Redesign for frictionless payment
A system that streamlines market payment processes and fosters holistic stakeholder understanding, to empower the organization to prioritize its mission-driven programs.
Planting the seeds…
The very first service design project I worked on! It aimed to improve the service quality of a local farmers' market community in Savannah, Georgia. It was
…an insightful immersion into a small city's community and values, its local food system, and the various stakeholder touchpoints within the market ecosystem.
Savannah's Forsyth Farmers' Market (FFM) is a nonprofit that supports sustainable food production and increases access to local products within the city. Founded in 2009 by six women, the food-only producers' market is up and running every Saturday morning, with 65+ vendors rolling in from in-town and within a 200-mile radius of Savannah. Today, the market is an iconic experience loved by residents and tourists. Driven by the purpose of food justice, FFM wants to open dialogue and invite engagement for the city's local food system.
We aimed to understand…
…and analyze the various front and backstage processes within the market's ecosystem to identify opportunities to improve or expand their service offering. This project was done as part of the Principles of Service Design class, taught by Professor Ricardo Martins.
And built…
2 final concepts and prototypes presented to the organization:
redesign of the market payment system (utilizing existing processes) for streamlined bookkeeping and management,
and a short-term social discovery poster bundle for holistic stakeholder understanding
I was a user researcher on the project and led and facilitated all contextual field research activities, synthesis to glean all stakeholder insights and later, built the current state service blueprint.
To fully understand the people, processes, and technologies running the Forsyth Farmers' Market, I started by mapping the stakeholders, and the ecosystem alternating between multiple iterations and visits to the market every Saturday. We were fortunate to shadow and work alongside the Forsyth Farmers' Market team while conducting contextual research. Our team helped the FFM volunteers stack the tokens before the start of the market.
While working at the booth, we identified one of the most critical areas of friction in the ecosystem – the discovery and handling experience of the market’s token system. This went on to define the scope of our project.
Here are the token types flowing through the market ecosystem and the programs facilitated via those transactions.
During this time, we started to observe and glean visitors' and vendors' reactions and behavior at certain moments of interaction and touchpoints. We studied its competitors such as neighborhood farmers' markets, a small local alternative - Brighter Days, etc. We then conducted primary research through one in-depth interview with an FFM manager and several informational interviews with visitors to further understand their experience and identify pain points or opportunities.
More moments from the process and behind the scenes here!
Insights & Analysis
Organizers
Market organizers need to reduce the time of counting and sorting tokens during setup because they cannot assist vendors before the market day with them being otherwise occupied.
Market organizers need to efficiently count tokens because they need to pay all vendors the equal value of the tokens they receive.
Market organizers need accurate bookkeeping because they report SNAP/EBT transactions to the federal government monthly.
Vendors
Vendors need more clarity about which tokens they can take as sometimes they accept the wrong tokens. This leads to bookkeeping errors and miscommunication between involved stakeholders.
Vendors need a more visual 'token-sale form' because the current one is difficult to comprehend.
Vendors need to spend less time waiting in line at the market as they have a lot of things to pack up.
Customers
Customers need to quickly understand where they can use specific tokens because there are restrictions.
Service Solution
Token Stacking Tray: Addressing the pain point of token counting, we created a tray organizer with brackets that would only accommodate a stack of 10 tokens. This reduces up to two hours of tiresome work and allows organizers to interact with vendors and other stakeholders on market day.
Token Counting Cup: We designed cups from McDonald's coffee glasses to address the pain point of token stacking. This cup had an open slot to throw out extra tokens after a stack of 10 had been formed.
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: Addressing the pain point of token sorting, we took multiple colored buckets with signage depicting the tokens, for the ease of use of both the customer and vendor.
Posters: Addressing the pain point of communication, we created a poster showcasing the different types of tokens and their specific uses. This was showcased at two points – one at the beginning of the market and then at FFM's information booth.
