Understanding what plastic collectors need beyond payments

Researching what collectors value before deciding what to build

The collector app supports transactions, balances, and cashout. A new brief proposed recognition, progress, and community features. I’m leading the research to establish whether those ideas address a collector need.

The study can lead to a product concept, an operational recommendation, or a decision to stop.

  • Project_in_progress
  • user_research
  • product_strategy
  • field_research

At a glance

3 hypotheses
Defined for validation
12–24 interviews
Planned research sample
Ops handoff
Interview guide delivered

Problem

The brief proposed features before establishing a need

Recognition and community were plausible ideas, but payment confidence, transaction clarity, or problems at a branch might matter more. Collectors may be happy opening the app only when they have a job to do.

I set the study up so any of those answers can win, including “don’t build it.”

Three Plastic Bank collectors pictured as heroes, illustrating the recognition hypothesis being explored in the research.
Collectors are heroes to us. We needed to understand what would make them feel that way too.

The process

Start with what collectors actually do

The interviews begin with a recent sale: what the collector checked, what went wrong, what mattered, and what happened next. Recognition, progress, and community come later, so the proposed features do not frame the initial answers.

I defined recruiting criteria and a shared notes and debrief format so local teams could run the research in their own language and compare findings.

Research hypotheses and evidence criteria for transactional needs, utility anxiety, and recognition or affirmation.
Three hypotheses to test.

The decision framework

Set the criteria for building—or stopping

Synthesis determines whether there is a problem worth taking into concepts. A concept must test well and be feasible before moving into a prototype or build. Operational problems can go to operations; a weak product case can stop.

A pilot needs a specific collector need, an expected change, and a way to measure it. More app opens alone would not establish that the feature helped.

Project timeline showing discovery, interviews, synthesis, concept exploration, validation, prototyping, and pilot decision points.
The project timeline leaves room to build, iterate, or stop.

Outcome so far

The research handoff is complete

Three hypotheses, recruiting criteria, and the interview guide are defined, with the guide handed to operations. The planned sample is 12–24 interviews. The completed milestone is the research handoff; synthesis and a product decision are still ahead.

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