in data that is skewed towards specific groups and not representative of the entire user community. Finally, the 15-question survey might have caused some users to lose interest or fill it out haphazardly, leading to inaccurate data.
### Part 2: Personas and User Stories
**Siyu Zhu**
1. **2 User Personas**
**Persona 1**
[Link to Justinmind Personas Template - Google Slides]
**Persona 2**
[Link to Justinmind Personas Template - Google Slides]
2. **2 User Stories**
**User Story 1**
As Harley Linton, I want to view the locations of food banks and charities near me, so that I can choose the nearest location to donate food.
*Priority*: Must Have
*Justification*: Based on the collected data, 51.3% of respondents do not know any food donation locations. This suggests that some users may want to donate but do not because they are unsure where to go.
**User Story 2**
As Rory Riley, I want to track the food I donated so that I can clearly understand the specific destination of the donated food.
*Priority*: Must Have
*Justification*: According to the collected data, 77.5% of respondents want to know where the food they donated ends up. This means most users want to track their donations to ensure that they reach those who truly need them.
3. **2 Additional Requirements**
- Allow users to make appointments at donation locations.
- Allow users to track their food donations.
4. **Analysis/Reflection**
The majority of respondents are students and full-time employees, with 17.5% believing that donation hours are the most important factor in choosing a donation location. This suggests that time constraints prevent some users from donating, so my first requirement is to allow users to schedule donation appointments. Furthermore, 77.5% of respondents wanted to know the destination of their donated food, indicating a need for transparency. Providing a tracking feature can build trust with users and improve the reputation of the donation site.