Apply the 3M worlds of UX to improve QTV royalty app

Timeline

Service

Responsibilities

Tools

3,5 Months

Ngan Le

Nhi Le

Nhi Nguyen

UX Researcher

UX Designer

Product Designer

Figma

Figjam

Notion

Project Review

This project was conducted as a hands-on exercise in my UX course, focusing on applying the 3M Worlds of UX framework to enhance the QTV Royalty App. The app is designed for managing and tracking royalties, but it faces usability challenges that impact the user experience.

The Process

Research Stage

Stakeholder Interview

Product Lifecycle & UX Maturity

Project Objective & Approaches

Discovery Stage

Source of Truth

UX Audit

User Interview

Usablity Testing

Problem Definition Stage

Impact/Effort

3M Problem Statement

Solution Stage

Micro and Meso Level Solution

Macro-level Solution Poposal

1. EMPATHY STAGE

Conducting Stakeholder Interview

To keep the project on the right track, we need to understand the needs and expectations of stakeholders. Stakeholder interviews are an effective method to gather key insights, enabling better design and strategic decisions.You can click Stakeholder Interview Question to view more.

- From Stakeholder

“Currently, the app is not engaging enough to leave a lasting impression on customers. The process of earning and redeeming points is not convenient.”

1. EMPATHY STAGE

Product Lifecycle & UX maturity

To define project objectives comprehensively and appropriately, we evaluated the Product Lifecycle and UX Maturity of app to gain a clear understanding of the product's context and its current development stage.

Source: Staylab

The team prioritizes the product currently in growth stage, 70% introduction + 30% growth exploring the issues through desk research and qualitative research.

The user experience across these apps is inconsistent and error-prone, with UI and UX neither unified nor optimized. Therefore, we evaluate the UX maturity at level 3: Emergent.

1. EMPATHY STAGE

Project Objectives and Approach

Based on the insights gathered from stakeholders and the evaluations of research-driven models, we have decided to focus on one core objective for the project :

How to maintain and increase the MAU ( montly active users) rate?

To address this core objective, I draw upon The Worlds of UX Framework proposed by Kevin Corti (2024), which explores the Micro, Meso, and Macro levels of user experience :

Given that the product is 70% in the introduction phase and 30% in the growth phase, this framework enables a structured and comprehensive analysis of UX by identifying, categorizing, and prioritizing issues according to the product’s current stage

By applying the 3M model, we can tailor solutions to the product’s lifecycle stage while advancing the company’s UX maturity — currently at Level 3: Emergent — through a more strategic, experience-driven design approach

2. DISCOVERY STAGE

Source of Truth

Based on the product lifecycle results, the team conducts desk research to gain an overall understanding of the target customers, competitors, and the product’s SWOT analysis. From this activity of source of truth, we identifies the target users.

The target user:

The customer has made a purchase at MWG's storeand has used the points accumulation feature.

And we conclude user's pain point:

User's Pain point

2. DISCOVERY STAGE

UX Audit

We conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the current loyalty app interface using the Reflect: 10 Heuristic Evaluation method to identify design and usability issues, enhancing the overall user experience.

2. DISCOVERY STAGE

User Interview

To validate assumptions from Desk Research and UX Audit, the team will conduct user interviews. We prepare the user interview planining for two main user group through 5 interview sessions. The question list includes five general questions and specific questions depending on the user group.

From the insights gathered from 5 users, we filter out objective and usable insights, along with those identified in desk research. Then, we place these insights into the Complexity and Readiness matrix.

2. DISCOVERY STAGE

Usability Testing

We observe and evaluate how users interact with the app by conducting an Explorative Task, where users freely explore the app, and a Start-to-End Task, where they complete a process from start to finish and getting the UT result.

3. PROBLEM DEFINITION STAGE

Impact/Effort and Priority the Problem

We systhesize all insights' results from user interviews and usability testing, then we applies the Impact/Effort method to prioritize problem-solving. The prioritization follows the 3M framework (Micro, Meso, Macro) to align with the project objective: “How to maintain and increase the MAU (Monthly Active Users) rate?”

Micro-level Problems

Meso-level Problems

Macro-level Problems

4. SOLUTION STAGE

Micro and Meso level Solution

Solution 1: Reorganize the UI of the Home page.

Points & Redemption: Highlight the user's current points balance to increase visibility and encourage more frequent engagement.

QR Code UI: Redesign with two flexible options: “Show QR Code” and “Scan QR Code,” depending on how each store supports point collection.

Quick Tools & Support: Adjust the column layout and expand the display area to show more features at a glance without needing to click “See More.”

Solution 2 : Improve the points scanning flow

QR Code Switch UI: The new design features two clear toggle buttons — “Show QR” and “Scan QR” — placed side by side at the bottom of the screen. This layout makes the interface more intuitive, allowing users to quickly understand which mode they’re in. Switching between modes takes just one tap, and the active button is clearly highlighted to avoid confusion.

Solution 3 : Enhance the device cleaning schedule screen

The new design combines two screens into one, displaying service information upfront without requiring extra steps. This streamlines the experience, making it faster and more intuitive for users to view and select services. The updated layout and banner styling enhance brand visibility, while relocating the “support helper” icon to a fixed button at the bottom-right corner boosts both trust and user engagement.

4. SOLUTION STAGE

Macro-level Solution Proposal

The team proposes several solutions for macro-level problems and evaluates their pros and cons. This allows the team to prioritize problems based on available resources and time.

One of the major user pain points is not knowing how to use their reward points or missing the services that offer point promotions. This makes the rewards system feel less useful and points often go to waste.

To solve this, the points balance is made more visible to draw attention and guide users toward services like device cleaning — where they can use points for discounts and earn more after booking. This makes point usage easier and more rewarding.

Next Step

Review the filtered backlog items from previous activities. Additionally, reassess the items with a score below 1 in the Impact/Effort criteria to determine their priority and necessity.

Takeaway

The team learned how to manage time effectively under tight deadlines.
Gained hands-on experience in conducting UX Research activities.
Developed a clearer understanding of the process of proposing product improvements using the 3M framework.