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Taino Language  

Our product is a unique language and cultural learning platform specifically focused on the Taíno heritage. It provides an engaging and comprehensive experience, allowing users to learn the Taíno language and delve into its rich cultural history. The app combines interactive lessons with cultural insights, making the learning process not only educational but also a journey of cultural reconnection. It serves as a vital link for Taíno descendants and enthusiasts to explore their heritage in a way that is accessible, engaging, and deeply meaningful

My Role

Roadmap Creation & Optimization

Optimized product roadmap by prioritizing onboarding and lesson experiences through market research, ensuring user engagement

User-Centric Design

Successfully improved the product design by incorporating user feedback, leading to continuous enhancements with an 90% positive feedback rate.

 

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Streamlined cross-functional team meetings of +25 members (UX/UI, Research, and Developers), including sprint planning, retros, resulting in 50% productivity boost

Continous PRD Improvement

Produced weekly updated Product Requirement documents by incorporating feedback from stakeholders, fostering alignment  between the client and team

MVP Gallery

The designs offer below offer a glimpse into 3 sections of our app: 

1. Introductory Experience Demo: Step into the world of Taíno culture and language with our immersive introductory experience. Explore the vibrant imagery and engaging content that sets the stage for your language learning journey.

2. Lesson 1 Demo: Dive into our first language lesson and experience the interactive learning activities designed to introduce you to essential Taíno vocabulary and phrases. Discover the intuitive interface and dynamic features that make learning both educational and enjoyable.

3. Onboarding Demo: Begin your journey with ease through our user-friendly onboarding process. From setting up your profile to customizing your learning preferences, our onboarding demo showcases the seamless transition into our app’s immersive learning environment.

 

Problem Background

The background research on the Taíno culture and language revealed a strong interest among individuals of Hispanic or Latino/a/e, Caribbean, and Taíno backgrounds to learn about and preserve the Taíno language. However, users face challenges such as a fragmented language revitalization landscape, a lack of credible resources, and a need for a supportive community.

We must understand the current market landscape to address these pain points and create a successful language-learning app. By analyzing competitor apps, we can identify gaps in their offerings, uncover common pain points experienced by users, and explore opportunities to position our app as a superior solution.

Language Learner Challenges

Potential learners of the Taíno language and culture face significant barriers, including:

  • Fragmented Resources: The landscape for Taíno language revitalization is scattered across various organizations and linguistic variants, making navigation and learning daunting and inefficient.

  • Lack of Credible Resources: There is a scarcity of educational resources on the Taíno language and culture that are free from a colonizer’s perspective, which undermines the authenticity and accuracy of the learning experience.

  • Community Gap: Aspiring learners struggle to find a supportive community for collaborative learning and practice, which is crucial for language acquisition and cultural immersion.

    Value Proposition

    Our Taino Language App is not just another language application but a language platform designed to create an inclusive experience. Through our platform, language learners are provided with:

    Authentic and Engaging User Experience

    Our application offers an interface that authentically represents Taíno culture and engages users through intuitive design and interactive content.

    Cultural Awareness

    Help learners connect and learn more about the Taino cultural heritage and enhance the daily learning experience through imagery and cultural practices.

    Gamification

    Receive rewards or achievement badges with cultural significance to Taínos are more meaningful to learners as they progress through levels

    Challenge and Competition

    Encourage learners to participate in collaborative challenges, fostering community engagement and reinforcing the importance of sharing knowledge to benefit the entire community.

    Research

    U

    Discover

    The research aims to bridge this gap by exploring the Taino community’s knowledge, opinion and expectations of gamification in language-learning apps, focusing on Duolingo.

    Define

    We aim to better understand the Taino community’s perception of gamification in language-learning apps and identify the operational definition of gamification for the community.

    l

    Design

    Create a an Authentic an engaging User experience that authentically represents Taino culture driven by user feedback.

