METHODS
Design audit, Prototyping, User testing, A/B testing, Surveys
PROCESS
I analyzed the collected information on usage data and my own observation of how kids use the Maphi app. This confirmed my suggestion that the old version of the app was becoming boring too quickly because of the following reasons:
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No feeling of progress
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Repetative content
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No social aspects
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Boring look&feel
SOLUTION
From my past game industry experience, I already knew many gamification techniques that could make the app more engaging and increase retention. The challenge was to pick the right ones. I listed the most promising ideas and during the prioritization workshop with the team, we picked a few to test. I designed the prototypes and ran a few user testings with the target audience to check them out.
One of the unexpected challenges was the communication with the target audience - 6th graders. At this age, kids have some difficulties with analyzing and explaining their emotional feedback. So for this project, more than ever I had to rely on observation rather than discussion.
RESULT
The team implemented the following gamification elements:
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levels system,
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progress bars,
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scores and rewards
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leveling up the main game character - a red panda.
After that, the team ran a marketing campaign that attracted new users. As a result, we got a significant growth in app usage, retention, and the number of subscriptions.
