This initial stage was crucial for understanding the needs and motivations of potential contributors. By conducting qualitative user research, I aimed to identify pain points and prioritize feature improvements that would enhance the contributor experience and ultimately benefit the platform.

Recruiting Users: Finding potential contributors who actively used local guide apps involved leveraging my network and CareerFoundry resources (e.g., Slack community).

Standardizing Research: I ensured consistent data collection by preparing a structured interview guide focused on user goals, app preferences, and feature feedback.

Quantifying Insights: While the qualitative research provided valuable insights, I noted the limitations of a small sample size. Future iterations could benefit from a larger and more diverse user group.

Clear Goals: I defined clear objectives for the research, focused on contributor motivations and areas for improvement.

Effective Communication: The interview questions effectively elicited valuable user feedback about their local guide app experiences.

Prioritization Matrix: The Action Priority Matrix proved to be a helpful tool for prioritizing feature improvements based on user impact and potential business benefits.

The insights gained from this initial stage will inform the development of recommendations for improving MakeYourMaps' contributor features. This includes focusing on user needs like discovering new places and streamlining the user review process.