SPARK Project

SPARK is an independently-funded autism research organization that studies genetic, behavioral, and medical information. Volunteers who have been professionally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and their families, are asked to request “spit kits” which are then submitted to SPARK and processed. Any resulting information, including genetic diagnosis and observable genetic changes, is then shared with the volunteer along with research partners with consent of the volunteer and / or family or legal guardian.

We were presented with a list of SPARK’s objectives intended to foster future and continuous growth.

These objectives are as follows:

• Long-tern engagement (retention)

• Recruiting more fathers

• Increased diversity and representation

• Communicating complex scientific topics effectively

• Maximizing the use of SPARK’s resources for greatest impact

• Engaging teens and young adults with ASD
  

Content Inventory

As my team’s first step, we assembled a content inventory of the SPARK site. I focused primarily on the “Discover” section which SPARK used to house a searchable list of all content, including articles, webinars, and participant spotlights. However, we were each responsible for going over the entire site in order to contribute to the final, consolidated feedback.

Major findings I documented while cataloging the Discover section:

• Designations, titles, and descriptions for articles and spotlights were too general. Readers would not know that an article about a family also contains information on a particular therapy or gene.

• Significant information, such as the “Gene List,” which showcased genes for which SPARK helped facilitate study and discovery, could only be located through body links within certain articles.

• The “Gene List”, which was a simple PDF, was not searchable and did not connect with other useful information such as related articles and webinars.

• Though a great deal of the articles contained useful information for those diagnosed with ASD, including treatments, therapies, behavioral challenges, and other experiences, there was no easy way to connect this information together.

• Articles about underrepresented populations such as fathers of autistic children, girls with autism, and other diverse populations needed to be highlighted out of the general milieu as a means of encouraging greater participation from these groups. I specifically suggested these articles should be highlighted on the homepage toward the top, and possibly via sections.

I was responsible for summarizing our collective findings, both from our specific areas as well as the overall site.

Other major issues we identified were:

• An overuse of body links to navigate through pages rather than utilizing the top navigation, thus making wayfinding difficult.

• Long, text-heavy pages that could be condensed for findability and ease of use.

Personas

We created six personas based on SPARK’s objectives, general user data, and research we conducted on potential users. Each persona targeted a specific user need or set of needs. These included:

• A woman seeking treatments for her non-verbal, autistic son

• A woman seeking a site with autism information translated into her native language of Spanish

• A father seeking an organization to join that can assist his 5-year-old son

• A mother with a 20 month old baby recently diagnosed with autism. She is interested in knowing how genes can tell the story, but has major privacy concerns

• A single mother of a son recently diagnosed with autism who is wondering if she, too, has autism based on her childhood struggles and was never diagnosed

• A teenage boy who sets out on a journey to learn more about autism after a fellow classmate divulges that he was diagnosed with ASD
  
  Below are the final iterations of the two personas I created: Jordan and Angela.

Competitor Analysis

We examined 23andMe, Ancestry DNA, and Clarifi ASD.

Though not direct competitors with SPARK, these were selected for several reasons:

• All require participants to submit spit kits for DNA testing

• 23andM3 and Ancestry DNA are two of the top three biohealth companies

  • 23andMe was last valuated at $2.5 billion

  • Ancestry DNA was valuated at $2.6 billion in their last public financial report before going private

• Clarifi ASD, though they do different genetic testing and only for participants between 18 months and six years old, is also free to participants like SPARK

We looked at design, navigation, and what strategies were used to entice possible customers / participants to go through the testing process. I looked at 23andMe and Ancestry DNA specifically, but re-examined all three as I developed our business plan proposal.