    Research Learning Points

    Key Points
    Gamification in language-learning apps
    Promoting Engagement and language revitalization efforts
    Personalized Learning Experience
    Progression
    Challenge and Competition
    Learning Points
    Rewards or achievement badges with cultural significance to Taínos are more meaningful to learners as they progress through levels.
    Learners value a comprehensive and personalized learning experience where Taíno cultural and spiritual elements are incorporated, especially those that may be relevant to them today.
    Overall users desire personalization and adaptivity, with factors such as spiritual/religious beliefs, ethnicity, heritage, testing into levels, Taíno identification, age, and learning style playing a role.
    Progression and leveling up motivate learners, help track progress, and provide a sense of accomplishment.
    Challenges and competition should be framed communally, with a focus on shared growth and accomplishment
    Product Opportunities
    Introduce rewards and achievements based on earning cultural objects that align with Taíno values and traditions, providing a sense of accomplishment and motivation
    Provide lessons that include words or phrases used in the modern context, derived from the Taíno language, to establish connections between the past and the present.
    Offer personalization options, such as island selection, to cater to diverse learner preferences and create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
    Create a progress bar for each module to break down the learning journey, track progress, and motivate users to continue with their language learning.
    Encourage learners to participate in collaborative challenges, fostering community engagement and reinforcing the importance of sharing knowledge to benefit the entire community.

    Customer Segmentation

    Taino Descendants and Enthusiasts

     

    • Individuals with Taíno heritage who are interested in reconnecting with their roots.
    • Enthusiasts who may not have Taíno ancestry but have a keen interest in the culture and language.

    Hispanic or Latino Community

    • People from the broader Hispanic or Latino/a/e community interested in exploring the Taíno culture and language as part of their heritage.

    Caribbean Community

    • Individuals from the Caribbean region who wish to learn about the Taíno culture, especially if they have cultural ties to the Taíno heritage.

    Language Enthusiasts

    • Individuals passionate about learning unique and less-commonly-taught languages, viewing Taíno as an exciting linguistic challenge.

    Educators and Researchers

    • Teachers, researchers, and academics interested in incorporating Taíno language and culture into their curriculum or studies.

    Cultural Organizations

    • Organizations dedicated to preserving and promoting indigenous cultures, including Taíno, looking for comprehensive resources to support their initiatives.

    Customer Pain Points and Solutions

    Customer Segmentation
    Taino Descendants and Enthusiasts
    Hispanic or Latino Community
    Caribbean Comnunity
    Language Enthusiasts
    Educators and Researchers
    Cultural Organizations
    Pain Points
    Limited access to credible Taíno language, cultural resources and difficulty in finding a community that shares their specific heritage and interest.
    Lack of awareness or understanding about the Taíno heritage and difficulty navigating through scattered resources in the language learning landscape.
    Limited access to comprehensive Taíno language learning material and difficulty in finding resources specific to their Caribbean context.
    Limited availability of platforms offering less-commonly-taught languages and potential frustration with complex or poorly structured language learning materials.
    Difficulty in finding reliable and comprehensive resources for teaching or research and potential lack of collaboration tools or platforms for sharing insights.
    Limited availability of digital resources to support their initiatives and potential challenges in reaching a wider audience interested in Taíno heritage.
    Solutions
    Offer curated and authentic content, including language lessons and cultural insights and create a dedicated community space within the app for Taíno descendants and enthusiasts to connect and share experiences.
    Develop introductory materials to educate users about the significance of Taíno culture and provide a user-friendly interface that organizes resources efficiently, addressing the issue of fragmentation.
    Tailor content to include aspects of the Taíno heritage that are particularly relevant to the Caribbean region and collaborate with Caribbean experts to ensure cultural nuances are accurately represented in the app.
    Position the app as a unique platform offering a rare language-learning experience and design user-friendly, structured lessons with engaging interactive elements.
    Provide dedicated sections for educators with lesson plans and research materials and include features that facilitate collaboration and information sharing among educators and researchers.
    Offer partnership programs for cultural organizations, providing them with tools to engage their audience digitally and Implement features that allow organizations to promote events and initiatives within the app.

