Second Life
Second Life is a web application that simplifies finding charities that accept specific items and match personal values, streamlining donations.
Problem Statement
How might we enhance the user experience to enable individuals to easily discover and recognize trustworthy local charities, ensuring they feel assured about the meaningful impact of their contributions?
Problem Background
Ensuring the authenticity and transparency of charitable organizations is a pressing challenge in today's information-rich world. With the rise of online platforms, donors are overwhelmed with data that often lacks clarity and reliability. For example, 92% of Canadians are looking to donate clothes to local charities (Weber et al., 2023), and a University of Alberta study found that 55.4% directly donate their clothing to charitable organizations (Degenstein, 2021). However, many donors struggle to verify a charity's mission and the effective use of their contributions, leading to confusion and mistrust.
Consumer research, including surveys and interviews with 7 participants, shows that 66% care about where their donations go but find it challenging to access clear, trustworthy information. One participant noted, "I find it difficult to discover whether its mission statement is genuine." This feedback reflects a broader issue where potential donors struggle to verify charity missions, leading to hesitation and a lack of trust.
Second Life is a web application that simplifies finding charities accepting specific items and matching personal values, streamlining the donation process.
User Pain Points & Research Insights
We conducted 6 surveys and 3 user interviews. Through our research, we narrowed down the following pain points when it comes to the process of finding charitable organizations and donating:
- Research is challenging
- Finding charitable organizations based on location and value alignment are important
- Donors want to feel good about their contribution
Supporting Data
Research is challenging
- 66% struggle to find reliable information about charities.
- “all their sites suck” – said one participant
Finding charitable organizations based on location and value alignment are important
- 83% of participants said the charities’ mission was the most important when selecting a charity
- 66% of participants said that location was important when selecting a charity
Donors want to feel good about their contribution
- 66% of participants said that they care about where their donation goes
- 83% of participants donate because they want their items to go to someone else who can love them
Feedback
While there is a strong preference to donate clothes, our research confirmed a disconnect between existing charity information and where people search for it. This highlights the need for a streamlined, simple process to guide users from research to donation. A comprehensive platform that offers clear, reliable information about charities, aligns with personal values, and facilitates easy donations can bridge this gap, making charitable giving more accessible and trustworthy.
Landing on the Solution
Based on the pain points of our target users, we knew we wanted to work on the following features:
- Redesigned web user experience that provides quick and clear insights
- Data should be sufficient, but not excessive – just enough for the user to feel confident about their decisionsome text
- This could include data like mission & vision, location, quick financial stats, services provided, communities served, and items accepted for donation.
- Interact with users to find a charitable organization closest to them that aligns with their values
Solution Explanation
Second Life is a web-based (but not limited to web) platform designed to enhance the user experience when it comes to finding charities that accept their specific items, and align with their values, which help to streamline the journey from research to donation.
The MVP will include:
Home Page:
- Guide the user with simple statistics on how donations can be used
- Feature charities that may not receive a lot of funding and resources
About Page:
- Highlights the purpose of this platform and why donating is important vs. other methods of decluttering
- Helpful tips for users to make the most out of their donation
Charities Search Page:
- User can search by location (city or general city quadrant)
- User can search by categories of serviced communities (ie - education, youth, health)
Single Charity Page:
- Further about the charitable organization such as mission, location/contact information, accepted items, financial stats
User Flows/Mockups
Future Steps
As an engineer, I’d like to build this platform with the designs provided. This idea came from a previous Co.Lab Bootcamp that I was a part of and built the previous version with the PM and Designer. Now, I'd like to take my background as a more experienced engineer, with my new knowledge of product management, and make this a platform that people can find useful.
References
- Weber et al, March 2023. Textile waste in Ontario, Canada: Opportunities for reuse and recycling
- Degenstein et al., 2021. ‘What goes where’? Characterizing Edmonton’s municipal clothing waste stream and consumer clothing disposal
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Atina Chang
1. As a developer, I always want to find the solution. Putting on my PM hat made me step back and think deeply about the problem space
2. Framing questions is important for getting the types of answers you want - don't leave too many open-ended questions. Research should include demographics so you can further understand the problem space.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.