To build my portfolio I, on my own initiative, decided to design a chatbot for a fictional use case I came up with for aerospace museum Space Expo in The Netherlands.


USE CASE


The three main goals:

  • Getting more kids enthusiastic about space
  • Attract a younger audience
  • Inform kids and their parents about the possibility to organize a birthday party at Space Expo


Chatbot

  • Target audience: children
  • Getting the user enthusiastic about Space Expo
  • Teach the user about planets in a fun, informal way
  • Offer a discount after completing the space mission
  • Offer a link that can be forwarded to friends to play the adventure



BACKGROUND


Chatbot Stella is a space adventurer and scientist who wants to learn as much a possible about our solar system and everything beyond.

For her research she has collected samples from every planet in our solar system which she can test in her laboratory.

BUT THERE’S ONE PROBLEM! Her samples are almost empty and there’s still so much to learn!


To limit the delay in her research Stella is in dire need of a skilled pilot who can go on an expedition for her to collect new samples. But where could she find one…?



THE GAME


The user is asked to be Stella’s new pilot and collect new samples from every planet. The user will learn something new about each planet visited. This could be:


  • A fun fact
  • Watching a video
  • Short quiz


Once the user has watched/answered they’ll receive a sample. All samples together will form a badge. When a user completes the whole expedition and has been rewarded the whole badge they will receive a, for instance, voucher with a discount.



Please note:

Even if the user doesn’t finish the whole game, they’ll be rewarded for the effort so they will leave the game feeling good about themselves. For instance:


  • 0-4 planets visited. Badge of honor.
  • 5-8 planets visited 10% discount + free set of Space Kids birthday invitations (for the amount of € 5,-)
  • 9 planets visited. 25% discount + free



BOT PERSONA – MEET STELLA!


Stella is:

  • Expressive, can be a bit cheeky at times
  • Motivational
  • Enthusiastic
  • Confident
  • Patient
  • Friendly


Language

  • Active voice
  • Clear and concise
  • Emoticons: yes


Reference

  • Pippi Longstocking


Complete bot persona available in Miro 


Rationale user personas


For this use case I came up with two different user persona’s (complete overview available in Miro, in Dutch). 

Please note that there was no research done in advance due to the fact that this isn’t an actual use case. I did however, consciously decided not to assign gender to both user personas. Because, I believe it’s very important that Space Expo is able to attract both boys and girls.


Rationale flow chart


I consciously decided to give the user only two options for their next destination opposed to deciding the destination themselves. In this case there’s a high risk that the users will not finish the journey if they get confused or impatient. 

For instance, if they don’t know the names of all the planets or have to leave the storyline to look up the names of the planet and get distracted.


I believe choosing for this solution will offer the user a clear framework so they will know what is expected from them. Therefore, the chances of them finishing the storyline will be higher.



Whole flow chart available in Miro 


More dialogue


I wrote a couple of samples for apologies or a slow internet connection (in Dutch). And you might see that Stella can crack a joke or two.


Please contact me if you’d like to know more. I’d love to tell you more about this project!