    Product Key Features

    Feature prioritization involves evaluating each feature based on its effectiveness in addressing user needs, the required engineering efforts, ease of implementation, and associated risks. This ensures that the most impactful and feasible features are developed first, concentrating on delivering value to users and facilitating a successful MVP product development journey. Additional features can be incorporated in subsequent development phases.

    Effectiveness: This aspect assesses how well a feature caters to core user needs within the Taíno language and cultural learning context. Priority is given to features directly enhancing language acquisition, cultural understanding, and community engagement.

    Engineering Efforts: Evaluation here considers the time and resources needed for the development of a feature within the specific requirements of Taíno language revitalization. Features demanding significant resources should offer substantial value, while those with quicker implementation may be prioritized for immediate impact or foundational improvements.

    Ease of Implementation: In the Taíno language application, we assess how seamlessly a feature can be integrated without disrupting the learning process or requiring extensive modifications. Prioritization is given to features that smoothly enhance the overall learning experience, leading to faster releases and valuable early user feedback.

    Risk: This factor gauges potential negative impacts, such as challenges in preserving cultural authenticity or technical issues. Features with higher risk undergo thorough review and testing within the Taíno language and cultural context. If the risks outweigh the benefits, a feature may be re-evaluated or redesigned, emphasizing the importance of cultural accuracy and technical reliability.

    Comprehensive Taíno Language Lessons: Interactive and structured lessons covering essential language elements.

    Cultural Insights Section: In-depth content exploring the rich history and cultural significance of the Taíno heritage.

     

     

    Comprehensive Taíno Language Lessons: Interactive and structured lessons covering essential language elements.

    Cultural Insights Section: In-depth content exploring the rich history and cultural significance of the Taíno heritage.

    Progress Tracking: Personalized dashboards allowing users to monitor their language learning progress.

    Interactive Games and Quizzes: Engaging activities to reinforce language skills and cultural knowledge.

    Credible Resource Repository: Centralized repository of reliable Taíno language and cultural resources.

    User-Friendly Navigation: Intuitive interface facilitating easy access to language lessons.

    Personalized Learning Experience：Offer personalization options, such as island selection, to cater to diverse learner preferences and create a welcoming and inclusive environment.

    Implementation of Cultural Traits：Utilize relevant Taíno imagery, incorporate daily ritual/prayer words, and implement features for sharing progress on social media to help learners connect with their cultural heritage and enhance the daily learning experience.

    Social Interaction：Establish a social experience within the app, such as a message board to foster interaction, provide language practice opportunities, and enable peer-to-peer support.

    Offline Learning Support: Downloadable lessons for users to access content offline.

     

     

    Live Q&A Sessions with Experts： Periodic live sessions where learners can interact with Taíno language and culture experts.

    Augmented Reality Cultural Experiences: AR features providing immersive experiences related to Taíno heritage sites or artifacts.

    Integration with Social Media: Option to share achievements, cultural insights, and language progress on social platforms.

    Language Translation Services: The app focuses on language learning rather than providing general translation services.

    Unrelated Language Content: Content from languages outside the Taíno context to maintain focus and authenticity.

    Excessive Gamification: Overly gamified elements that may distract from the app’s educational goals.

    User Persona 1 / Language Enthusiast

    Customer Journey

    User Persona 2 / Heritage Seeker

    Customer Journey

    Project Roadmap

    User Story

    Acceptance Criteria

    Language Enthusiast

    As a new Language Enthusiast, the first time I open the app, I would like to see some simple greeting phrases in the Taino Language, so that I feel very welcome.

      • The app greets the user with a welcome message displayed prominently on the screen.
      • The Taino greeting should be displayed within 5 seconds of the app being opened to provide a seamless and responsive user experience.
      • To ensure a smooth onboarding experience, the Taino greeting is shown only the first time the users opens the app.
      Language Enthusiast

      As a Language Enthusiast, I also seek clarity on the meaning of Taíno language terms, facilitating my initial lesson comprehension upon first app login.