Positive Design and Strategy Takeaways:

• Pop-outs are indeed effective for limiting scrolling / consolidating complex information. (Ancestry DNA)

• Limiting site depth assists in usability and wayfinding. (23andMe, Clarifi ASD)

• Illustrations / visual examples help participants conceptualize complex information, as well as what to expect from the process. This is also an effective way to consolidate information. (23andMe, Ancestry DNA, Clarifi ASD)

• Short video testimonials can be used to help prospective participants feel connected to other participants, sharing the product in common, thus increasing diversity and building trust and adding value. (23andMe, Ancestry DNA, Clarifi ASD)

• Explanatory videos can be used to simplify the process or showcase who SPARK is and what they do, building trust. (23andMe, Clarifi ASD)

• Pushing privacy is especially important when dealing with donating genetic material. Showcasing privacy early and making it simple to find builds trust. (23andMe, Ancestry DNA, Clarifi ASD)

These simple principles, when implemented well, will allow SPARK’s goals and users’ needs to meet, resulting in a continuous cycle of growth.

• Trust and value are of utmost importance in order to lead site visitors to actionable results.

• Clarity and ease of use are important for users to find the information they desire in order to meet their needs of trust and value.

• Using testimonials and showcasing research examples adds both value and trust.

• All of this builds toward the actionable result of a visitor signing up (recruitment). 

• Giving users the chance to spread the word (“Become and Advocate”) perpetuates the recruitment cycle.

Card Sort

We conducted an open card sort because we mainly wanted to see how participants would naturally group articles, webinars, and participant spotlights housed under the “Discover” section. However, we also wanted to see how people grouped information that was then set under SPARK’s FAQ section, such as information on spit kits and next steps after joining, which we considered important to highlight. We also pulled out information that was currently housed on main pages that we felt would be better served in a different section such as information on SPARK’s “Research Matching Program.” This information was then housed at the bottom of the main “About” page.

Basic Information

• Open card sort via Optimal Sort Workshop

• 15  completions

• Age range 14-60

• Demographic range:

  • Some knowledge about autism

  • No knowledge about autism

  • Parents

  • Live in US, English is first language

  • Live in the US, English is second language

• Average completion time: 30 mins

• Comments were collected via follow up questions generated from Optimal Sort

• Extracted information from whole site, but more focused on “Discover”

• 51 cards were placed by participants into an average of 6-8 categories

Major Findings from Card Sort

Our card sort findings supported our IA changes as participants demonstrated:

• A high grouping of gene-related cards together

• A high commonality between suggested groupings of articles about families / participants

• A high commonality of grouping articles / webinars about treatments and therapies together

• A high commonality of grouping articles / webinars about the autism community together

We learned there was a high grouping of information about spit kits and next steps after joining, so I created a page titled “Our Process” to meet this need which we added to the revised IA.

Treejack Study

We designed a treejack study to see if general users were able to successfully and easily navigate our IA.

We specifically wanted to know:

• Does the category “Impact” make sense to general users

• Do people look under “Research” or “About” to learn about information that would make sense under either such as SPARK’s research partners, the research matching program, etc.

Basic Information:

• 9 tasks were created

• 18 completions

• Majority of participants were returning task takers from card sort 

• Average completion time: 5 minutes

Major Findings from Treejack:

• Most decisions from participants followed the paths within our proposed IA

• Next steps after joining SPARK should live under “About”

• The distinction between “About” and “Research” became more clear when the path was pre-set for participants, similar to a closed sort setting

• “Partnerships” could be placed under “About”

• Users were able to easily locate the re-named “Discover” section as “Impact”

Search Analysis

What Was Working

The SPARK site provided a local search bar under “Discover” section featuring:

• Strong stemming, high recall rate

• Search history

• Clearly stated page numbers

• Search keywords highlighted in results

Areas Needing Improvement:

• Confusion between sitewide search vs. local search (ex. search result showed content outside of “Discover” page)

• Low level of Best Bet relevance

• No error handling, nor spell checking

• No autocomplete

• Searched word was not bolded on title text

Search Solutions:

• We decided to add a sitewide search

• I added page-specific searches for the:

  • Gene List

  • Research and Therapies

  • Impact — Individual, Family, Community

• For “Research and Therapies” and the “Impact” pages, I visually separated best bet (recommended) results for page-specific search and site-wide search to make certain results were clear without the user missing results from other sections of the site that might be helpful

• My team decided to add breadcrumb snippets above site-wide search results to show users where to go to locate the result and possibly find similar information. I then implemented this into the recommended site-wide search results on the pages I designated above

• My team added autocomplete functionality

  
  

Angela’s Journey

Use the slider below to follow Angela on her journey to locate answers about herself, her son, and discover how the research made possible by SPARK can lead to a better life for her son.

