A Service Design Solution that Increased 110% Voice Activity
A project that uncovered users’ true concerns and opened up opportunities for active engagement in sessions.
A study group 1,600+ members and 50+ study sessions.
“The members are growing, but the participation rate is going down.”
But Why?
Study Club++ was founded in January 2024 and has grown organically to 1,600 members within a year. However, the management team shared that many members were dropping out during study sessions without knowing why. That’s how my journey as a designer on this project began! To uncover the reasons and help increase participation.
THIS PROJECT DEMONSTRATES:
Conducting in-depth pilot studies and user research, followed by thoughtful data analysis.
Leading organized meetings and implementing a micro-communication system to improve team coordination.
Showing resilience and a strong sense of responsibility to keep momentum going—even when engagement declines over time.
My role was to take leadership and maintain clear communication about our design process and decisions with both the team and stakeholders. My key takeaways from this workshop were:
Keep asking “why” about users’ actions until you understand the deeper emotions driving their decisions.
Never ignore your curiosity—speak up, articulate your thoughts, and keep discussing until you reach a meaningful outcome.
MY ROLE:
TEAM:
Cross-functional team
Admitting mistakes in data coding and persuading the team to start over, prioritizing accuracy over pride.
Keeping communication open and encouraging stakeholders during periods of low engagement—especially in a remote setting.
Going the extra mile, even when no one was watching.
CHALLENGES I EMBRACED:
Participation rates tend to drop midway through the study sessions
STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS
To ensure a structured and aligned approach, we developed interview guidelines covering key themes such as stakeholder goals, challenges, and observations on participation trends. This helped us conduct consistent, insightful interviews that informed our next steps.
To craft effective user interview questions, we first spoke with three key stakeholders to understand their goals and the challenges they faced. Through observation and discussion, we identified a critical insight: participation rates tend to drop midway through the study sessions.
Researching the root cause of the low retention
USER INTERVIEW
We interviewed 6 users and—to maintain consistency—I created a user script with structured open-ended questions based on the pilot interview responses. By probing with “Why?”, I encouraged users to reflect on the underlying reasons for their behavior, uncovering deeper insights into why they dropped out midway through the sessions.
Organizing insights for process clarity
To better grasp each user’s experience, I took a careful approach. I quickly scanned each transcription, highlighting key quotes for later reference. Then, I categorized the insights to organize them visually in my mind. This process proved invaluable when presenting solutions to stakeholders and demonstrating the impact of each one.
DATA CODING AND AFFINITY CLUSTERING
Categorizing and analyzing data - learning from mistakes
With the data we gathered, it was time to define themes. Initially, we focused too much on categorizing what was “good” or “bad,” which introduced bias into our analysis. Over time, we realized this approach didn’t effectively address the underlying “why” factors behind user behavior and sentiment.
Recognizing this, I suggested a new way to focus on broader behavioral and motivational factors, allowing us to better understand the dynamics of user experiences. Instead of categorizing based on observed outcomes like participation rates, we reframed our themes to focus on the drivers and barriers of these outcomes.
Key findings
1. Low participation in study sessions with little interaction
Participants struggle to maintain focus in sessions with passive listeners, often choosing to disengage when they feel their absence won’t affect others. The lack of interaction and growing disengagement lead to reduced motivation, where some attendees resort to muting and distractions during the session, further diminishing the overall participation.
2. Difficulties arise when there is a large skill gap within the study group
A significant skill gap can lead to frustration, as participants may end up repeating content they already know or feel that their contributions aren’t helping others. When the group’s skill level varies greatly, beginners feel lost or overwhelmed, and the experience sometimes feels like “blind leading the blind.”
3. The act of doing it together itself serves as motivation
Collaborating with others provides motivation, as shared encouragement and camaraderie help overcome challenges. Observing peers and learning from their experiences fosters growth and makes previously difficult tasks easier, turning the collective effort into an inspiring and rewarding opportunity.
