End-User Interviews - #Blog2

This week, we moved into the need validation stage with our end-users, as part of the Define phase in the Double Diamond model. Based on expert interviews we identified 3 needs that we wanted to validate. To do so, we designed an interview protocol, aimed at testing these assumptions while remaining open to unexpected insights. We went through a series of interviews with middle school students, moving from general warm-up questions to more sensitive topics around friendships, social positioning, and the role of screens in their social reality.

After summarizing the interviews we came across three key needs:1. Mediating adult: A major need for an adult figure who can emotionally balance and bridge conflicts. While one student shared that their "the teacher never did anything to connect between us," another highlighted how older instructors in the scouts were key to solving communication breakdowns.2. Authentic experiences: We realized that physical, face to face connections are the ultimate environment to friendship creation. Our interviews showed that teens who are part of frameworks in the afternoon (such as a soccer team or scouts) are much less affected by the pressures of virtual space.3. Unconditional acceptance: There is a need for inclusion. The teens described the struggle of navigating judgmental cliques based on everything from economic status to behavioral differences, and they are calling for a world that reduces stigmas and actually sees the "lonely child."

On a personal note, this week was a lot of fun for us. Many of the interviews were with our own siblings and cousins, and getting to dive into their personal worlds was a unique and eye-opening experience. It left us with a much clearer direction and a renewed sense of purpose for what we are building.