O.M.G Wow
O.M.G Wow
U.X Research
Project Background
O.M.G WOW is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Black women by providing programs and resources to achieve personal and professional success. The organization’s mission is to build a supportive community where Black women can connect, share experiences, and access tailored resources. Membership options include tiered plans that offer exclusive workshops, one-on-one mentorship sessions, and community networking events. To achieve these goals, I conducted UX research to align the organization’s offerings with the unique challenges faced by Black women. This research was essential to uncovering insights into their needs in areas such as finance, career, health, relationships, and spirituality. It also aimed to address barriers to membership, optimize content strategies, and improve platform engagement to foster a more supportive and accessible community experience.
Who were the stakeholders?
Peggy White, CEO and founder of OMG Wow
Leadership team members
Project Timeline
My Role: UX Researcher
Project Overview
Business Objectives
The primary business objectives were:
Increase the number of memberships
Increase completion rate/successful graduates
Increase offline engagement methods (for example: pop-ups)
Research Objectives
The primary objectives of this UX research project were to:
Identify the unique challenges faced by Black women in areas like finance, career, health, relationships, and spirituality, enabling OMG WOW to tailor its programs and resources to address these needs effectively.
Determine the preferred content formats (text, video, infographics, interactive tools) for storytelling and marketing, ensuring more engaging and impactful communication with the target audience.
Identify features that foster community and networking to create a supportive environment where members can connect and share experiences, strengthening the sense of belonging.
Understand barriers to membership to address obstacles that may prevent potential members from joining OMG WOW.
Discover the digital platforms where the target audience is most active to focus marketing efforts strategically and increase visibility.
Techniques and Methods
I used generative research methods, including 4 user interviews and one survey.
Why these methods?
The interviews were qualitative, structured and included many open ended questions to dive deeper into user needs, and the survey allowed us to reach a larger audience with less time commitment.
Recruitment methods
Target Recruitment: Black women in the U.S, aged 18+ with a desired focus on 25-35 years old.
Desired Profiles: Underserved communities, underemployed, single parents/divorced, looking to start a business or advance their career, finding life's purpose to reach goals and ambitions, disparities in health.
Recruitment was done through social media, specifically facebook, instagram and slack, and through personal contacts.
I opened the recruitment criteria to women of color that weren’t African American because I did not have many responses from Black women in my recruitment efforts.
The participants that were recruited for the research were ultimately a mixture of my contacts and Peggy White’s contacts.
Learnings
Here are the insights gathered from both the survey data and interviews.
Detailed Comparative Analysis of Insights from Black women and other women of color interviewed
Due to limitations in my recruitment efforts, I included non-target users in the interviews. There were similarities in their struggles and challenges in their professional and personal lives which are noted below.
Comparative Insights
Mentorship
All participants stressed the importance of mentorship for personal and professional growth.
Financial Guidance
Both VillageMomma and other participants like Fariha emphasized the need for financial literacy resources earlier in their lives.
Learning Preferences
Visual and interactive methods are preferred across all groups.
Unique Challenges
Women of color face unique challenges in professional settings, including isolation and lack of representation.
Community and Support
There is a strong need for supportive communities and accessible resources.
Recommendations
These are the most important recommendations, concluding from the research.
They include both short term and long term recommendations.
Limitations
There are a few factors that influenced this project and caused limitations.
These include time, lack of incentives, and previous research.
Time Constraints
Many potential participants lacked the time to engage with recruitment posts and emails on social media, limiting their involvement in the research. Earlier communication, allowing for more time to respond, could have increased participation rates. More time could also help attract a broader pool of candidates that fit the target criteria.
Lack of Incentives
The absence of incentives for participants further limited research engagement. Offering incentives, such as Amazon gift cards, could motivate more individuals to participate in future studies.
Previous Research
Prior research on O.M.G Wow focused primarily on perspectives other than those of younger Black women entering the workforce. The personas created were based on Peggy’s viewpoint, which resulted in limited insights about this specific target group, complicating efforts to recruit suitable participants.
What’s next?
What should be done after this research?
User Journey Map
This map highlights a journey of a young Black women in their early professional life.
Reflections + What I Would Do Differently
Reflecting on this project, I learned a lot about the struggles of women of color, particularly in the workforce and different stages of life. I enjoyed being able to provide recommendations for the non-profit to improve their strategy and better support their needs. These services are crucial in aiding black women succeed whether that’s in their personal, spiritual, or financial aspects of their life. I appreciated being able to take part in conducting the research and learning more about their journey.
A few things I would do differently are:
Recruit earlier to have more time to attract the target audience, young Black women
Create more engaging social media outreach campaigns for participation in the research
Use Lyssna to test the website prior to any research to gather initial feedback, as well allow the interviewees to do a cognitive walkthrough of the website rather than showing it to them myself