It’s time to explore how we can solve problems and uncover opportunities
ROOT CAUSE AND HMW SESSION
To understand the factors shaping each experience and identify potential opportunities, we applied the 5 Whys and Statement Starters techniques. This allowed us to dive deep into the motivations driving user behavior and uncover the root causes. From there, we used the HMW (How Might We) framework to explore how to focus our solutions. Through this process, we learned that the HMW question and the initial problem should always be closely aligned—having a clear understanding of the problem and how to solve it helps ensure the intent behind our solutions remains focused and actionable.
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"In rooms where there are people who just listen, it's difficult to maintain focus until the end."
"If my absence doesn’t cause any harm, I decide not to attend in the first place."
"There were times when I just listened, and since the conversation went off-topic, I muted myself and did other things for an hour."
"After realizing the low level of participation, I almost stopped attending."
"So, from the perspective of those who don’t present, because it’s online, honestly, the level of concentration tends to drop significantly."
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"It's difficult, but let's do it together and encourage each other..."
"Watching what others do motivates me."
"It's nice to be able to do things I couldn't do alone before, even with the pressure, when I'm with others."
"The best part was learning things I hadn’t considered from others."
"The feeling of doing it with others serves as a stimulus, inspiration, and learning opportunity, which I see as a great chance for growth."
"It’s difficult alone, but it's easier to establish a routine when doing it together."
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"It was disappointing because there were times when I kept repeating things I already knew or prepared presentation materials, but it didn’t seem to help."
"I came in to learn, but since everyone was a beginner, there were times when I felt lost."
"It felt like the blind leading the blind, so I’m still quite confused."
"We selected a book with a very difficult topic, and now we’re all struggling together."
"The level is high, so it’s difficult to keep up, but I’ll try to follow again."
Generating feasible and impactful solutions
IDEA VIGNETTES AND PRIORITIZATION GRID
Using the HMW questions, we set aside 25 minutes to brainstorm ideas. After generating a wide range of solutions, we prioritized those that were both impactful and easy to implement. We also conducted a round-robin activity to identify potential hurdles for each solution and how to overcome them. It was a refreshing experience, allowing us to share diverse perspectives and collaboratively solve problems.
Discussing solutions with stakeholders
To present persuasive solutions to the stakeholders, we explained the process of identifying the initial problem and deriving potential solutions. We highlighted the common user issues, followed by our solutions and their expected impact (including supporting data). This approach demonstrated why our solutions were essential and helped us narrow down the top 5 actionable solutions. We also outlined specific ways to implement these solutions effectively, taking into account the resources and constraints at Study Club++.
SEEKING SPECIFI SOLUTIONS - 1 OF 5 EXAMPLE
Turning on cameras for visual communication
During the brainstorming session, we realized that due to significant time zone differences, some users were not comfortable turning on their cameras. Mandating it abruptly could create resistance. To address this, I decided on two approaches: 1) UX writing that is friendly and inviting, and 2) using a character-based approach, appealing to users with a playful, childlike perspective to ease any discomfort.
Problem
Users felt a lack of interaction and motivation. Some people turned off their cameras and microphones and did something else during the study session because they felt that not attending or interacting wouldn’t harm others.
Approach
I wondered why interaction was low and realized most people turn off their cameras, leaving only their microphones on. This blocks seeing physical reactions, eye contact, smiles, and casual conversations. So, I came up with the idea of a “Camera On” campaign!
Approaching smoothly to convince users to turn their cameras on
RESULT
110% increased in voice activity!
The Camera On project was implemented more quickly than other solutions due to its simplicity. We launched it in February, and by April, usage increased from 3,332 to 7,019 minutes. A 110% increase!
I am now collaborating with stakeholders and users to gather results from surveys. Stay tuned!
KEY LESSON I LEARNED
Building Persistence and Effective Communication: Key Lessons in Stakeholder Collaboration for UX Success
We’re collaborating with stakeholders to implement five solutions within the organization. I’ve learned the challenge of maintaining motivation in a non-profit setting and the importance of balancing reminders with breaks. Through this, I’ve grown persistent, regularly reaching out to designers and stakeholders, and following up 1:1 when necessary to improve communication and ensure well-being.