Improving Research Efforts in wildlife conservation

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The conservation of burrowing owls faces significant challenges due to habitat loss and declining populations. Despite ongoing ground efforts, they need a platform to improve data sharing and collaboration among researchers, as well as to raise public awareness.

SOLUTION

To address these issues, I created an informative website to increase public engagement and a user-friendly data dashboard to help researchers access and analyze data efficiently. This strengthened conservation efforts by enhancing public awareness and research efficiency.

BACKGROUND

Safeguarding the Burrowing Owls‍

For our academic project, we were tasked with aiding the conservation of Burrowing Owls. These charming owls, known for their unique underground homes, inspire a dedicated effort to protect their habitats.

Empathy, Awareness, and Collaboration‍

The vision was to create a product that not only empathy for burrowing owls and raised awareness about their unique lives, along with giving a platform for researchers to collabrate the view research data.

“ The goal was was to highlight these delightful little birds and increase awareness of their importance”

DISCOVERY

Grasping stakeholder perspectives

‍During the research phase, we thoroughly explored the conservation challenges, identified key stakeholders, examined the habitat lifecycle, and reviewed existing conservation solutions.

Research with the researchers

‍We gained valuable insights through interviews, surveys, and observations to understand our users' perspectives and experiences.

Key Themes from Researcher Interviews

‍Interviews with eight academic researchers and conservationists revealed key challenges and opportunities in species conservation.

1. Raising public awareness on the conservation issues.

2. Sharing data among researchers and data was a huge challenge.

3. Creating alternative ecosystems for species conservation.

4. Efficiently managing volunteers and students is essential.

5. Prioritizing safety, ethics, and ecological well-being in research.

6. Researchers stress continuous monitoring, data analysis, and conservation support.

EXPLORATION

Crafting Personas for Precision

‍To understand researchers and their project goals, I created proto-personas. These provided detailed insights into our target audience, allowing us to tailor design solutions to their needs.

IDEATION

Balancing research with constraints

‍The researchers' insights were essential to our conservation project. The main challenge was balancing impactful work with broad benefits. We prioritized themes that could help a larger group and significantly benefit the owl species.

‍Two roles at once, a first!

‍The key insight was that researchers and conservationists acted as both users and clients. This shaped our approach to provide a solution that supported their data needs and conservation efforts for burrowing owls.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Mapping the journey

‍The goal was to align the researchers' dual roles within a single website. I designed an app architecture that integrates an informative site and a data viewing platform, serving both researchers and the public.

WIREFRAME

Iterative processes steer me to the best solution

‍After ideation, I explored several design iterations. The informational website aimed to cover all aspects of the burrowing owl project, while the dashboard provided researchers a centralized platform to access and analyze data.

DETAILED SOLUTION

Two-Pronged Strategy

‍The solution was divided to meet these needs: a website to raise awareness among researchers and a platform to facilitate seamless data sharing.

‍A platform for creating awareness

‍To increase public awareness, we developed a comprehensive website detailing project specifics, highlighting contributors, and describing ongoing conservation efforts to engage the general public and secure additional funding.

‍Leveraging ASU Design System

‍Incorporating the ASU design system emphasized the project's link to the university, aiming to attract potential investors to support conservation efforts.

Interface for data visualization

‍To enhance knowledge sharing among researchers and students in owl research, I developed a comprehensive data repository with insightful visualizations.

‍Reseachers for Users

‍This interactive dashboard provided easy access to essential information about owl species and facilitated an in-depth exploration of burrowing owl behavior and ecology, fostering a deeper understanding of these creatures.

REFLECTIONS

• Understanding non-human stakeholders:
  Stepping into the role of an advocate for non-human stakeholders was an entirely new experience for me. It marked a shift from solely focusing on human needs and interests to embracing a broader perspective that encompasses the well-being of all living things. This newfound awareness opened my eyes to the intricate connections between human actions and the natural world, and it fueled my determination to champion the voices of those who often go unheard.
• Balancing Stakeholder Needs with User Needs :
  The unique project I worked on, with researchers playing dual roles as users and clients, presented a challenging dynamic in balancing their needs. However, this experience proved to be an invaluable learning opportunity, teaching me how to effectively navigate stakeholder expectations while prioritizing user needs. The project's unique stakeholder composition pushed me to expand my understanding of stakeholder management beyond my previous experiences.

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