UX RESEARCH REPORT FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECT
Scope
Objectives
The objectives of the UX research are to understand citizen experiences and satisfaction levels with waste collection and disposal in Aba, Abia State, and to identify opportunities for improvement and innovative solutions in waste management practices, considering the roles of technology, community engagement, and government policies.
Geographic areas
Methodology
Participant criteria
Recruitment
We recruited residents of different areas in Aba for this research.
We interviewed 25 people.
Key insights
Low satisfaction with current waste collection frequency and effectiveness.
Limited waste segregation indicates potential for education and infrastructure improvement.
Government intervention is crucial for policy implementation and infrastructure development.
Prevalence of illegal dumping underscores the need for enforcement and education.
Strong interest in technological solutions for waste management.
Ngozi Umeka
STORY:
Ngozi Umeka, a 32 year old woman who has a background in environmental science and has been working as an environmental officer for the local government in Aba for the past five years. Being an environmental officer, she is passionate about cleanliness of the city of Aba and is always looking for innovative solutions to improve the city's cleanliness. She has also helped in the end of the month clean up program done in ABA and yet she doesn't know how to make it more easier for people to make their environment clean.
Goals:
1. Ngozi's primary goal is to make sure Her environment is clean and to ensure there are ways to help ABA to keep aba clean against all odds.
2. She wants a sustainable solution that will make people in Aba to take care of the environment without much force so as to make Aba a conducive place for everyone
Challenges:
1. Ngozi faces challenges such as limited resources and the inability to control what is happening in people's environment because she can't be everywhere at every time.
2. She struggles to make sure everyone participates in the clean up program thereby sending out the corps to arrest people not involved in the clean up program.
3. Because of the refusal of aba to adopt to her system, she is searching for a new solution to the problem.
Occupation: Environmental Officer
Location: Seven up Street, Ogborhill, Aba
Age:32 years
Marital status: Single
Technological proficiency: Moderate
Mr Michael
Attah
Story:
Mr. Attah is an elderly retired officer who resides in Obohia Road which is located at Aba South in Abia state. He is a widower without kids and struggles to keep his house clean all by himself because of his health challenges. He relies on assistance from others to help him with household chores and he thereby finds it difficult to walk to a long distance to throw his dirt so he ends up littering his house and only dispose them in a gutter near his house at night.
Goals:
1. Mr Attah's primary goal is to find someone that will help him dispose his dirt and help him keep the house clean without inconveniencing the person.
2. To have trash cans that will be easier for him to dispose his dirt in his compound
Challenges:
1. Difficulty to walk a long distance to throw his dirt because of his health factor
2. He always call his neighbors which mostly ignore him because of how he inconvenience them.
3. He disposes dirt at his gutter which exposes him to the risk of getting caught and paying a fine
Occupation :Retired officer
Location: Obohia road, Aba
Age: 76
Marital status: Widower
Technological proficiency: Inexperienced /Computer illiterate
Mrs. Ugochi Amos
User Story:
Mrs Ugochi is a business woman who sells all kinds of vegetables and perishable food in Highlife market in Aba.
After each day in the market, she tends to dispose spoilt and used goods in a big trash bag and give to waste pickers who charges her at an outrageous price. When she doesn't pay to dispose it , the goods tends to decay and stench thereby making it uncomfortable for her and her customers in her shop.
Goals:
1. To keep her shop clean at all times to prompt cleanliness and to maintain her personality.
2. She wants to get people who will charge at a fair price to help dispose her waste.
Challenges:
1. She experiences stench and dirt worms in her shop when ever she leaves her dirt in a waste bag for 2 days
2. She's always tempted to throw her dirt in the roadside at night because of the outrageous price of pickers in her area .
3. She looses customers each time she leaves dirt in her shop and it ends up infecting her good products.
Occupation: Trader
Location: Highlife market, Aba
Age: 30 years
Marital status: Married
Technological proficiency: Inexperienced
Mrs. Nkechi Okoro
User Story :
Mrs. Okoro is a 42 year old woman who has 3 kid and lives with her husband. She is a teacher who has lived in Aba her entire life. Her house is very close to heap of dirt that are disposed by people around her area. Her road is bad too so she has to walk her children to school through the dirt . She and her family always inhale bad odour of the heap of dirt even when they are eating.
Goals:
1. She is concerned about the increasing amount of waste in her neighborhood and wants to do her part to help keep the city clean.
2. She want to be free from air pollution thereby stopping people who drop dirt over her house by reporting to government organizations
Challenges:
1. She always late to work because she has to go through the heap before she could get to vehicles that could take she and her children to school
2. Her children suffer from different health challenges especially when it rained and they have to dip their legs through the dirt so the could pass through.
3. She experiences air pollution which makes it difficult for her to invite friends over her place because of the embarrassment.
Occupation: Teacher
Location: Uratta, Port Harcourt road
Age: 42 years
Marital status: Married
Technological proficiency: Moderate
What Next?
Stakeholder Consultation: Share the research findings with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, private waste management companies, NGOs, and community organizations, to gather feedback and input.
Solution Development: Based on the identified insights and stakeholder feedback, develop targeted solutions and interventions to address the key challenges and opportunities identified in the research.
Prototype Testing: Design and prototype solutions, such as technological tools, community engagement initiatives, or policy recommendations, and conduct testing with target users to validate effectiveness and usability.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of implemented solutions, collecting feedback from stakeholders, and making iterative improvements as needed.
Scale-up and Expansion: Scale up successful initiatives and interventions to broader areas of Aba, Abia State, and explore opportunities for expansion to other regions facing similar waste management challenges.
Community Engagement and Education: Conduct ongoing community engagement activities, awareness campaigns, and educational programs to promote sustainable waste management practices and foster a culture of environmental responsibility among residents.