Impact
User Testing at Forsyth Park
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: To understand the usability and feasibility of the buckets, we placed them in different combinations across the booths of 3 selected vendors (receiving a consistently high number of visitors). These combinations were based on the specific type of tokens accepted by each vendor. The vendors with two or three buckets found it easier to collect the tokens. However, the vendors accepting all the tokens (and hence more buckets) needed more space in their tents to place the buckets and assistance in bringing them all to the FFM stall (at the end of the market day). While these buckets eased the vendors' effort to sort the tokens significantly, we concluded that the buckets' shape could be optimized.
Token Stacking & Counting: From 2 tedious hours to a few minutes – the counting cup and stacking tray went through multiple iterations to significantly reduce the time spent by the organizers stacking and counting the tokens. At the end of the market day, we observed how the staff incorporated the tools within their tasks, and noted that the counting cup needed finer hand movement to work. Additionally, a count scale could be added to the tray for visual cues. Our tools produced precise results repeatedly when counting was performed with our tools and cross-checking manually.
FFM & Token Posters: To reinforce communication about the market and the tokens, two posters were positioned strategically at the beginning of the market and the FFM booth midway through the market. After discussion with the organizers, we concluded that these posters had helped raise awareness of the programs and reduced redundancies in explanations by the FFM organizers as they also manage long queues of customers. The visitors could easily discover the posters and customers could understand which tokens they needed. Swiftlly.
My takeaway
The project helped me reaffirm my training in service design methods and tools
It helped me put into practice how service design can help empower stakeholders to be proactive changemakers
Key partnerships between academia and public service were established using this project
Download a hi-res process poster of this project here.
Planting the seeds…
The very first service design project I worked on! It aimed to improve the service quality of a local farmers' market community in Savannah, Georgia. It was
…an insightful immersion into a small city's community and values, its local food system, and the various stakeholder touchpoints within the market ecosystem.
Savannah's Forsyth Farmers' Market (FFM) is a nonprofit that supports sustainable food production and increases access to local products within the city. Founded in 2009 by six women, the food-only producers' market is up and running every Saturday morning, with 65+ vendors rolling in from in-town and within a 200-mile radius of Savannah. Today, the market is an iconic experience loved by residents and tourists. Driven by the purpose of food justice, FFM wants to open dialogue and invite engagement for the city's local food system.
We aimed to understand…
…and analyze the various front and backstage processes within the market's ecosystem to identify opportunities to improve or expand their service offering. This project was done as part of the Principles of Service Design class, taught by Professor Ricardo Martins.
And built…
2 final concepts and prototypes presented to the organization:
redesign of the market payment system (utilizing existing processes) for streamlined bookkeeping and management,
and a short-term social discovery poster bundle for holistic stakeholder understanding
I was a user researcher on the project and led and facilitated all contextual field research activities, synthesis to glean all stakeholder insights and later, built the current state service blueprint.
To fully understand the people, processes, and technologies running the Forsyth Farmers' Market, I started by mapping the stakeholders, and the ecosystem alternating between multiple iterations and visits to the market every Saturday. We were fortunate to shadow and work alongside the Forsyth Farmers' Market team while conducting contextual research. Our team helped the FFM volunteers stack the tokens before the start of the market.
While working at the booth, we identified one of the most critical areas of friction in the ecosystem – the discovery and handling experience of the market’s token system. This went on to define the scope of our project.
Here are the token types flowing through the market ecosystem and the programs facilitated via those transactions.
During this time, we started to observe and glean visitors' and vendors' reactions and behavior at certain moments of interaction and touchpoints. We studied its competitors such as neighborhood farmers' markets, a small local alternative - Brighter Days, etc. We then conducted primary research through one in-depth interview with an FFM manager and several informational interviews with visitors to further understand their experience and identify pain points or opportunities.
More moments from the process and behind the scenes here!
Insights & Analysis
Organizers
Market organizers need to reduce the time of counting and sorting tokens during setup because they cannot assist vendors before the market day with them being otherwise occupied.
Market organizers need to efficiently count tokens because they need to pay all vendors the equal value of the tokens they receive.
Market organizers need accurate bookkeeping because they report SNAP/EBT transactions to the federal government monthly.