About page — Redesign Information

• Added a top section for a short video that introduces visitors to SPARK

• Simplified information — moved partnerships to own section, removed short paragraph on participants as I felt this was better served by featured videos on the homepage and within the “Impact” section

About Wireframe Interactions

Gene List — New Page Information

• Replaced the PDF Gene list with this searchable, interactive version

• Search can be modified by associated topics: speech, development, behavior

• Search can also be sorted by: relevance, newest, oldest

• Each gene result is assigned relevant tags which associates the particular gene with articles, testimonials, and webinars associated with the same tags. This allows users to immediately see relevant information

• Articles and videos can be viewed within the “Gene List” page using pop-outs like other pages. The user can also click on the content link above the result, taking them to the page on which the result is found to locate similar information

Gene List Wireframe Interactions

Our Process — New Page Information

• Developed and designed to give site visitors a clear understanding of the process of joining SPARK and what happens after

• Features new sections that did not previously exist on the SPARK site on what participants can expect when they receive their spit kit, how to use it, and how to send it back in. This section includes areas for videos, images, and illustrations

• Another new section includes a simple explanation of how participants can expect to receive communication from SPARK and under what circumstances. It also includes information on how communication regarding the research matching program will be implemented

Our Process Wireframe Interactions

Become an Advocate — New Page Information

• New page designed to help visitors quickly share information about SPARK including their goals and process, as well as how to participate

• Contains short videos along with dynamic infographics scaled for easy sharing on the top social media channels

• The videos, while giving information about SPARK, also serve to put autism and life with autism in context, helping visitors unfamiliar with ASD learn a little about the topic in a more wholistic fashion

• If SPARK chose to do so, and I recommended they did, this page could also be used to entice users to sign up to be a SPARK advocate. This would mean, starting off, simply developing short updates, testimonials, and other easily digestible content that can be shared once a month with the advocate who can then share on their social media, email, or text.

• This page helps continue the cycle of recruitment through the efforts of average users

Become an Advocate Wireframe Interactions

Treatments and Therapies — New Page Information

• New page designed to display SPARK articles, webinars, and testimonials that wholly or partially relate information on treatments and therapies

• As with the “Our Research” page, over time SPARK can develop short videos and articles more narrowly focused on specific therapies and treatments made possible through SPARK’s research and the research efforts of SPARK’s partners.

• The top banner highlights a short video on SPARK’s research contributions leading to advancements in treatments and therapies.

• Includes a page-specific search.

• The top of the search section offers three to four recommendations from both the page-specific results and site-wide results. The two are separated to avoid confusion. The site-wide recommendations serve to help make sure the user locates info that may be highly relevant to them not located within the page-specific search.

Treatments and Therapies Wireframe Interactions

Impact: Individual, Family, Community — New Pages Information

I replaced the “Discover” page with the “Impact” section, housing three new pages targeting different audiences: individuals, families, and the autism community at large.

• All use the same template as the “Research and Therapies” page, including the search functionality.

• The top slider is used to house short video testimonials related to the section. This slider would have the option to add short descriptions or quotes just like the sliders on the “Our Research” and “Treatments and Therapies” pages. I left the descriptions off here to encourage viewing.

• Each page houses a top, highlighted video related to the section. For example, the “Individual” page highlights a short testimonial about a father, thus meeting SPARK’s need to recruit more dads.