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Human Factors · Academic

Beantown Baby Diaper Bank

Heuristic UX evaluation using 118 nonprofit engagement criteria to improve donor trust, volunteer recruitment, and donation flows.

Beantown Baby Diaper Bank logo
Beantown Baby – a diaper bank whose website we evaluated for usability and nonprofit best practices.

Context

  • Human Factors in Experience Design (Bentley); team of 20 researchers
  • Heuristic evaluation of Beantown Baby (diaper bank) website
  • Goal: improve donor trust, volunteer recruitment, donation flows

What I did

  • Applied 118 criteria (Nielsen Norman Group, adapted for nonprofits)
  • Scored each item green / yellow / red; turned gaps into actionable recommendations
  • Presented findings to Beantown Baby stakeholders

Outcomes

  • Working well: clear mission, 501(c)(3) visible, donation button on every page, trusted payment
  • Recommended: stronger emotional appeal, clearer impact language, smoother paths to get involved
  • Stakeholder-ready roadmap tied to rubric and user-need principles

Key Findings

Finding 01 Trust is there

The site already communicates that Beantown Baby is legitimate and safe to give to — the basics are solid.

Finding 02 Story is thin

What donations make possible for families is underused, so visitors don’t feel the full impact of giving.

Finding 03 Actions are scattered

Donate, volunteer, and learn more live in different places, which makes it harder for people to take the next step.

Finding 04 Change is prioritized

Our rubric turns all 118 criteria into a focused roadmap, so the team knows which fixes matter most first.

Want the full 118 criteria, slides, and stakeholder deck?

See the full Beantown Baby case study →