Vendors
Vendors need more clarity about which tokens they can take as sometimes they accept the wrong tokens. This leads to bookkeeping errors and miscommunication between involved stakeholders.
Vendors need a more visual 'token-sale form' because the current one is difficult to comprehend.
Vendors need to spend less time waiting in line at the market as they have a lot of things to pack up.
Customers
Customers need to quickly understand where they can use specific tokens because there are restrictions.
Service Solution
Token Stacking Tray: Addressing the pain point of token counting, we created a tray organizer with brackets that would only accommodate a stack of 10 tokens. This reduces up to two hours of tiresome work and allows organizers to interact with vendors and other stakeholders on market day.
Token Counting Cup: We designed cups from McDonald's coffee glasses to address the pain point of token stacking. This cup had an open slot to throw out extra tokens after a stack of 10 had been formed.
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: Addressing the pain point of token sorting, we took multiple colored buckets with signage depicting the tokens, for the ease of use of both the customer and vendor.
Posters: Addressing the pain point of communication, we created a poster showcasing the different types of tokens and their specific uses. This was showcased at two points – one at the beginning of the market and then at FFM's information booth.
Impact
User Testing at Forsyth Park
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: To understand the usability and feasibility of the buckets, we placed them in different combinations across the booths of 3 selected vendors (receiving a consistently high number of visitors). These combinations were based on the specific type of tokens accepted by each vendor. The vendors with two or three buckets found it easier to collect the tokens. However, the vendors accepting all the tokens (and hence more buckets) needed more space in their tents to place the buckets and assistance in bringing them all to the FFM stall (at the end of the market day). While these buckets eased the vendors' effort to sort the tokens significantly, we concluded that the buckets' shape could be optimized.
Token Stacking & Counting: From 2 tedious hours to a few minutes – the counting cup and stacking tray went through multiple iterations to significantly reduce the time spent by the organizers stacking and counting the tokens. At the end of the market day, we observed how the staff incorporated the tools within their tasks, and noted that the counting cup needed finer hand movement to work. Additionally, a count scale could be added to the tray for visual cues. Our tools produced precise results repeatedly when counting was performed with our tools and cross-checking manually.
FFM & Token Posters: To reinforce communication about the market and the tokens, two posters were positioned strategically at the beginning of the market and the FFM booth midway through the market. After discussion with the organizers, we concluded that these posters had helped raise awareness of the programs and reduced redundancies in explanations by the FFM organizers as they also manage long queues of customers. The visitors could easily discover the posters and customers could understand which tokens they needed. Swiftlly.
My takeaway
The project helped me reaffirm my training in service design methods and tools
It helped me put into practice how service design can help empower stakeholders to be proactive changemakers
Key partnerships between academia and public service were established using this project
Download a hi-res process poster of this project here.
Planting the seeds…
The very first service design project I worked on! It aimed to improve the service quality of a local farmers' market community in Savannah, Georgia. It was
…an insightful immersion into a small city's community and values, its local food system, and the various stakeholder touchpoints within the market ecosystem.
Savannah's Forsyth Farmers' Market (FFM) is a nonprofit that supports sustainable food production and increases access to local products within the city. Founded in 2009 by six women, the food-only producers' market is up and running every Saturday morning, with 65+ vendors rolling in from in-town and within a 200-mile radius of Savannah. Today, the market is an iconic experience loved by residents and tourists. Driven by the purpose of food justice, FFM wants to open dialogue and invite engagement for the city's local food system.
We aimed to understand…
…and analyze the various front and backstage processes within the market's ecosystem to identify opportunities to improve or expand their service offering. This project was done as part of the Principles of Service Design class, taught by Professor Ricardo Martins.
And built…
2 final concepts and prototypes presented to the organization:
redesign of the market payment system (utilizing existing processes) for streamlined bookkeeping and management,
and a short-term social discovery poster bundle for holistic stakeholder understanding
I was a user researcher on the project and led and facilitated all contextual field research activities, synthesis to glean all stakeholder insights and later, built the current state service blueprint.
