Project Opus wraps next week... Wow, that’s crazy to say! This week, and next, the team is focused on cleaning up all design screens and producing clickable prototype and product demo video to share with the world! 

If you missed last week's recap, we shared the final batch of adjustments that were discussed in our internal design review meeting. The team made quick work of reacting to that feedback, focusing on tweaking language and labels to keep things neutral to stay true to what we initially set out to do and reinforce trust between users and Poli, the app’s AI character guide. They also added an eagle-eye view to the Practice Ballot feature, giving users a quick way to see all the candidates and policies that match their values. And now, all the teams attention is on creating the final prototype and video! 

As we gear up for the grand reveal next week, we’re taking a moment to reflect on this project—the highs, lows, challenges, and wins. Here’s what the team had to say!

Reflecting on these 10 weeks, it’s crazy to think how fast the time flew by! What started as just an idea (to make an AI tool that helps people know if they're looking at biased or AI-altered information), has emerged as a full blown political AI app. An app that helps people stay engaged with political issues by leveraging AI to make it easy to stay informed on issues that matter in a variety of ways. 

It’s been a fast-paced, cross continental project, and we’re so happy with where we’ve ended up! Sure, there were some unpredictable moments, like when we figured out our hero feature wasn’t the one people were most interested in, and more than a few late nights wondering if we’d pull it off, but here we are, with a product we’re all proud of. The team was spread across the globe—California, Colorado, Illinois, Portugal, and Japan—making it a truly collaborative effort that came together from all corners.

“I'm pleasantly surprised at how it went—there were a lot of moments where things felt crazy or unsure if the idea was going to be successful, but I feel like we ended up at a really good place.” -Sarah Fields

“Big kudos for the design team to jump through hoops, constantly changing the concepts' layouts based on insights and internal reviews. It was a lot of work in a small amount of time, and they crushed it.” -Alice Phipps

It was unanimous, that the high points in this process revolved around seeing the impact our work could have on people’s lives. There’s nothing quite like hearing participants say, “I’d use this!” or “When is this going to be available?” and knowing that the features we designed really resonated. Hearing that people genuinely saw value in the app was an energizing moment for the team, knowing we were on the right path, but the team’s energy really peaked in the final research session when we put the designed screens in front of users and let them explore the whole flow. It was in those sessions that we knew we really hit on something meaningful, and our vision came to life.

“The best part? Hearing people ask when the product is going to be live for them to use! To create something that resonates instantly with people and can actually solve issues they are experiencing in their daily lives is the ultimate high in a project like this.” –Danielle Panigall

“Understanding the importance of this app through testing and how it can improve people’s lives and contribute to a better world.” –Cygny Malvar

As much as we wish the whole project was rainbows and smooth sailing, we did have some hiccups. If we had to distill it down to one low point, it was the intensity and speed at which everything had to come together. We only gave ourselves 10 weeks and squeezed in 3 rounds of user testing.

We set out with a goal to really push the boundaries and create an inventive solution. Using our in-house Innovation Equation model during the ideation phase really helped us to start on that path, but we wish we had more time in the schedule to do another round of Innovation Equation invention once we heard from users to see what other crazy ideas we could have come up with. Some of us found it tough getting out of our own heads, feeling the pressure to deliver “perfect” ideas right from the start when there were no restraints on how far we could take the product. We also had to make some tough calls, narrowing down our focus and letting go of certain ideas that we’d hoped to explore.

While we’re super happy with where the final designs have ended up, there are a few features we had brainstormed early as a team that didn’t quite make the cut.

• Storytelling: One feature involved using AI to share political issues and news updates as a fictional story to try to remove immediate bias and preconceived notions from users. Instead of reading about political figures, they’d be reading about fictional characters to present the plotline and both sides for people to then form their own opinions. It really was going to take the storytelling approach to design and user experience to a whole new, very literal, level.
• Visualizations: We had some comparison summary visualizations that didn’t quite make it that could have made more granular information pop, but with mobile apps, space is limited and it didn’t contribute to a consistent experience.
• In Person Photo Analysis: An idea that came up very recently was the ability to take pictures of proposition signs in people’s yards, billboards, or even TV ads and have them analyzed the same way the plug-in feature of our app does for online browsing. It’d be another way to fact-check, get quick summaries, and learn more through the app to make sense of the political content you’re seeing out in the real world.

These features might be on the back burner for now, but who knows, maybe they will make their way into the next iteration of this tool!

As a team, our biggest hope is that Poli empowers people to not just stay informed on politics but actively engage in the conversation and take action. By helping reduce the stress (and, at times, avoidance) around politics information consumption so people can make well-informed decisions without feeling overwhelmed.

“I’d want people to be able to use the Practice Ballot to get out there and vote! I still hear so many people who think their vote doesn't matter this year or that they don't feel educated enough to vote, but if they could use the app, they would probably reconsider that.” –Sarah Field

“I hope users feel less anxious about news consumption and are better informed to make their political decisions.” –Cygny Malvar

“I would want it to encourage people to vote. The practice ballot is SO COOL and engages me so much in voting. I would hope it helps users understand how they should vote based on their beliefs over the beliefs of others.” –Alice Phipps  

“I hope people incorporate it into their daily lives to stay aware of what is going on and encourage them to want to join the political conversation!” –Danielle Panigall 

Next week we’ll be sharing the final product reveal and product demo video! We may even be sharing the working prototype. You’ll have to come back next week to see…

In the meantime, check out the weekly writeups below and follow us on LinkedIn to view video summaries!

• Week 1 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 2 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 3 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 4 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 5 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 6 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 7 Writeup & Recap Video
• Week 8 Writeup & Recap Video