September 05, 2013
As the third part of this prototyping series, Cris Valerio shares her experience planning, implementing, and iterating one of four prototypes created by the IDEO.org team and CGAP to increase mobile money usage in Ghana.
Working with the CGAP and client teams to synthesize concepts around how to increase mobile money usage in Ghana, we emerged with a plan to test four main prototypes. In this blog post, I’ll be concentrating on one of these prototypes - creating tools to help our client educate and woo potential customers to their product. By increasing the customer base, more unbanked individuals are given the opportunity to benefit from financial inclusion.
This design challenge took me back to my roots: visual storytelling.
We had three basic assumptions to address and we tested these by creating two tools, which arose from our insights during the Discover part of the HCD process.
TOOL #1: Videos showcasing different users and uses of the mobile banking product. So, for example, how does a trotro driver use his mobile wallet? How does a market lady use it?
TOOL #2: Simple flyers with key messages printed on them including: the USSD string required to access the banking platform, a picture of the sign where customers can find agents, and the phone number to call with questions.
Now, what assumptions did we want to test using these tools?
- Will sharing real stories of different users attract potential customers by giving them ideas on how to utilize the service?
- Will these tools go beyond an initial introduction to the product by helping people understand how to use it?
- Can these tools ensure a consistent, quality engagement between the telecom sales force and customers? And will that guarantee a more active customer base?
Before we could test these assumptions, though, we needed to build our tools. So off we went - Carla and John to their hotel rooms to cut and paste together a (very) analog USSD flyer, while I ventured off with Sharifa, our videographer, to meet interview subjects.
Filming in the field is always an adventure. That’s as true for covering the swine flu in Mexico City as covering an Apple product release in San Francisco. Producing a video in Accra was no different. There are however some things to keep in mind when shooting in an urban African slum. For instance, it is really hot... like, ‘your batteries are overheating and gear is not functioning’ hot.
Coming across people who yell, scream and act up for the camera is nothing new. I once had a drunken transvestite try to take my mic away while doing a live shot in Santiago, Chile. I like to think I can handle situations. But having a trotro stationmaster come up to you, admittedly drunk, and say “Stop filming. You are just trying to show the world we are poor,” invokes different feelings.
Finally there is the fact that the interview is happening in Twi. Though working with a translator is rather common, as part of the human-centered design process (at least if you work for IDEO.org), try producing, writing and editing a video in an Akan dialect. Let’s just say it’s not easy. This is where I learned prototyping lesson number one: it doesn’t have to be perfect. I spent four days producing four videos in two languages. In my (24-hour cable news) professional opinion this was a very slow turnaround. Part of it was due to the simple fact that I was working with a less experienced team than I was used to. Part of it was that I took great pains to make sure that the story we were telling flowed correctly in the local language.
The truth is, our end product was “too good”. The purpose of a prototype is to be used as a tool to elicit reactions. It doesn’t need to be broadcast level quality. In fact, prototypes need to be rough enough so that you can crumple it, throw it out, and start anew. By making the prototype too “perfect” so to speak, we left little room for our client to creatively build on it.
We did learn a lot from the prototypes, though, both the analog and digital versions, which we iterated upon throughout our time in Accra. For instance, people stopped asking WHAT the product was and started asking HOW to use it. We also learned that the telecom sales force enjoyed carrying around tablets to showcase the videos as it gave them credibility in the field.
In the end, our client ended up deploying this prototype at scale. As of now, 10,000 copies of the flyer are being distributed throughout Ghana, 150 sales people are about to receive tablets with the videos embedded on them, and our client is working with an ad agency to brand the videos and air them on television.
This prototype was not intended to be a final version, but we understand our clients need to take advantage of resources. They need to execute on strategy. Companies are action oriented and sometimes the best thing you can offer, as an innovation consultant, is something that is easily and quickly deployable.
My takeaway is just to be sure to fully understand this potential situation from the beginning. Be sure this is not an unintended result of investing too much time and energy into one prototype.
All in all, it was a wonderful learning experience for our team. That’s what I love about the design process. Keep iterating in life y’all.