To fully understand the people, processes, and technologies running the Forsyth Farmers' Market, I started by mapping the stakeholders, and the ecosystem alternating between multiple iterations and visits to the market every Saturday. We were fortunate to shadow and work alongside the Forsyth Farmers' Market team while conducting contextual research. Our team helped the FFM volunteers stack the tokens before the start of the market.
While working at the booth, we identified one of the most critical areas of friction in the ecosystem – the discovery and handling experience of the market’s token system. This went on to define the scope of our project.
Here are the token types flowing through the market ecosystem and the programs facilitated via those transactions.
During this time, we started to observe and glean visitors' and vendors' reactions and behavior at certain moments of interaction and touchpoints. We studied its competitors such as neighborhood farmers' markets, a small local alternative - Brighter Days, etc. We then conducted primary research through one in-depth interview with an FFM manager and several informational interviews with visitors to further understand their experience and identify pain points or opportunities.
More moments from the process and behind the scenes here!
Insights & Analysis
Organizers
Market organizers need to reduce the time of counting and sorting tokens during setup because they cannot assist vendors before the market day with them being otherwise occupied.
Market organizers need to efficiently count tokens because they need to pay all vendors the equal value of the tokens they receive.
Market organizers need accurate bookkeeping because they report SNAP/EBT transactions to the federal government monthly.
Vendors
Vendors need more clarity about which tokens they can take as sometimes they accept the wrong tokens. This leads to bookkeeping errors and miscommunication between involved stakeholders.
Vendors need a more visual 'token-sale form' because the current one is difficult to comprehend.
Vendors need to spend less time waiting in line at the market as they have a lot of things to pack up.
Customers
Customers need to quickly understand where they can use specific tokens because there are restrictions.
Service Solution
Token Stacking Tray: Addressing the pain point of token counting, we created a tray organizer with brackets that would only accommodate a stack of 10 tokens. This reduces up to two hours of tiresome work and allows organizers to interact with vendors and other stakeholders on market day.
Token Counting Cup: We designed cups from McDonald's coffee glasses to address the pain point of token stacking. This cup had an open slot to throw out extra tokens after a stack of 10 had been formed.
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: Addressing the pain point of token sorting, we took multiple colored buckets with signage depicting the tokens, for the ease of use of both the customer and vendor.
Posters: Addressing the pain point of communication, we created a poster showcasing the different types of tokens and their specific uses. This was showcased at two points – one at the beginning of the market and then at FFM's information booth.
Impact
User Testing at Forsyth Park
Token Sorting Colored Buckets: To understand the usability and feasibility of the buckets, we placed them in different combinations across the booths of 3 selected vendors (receiving a consistently high number of visitors). These combinations were based on the specific type of tokens accepted by each vendor. The vendors with two or three buckets found it easier to collect the tokens. However, the vendors accepting all the tokens (and hence more buckets) needed more space in their tents to place the buckets and assistance in bringing them all to the FFM stall (at the end of the market day). While these buckets eased the vendors' effort to sort the tokens significantly, we concluded that the buckets' shape could be optimized.
Token Stacking & Counting: From 2 tedious hours to a few minutes – the counting cup and stacking tray went through multiple iterations to significantly reduce the time spent by the organizers stacking and counting the tokens. At the end of the market day, we observed how the staff incorporated the tools within their tasks, and noted that the counting cup needed finer hand movement to work. Additionally, a count scale could be added to the tray for visual cues. Our tools produced precise results repeatedly when counting was performed with our tools and cross-checking manually.
FFM & Token Posters: To reinforce communication about the market and the tokens, two posters were positioned strategically at the beginning of the market and the FFM booth midway through the market. After discussion with the organizers, we concluded that these posters had helped raise awareness of the programs and reduced redundancies in explanations by the FFM organizers as they also manage long queues of customers. The visitors could easily discover the posters and customers could understand which tokens they needed. Swiftlly.
My takeaway
The project helped me reaffirm my training in service design methods and tools
It helped me put into practice how service design can help empower stakeholders to be proactive changemakers
Key partnerships between academia and public service were established using this project
Download a hi-res process poster of this project here.