        • The Taíno language terms and their meanings should be presented in a manner that is easily understandable to users, ensuring clear comprehension without ambiguity.
        • Upon the first login, users must have immediate access to the Taíno language section from the main app interface.

         

        Heritage Seeker

        As a Heritage Seeker, I want to engage with interactive content that educates me about the Taíno language’s history and importance, so that I can appreciate the value and context of what I’m learning

          • Develop interactive content that educates Heritage Seekers about the historical context of the Taíno language.
          • The app should Integrate audio recordings to engage users effectively. 
          • Interface responsiveness maintains an average response time of under 100 milliseconds for navigation actions.

           

          Language Enthusiast

          As a Language Enthusiast, I want to access a curated selection of essential Taíno phrases accompanied by accurate pronunciation guides, empowering me to initiate conversations.

            • Users are presented with a curated list of essential Taíno phrases, accompanied by clear English translations for each phrase.
            • The list of Taíno phrases covers a broad range of everyday scenarios, including greetings, introductions, expressions of gratitude, and basic conversational phrases.
            Heritage Seeker

            As a Heritage Seeker keen on reconnecting with my cultural heritage, I am seeking a well-structured first lesson that prioritizes practicality and authenticity.

            • The app should show a specific phrase “Hello, my name is _____” as the focal point for the lesson, ensuring its relevance and usefulness in real-life scenarios.
            • The app would break down the phrase into individual words and components, including “hello,” “my,” “name,” “is,” and the placeholder for the name.
            • Provide immediate feedback to users on the accuracy and completeness of their reconstructed phrase, facilitating learning and reinforcing correct usage.
            Heritage Seeker

            As a Heritage Seeker, This lesson should feature fundamental Taíno phrases tailored for real-life usage, enabling me to use my skills into conversations with family and friends,  enriching my journey of heritage exploration.

            • The Taíno phrases presented in the lesson should be tailored for real-life usage, focusing on practical conversational scenarios that Heritage Seekers are likely to encounter.
            • Each Taíno phrase should be presented clearly and concisely, with accompanying explanations or examples to aid understanding and usage.

            Risks

            Risk Mitigation

            Cultural Authenticity Concerns

            Inaccuracies or misrepresentations in cultural content may lead to backlash from the Taíno community

                Collaborate with Taíno experts and cultural organizations for content validation. Establish an advisory board to provide ongoing feedback

                 

                Limited User Engagement

                Users may not actively participate in the community hub or interactive features.

                    Implement gamification elements, reward systems, and periodic challenges to encourage consistent user engagement. Regularly update content to keep users interested

                     

                    Technical Issues and Bugs

                    Potential technical glitches or bugs may affect the app’s functionality 

                        Conducting thorough testing phases, including beta testing with a diverse user group

                         

                        Insufficient Marketing and Awareness

                        Inadequate promotion may lead to low user acquisition

                            Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy targeting the Taíno community, Hispanic/Latino groups, and language enthusiasts. Collaborate with influencers and cultural organizations for wider reach

                             

                            Limited Access to Taino Language Experts

                            Users may have questions or require additional support that the app cannot address

                            Organize periodic live Q&A sessions with Taíno language and culture experts. Establish a support system for user queries

                            Dependency on Cultural Organizations

                            Dependency on external cultural organizations may pose challenges

                              Diversify content sources, build strong partnerships with multiple cultural organizations, and have contingency plans in case of collaboration challenges

                              Go-to-Market Strategy

                              Unique Value Proposition

                              What sets us apart is our unique focus on the Taíno language and culture, authenticity, and engaging community features.

                              Collaborate with Cultural Influencers

                              Partner with influencers within the Taíno community, cultural influencers, and language learning advocates to promote the app authentically.

                              Content Marketing

                              Develop blog posts, articles, and videos highlighting the significance of the Taíno language and culture. Share these on your website, social media, and partner platforms

                              Partnerships with Cultural Organizations

                              Form partnerships with cultural organizations, museums, and educational institutions to expand reach and credibility