UX Research and Web Design for Revolve Solar

The focus of this two-pronged project was on uncovering insights on the desirability of a solar-powered battery cart prototype with a 170 volt output for a Seattle-based startup called Revolve Solar, and improving their website. My role as a researcher included recruiting participants, conducting interviews and usability studies, creating and distributing a survey, and synthesizing data. My findings revealed a gap between user needs and the prototype's electrical output. This informed the CEO's decision to deprioritize progress on this prototype in favor of other projects in development.
Problem Statement 1
How can we improve Revolve Solar’s portable battery cart prototype to meet the needs of farmers and vintners in the Pacific Northwest?
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Problem Statement 2
How can we redesign Revolve Solar’s website to communicate the value of the company?
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Competitive Analysis
Our competitive analysis included traditional and solar-powered generators with a variety of form factors. We found that competing products were expensive, large, and difficult to transport. We found that there was limited competition for generators that were portable, affordable, and solar-powered.
Preliminary Interviews
In order to get a better understanding of farmers' daily lives and needs, I developed an interview script and began recruiting farmers for preliminary interviews. I typed "farm" into Google Maps and looked for farms in the Puget Sound, sending cold emails to farms in the area. My co-researcher and I reached out to 87 local farms, which materialized into 6 interviews. After pooling our interview responses, I conducted an affinity analysis in Miro.
View Preliminary Interview Script
Thematic Analysis
Themes
Themes that emerged indicated there were many electrical tasks on farms, unmet needs, and energy issues on farms. Notably, farmers were very enthusiastic about using solar power on their farms. Details about the largest themes are noted here.
Electrical Tasks
Key tasks include lighting, cooling (cold storage, refrigeration, fans), power tools, tech, and irrigation systems
Unmet Needs
Most farmers want more reliable energy, especially for irrigation and lighting
Farmers & Tech
Responses ranged from “not embracing new tech” to “medium-high tech savviness”
Solar & Electric Drama
Solar: Limited capacity, bulky, poor design, unsafe, unreliable service
‍Electric: Power outages, high cost, issues surrounding diesel, reliance, long cords
Equipment Investment Factors
ROI, quality, relevance, brand, price, size, convenience, and frequency of use
Sustainability
Most farms stated sustainability is a core value fundamental to farming
System Feature Preferences
Lightweight, portable, towable, straightforward, fixable, modular, quiet, strong battery, energy display
Seasonal Power Needs
Across all farms, energy needs spike in summer and drop in winter
Selected Quotes
“Shooting at the hip, I’d say we spend about $120,000 a year on electricity.”
“I’m about to buy a gas generator because I’m making a mobile cooling station so when we harvest lettuce, we can cool it down asap. It has a dramatic effect on shelf life.”
“I can’t let my pasture rest for as long as I’d like because I can’t use the land on the other side of the creek, where there’s no power.”
Personas
Using what we learned about our preliminary interview participants' backgrounds, pain points, values, and needs, my team created two personas to work from.
Survey
Using the information gathered in the preliminary interview stage and with our personas in mind, I created a survey to gather more in-depth information. My co-researcher and I cold-emailed 102 farmers across Washington state using the same Google Maps cold email recruitment method. In addition, I posted our survey to 3 regional farming Facebook groups and we posted to 6 relevant subreddits.

We received 20 responses. The highest percentage of our respondents were from crop farms, who made up 50% of participants' farm types. The most common farm size of partipants, making up 45% of respondents, was between 1 to 20 acres. 
View Survey
Survey Findings
Tasks Relying on Electrical Power
Lighting (95%) <120 volts
‍Charging power tools, etc (95%) <21 volts
‍Refrigeration/Cold storage (80%) 220+ volts
‍Submersible well pumps (75%) 230+ volts
Tasks Needing More Power
Lighting (60%)
Refrigeration/cold storage (55%)
Charging power tools/devices (45%)
Fans (40%)
Submersible for well (40%)
Highest Power Demand by Season
Summer (65%)
‍Winter (35%)
Spring (25%)
Fall (20%)
Varies depending on activity (20%)
Concerns About Solar Products
Power availability (5)
‍Ease of Use (4)
Initial Expense (4)
Reliability (4)
Limited sunlight (3)
Highlighted Open-Ended Responses
“It's a cool idea and we love that you're thinking about farmers!”
“This system may not be able to handle our big electrical power demands. 220 volt pumps and refrigeration. But we would love a solar solution for that!”
“Operating 500-700 watts at a time could be ideal. We’ve used generators, but that isn't as efficient on our time.”
“Cool idea. Don’t know if it would supply enough power for most needs.”
“Yes, but how many panels and type of battery would it take to run a submersible water pump or commercial refrigeration?”
“We have hard-wired walk-in freezers and coolers that take a lot of power. This would not work as a back-up system for those.”
Analysis
250% more respondents ranked easy setup as “extremely important” over “not important at all”.
67% more respondents ranked portability as “extremely important” over “not important at all”. 
50% more respondents ranked low noise as “extremely important” over “not important at all”.
33% more respondents ranked durable wheels as “extremely important” over “not important at all.”
25% of open-ended responses were general positive feedback
20% of open-ended responses stated a need for 220+ volts/power concerns
15% of open-ended responses said they use/want to use solar
Results
After reviewing our survey results, our sponsor determined that the solar-powered battery cart should be re-designed to provide more voltage. As a consequence, this project was deprioritized in favor of more time-sensitive projects at Revolve Solar.

Although the current design would be altered, we decided to move forward with a usability test to uncover any additional information that could be helpful for the next prototype.
Usability Studies (physical + digital prototypes)
Physical Prototype Usability Study
One of our preliminary interviewees agreed to a usability study. Unfortunately, just before our appointment time, an urgent situation arose on his farm. He wasn't able to do the usability study we had created and only had a few minutes for us, which we used to record him using the device and getting his immediate impressions.
View Script and Protocol
Findings
Our participant found the cart surprisingly lightweight and user-friendly. However, the ground clearance for the battery was insufficient and the user wanted the cart handle placement to be higher.
Digital Prototype Usability Studies
While my co-researcher and I were gathering insights regarding the physical prototype, the design team had been creating a Figma prototype for Revolve Solar's new website. They created a Home page, a Projects page, and an Our Journey page. Each member of our team recruited a participant to test the digital prototype. We developed a script together to ensure we were evaluating criteria important to the success of our sponsor.  

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View Script
Findings
Users Enjoyed
Users Needed
Consistent, clear, and fun color palette

‍Well-organized content structure and hierarchy

‍Photos and icons incorporated throughout the website
Additional content to provide more information

A cleaner, more visually engaging Projects section

‍Minor font adjustments for improved readability
View Digital Prototype
Teamwork Takeaway
This project involved building a small group of specialists. After teaming up with a researcher friend, we set out to find visual designers. We set out to recruit additional members. To do so, I read through 85 slides and cold-messaged 5 students with skills neither of us had. As a result, we ended up with a teammate whose skills with Adobe, Figma, and video editing were instrumental for producing our informational poster and process book video.

My professional background before attending UW included multiple management positions. Combined with the fact that I was a non-traditional undergrad student (over a decade older than my peers), I often found myself as the default project manager position during group projects. I made a concerted effort during this capstone project to avoid doing work that fell outside the scope of my role and was really pleased to see my teammates fulfilling their positions well, with enthusiasm, and in a way that foreshadows how they will find success in the professional world.