This was a user research project completed in the Dominican Republic. I revisited this project years later through a UX lens to further iterate on the final design. To skip down to that design process, click here.
Resource and Timeline: two researchers, six weeks
My Role: User Researcher, User Experience Designer
Tools: Google Suite, Excel, PowerPoint, Pen and Paper
Client: Soluciones Comunitarias
Focus areas: User research
Deliverables: Product comparison, interview findings, use and maintenance materials, final recommendations
International NGO Soluciones Comunitarias works to design and offer social innovations to improve the economy and health of community members around Latin America. I conducted user research to inform the NGO's first in-country operations across the Dominican Republic in selling water purifiers/filtration systems. Ultimately, my team delivered maintenance schedules for water purifiers and final recommendations for which products Soluciones Comunitarias should launch in the country.
<aside> 👇🏼 Full UX research case study below. To skip to my iteration, click here.
</aside>
A focus on water filtration and purification
Soluciones Comunitarias trains and supports local entrepreneurs across Latin America to bring rural communities access to products that would otherwise be difficult or prohibitively expensive to obtain. The NGO tests and sources health and wellness products for entrepreneurs to sell at a low cost. This approach is similar to the well-established micro-loan intervention—however, by testing and providing products rather than loans, the financial risk of a failed product falls on the NGO, not the entrepreneur.
Soluciones Comunitarias was looking to launch a pilot project in the Dominican Republic, and my team was tasked with conducting the research necessary to vet and recommend products appropriate for rural communities across the Dominican Republic. The NGO was considering deploying a variety of products to entrepreneurs across the country for sale in community campaigns, including motorcycle helmets, solar lamps, eyeglasses, agricultural seeds, and water filtration/purification systems. I worked with another researcher in the area of water filtration/purification systems, and together we were tasked with identifying which models would best serve the needs of users in six communities across the Dominican Republic.
.png)
Map of the Dominican Republic marked with the communities visited to gather research.
Surveying, interviewing and probing in Spanish
My teammate and I began by conducting a series of ethnographic interviews with users in communities that Soluciones Comunitarias had identified across the Dominican Republic. We sat with (mostly female) users in their homes, and discussed circumstances surrounding their water sourcing and usage habits.
In conducting 17 interviews, I learned more context about why users were experiencing issues around clean water access. I combined takeaways with those from my teammate's 11 interviews, and together we identified the following key insights affecting water access:
<aside> 1️⃣ Water filters and purifiers were not available for purchase at local convenience stores, or colmados. Purchasing one would mean a lengthy trip to a nearby city, where they were prohibitively expensive.
</aside>
<aside> 2️⃣ Users purchased water jugs from colmados or from a water truck that came through the community twice a week. Nine of 28 users we interviewed reported occasional health issues from this water.
</aside>
<aside> 3️⃣ Users purchased water jugs between two and five times per week. With the average cost of a jug between RD$25 - RD$40, users were spending between RD$50 - RD$200 per week on water.
</aside>
<aside> 4️⃣ Users were able to purchase water purifying tablets at colmados, but preferred the taste of water coming from jugs to that of water purified by tablets.
</aside>