Choice of research method: The team was in a “Learn” phase, having released the first version of the TAP online program, and wanted to learn if the model was serving the needs of the students.

• Hence, we chose interviews and participatory design research to collect user stories and ideate changes for future versions.

• In a span of 6 months, I conducted 100 interviews to uncover why the students had enrolled in the program, what kept them going, and the barriers they faced in the self-learning model.

• The chatbot (TAP) buddy was personified by conducting a remote interactive co-design session with students. They described how they imagined TAP buddy to help them learn and a graphic designer collaborated with me to design the visuals of the chatbot as per the students’ needs.

Thematic Analysis of 100 interviews:

1. User Stories

2. Journey Map

3. User Personas

Concept generation through co-design with students and stakeholders. Prototyped chatbot design and user journey.

1. Gamification narrative and chatbot redesign

2. Set tone and voice for chatbot UX copy

3. Incentive restructuring in game design

1. Literature review and competitor analysis

2. Designing an interactive discussion guide for in-depth interviews

3. Conducting 100 in-depth interviews with students and stakeholders

Problem reframing: How might we build intrinsic motivation-driven narrative designs instead of relying on points, badges, and leaderboards?