A pairing app that helps young professionals match with young professionals in complimentary fields.
Product: Mobile
Duration: 2 weeks
Role: UX Designer
the client
about the project
Young professionals trying to find other young professionals in complimentary fields.
the problem
Young professionals have a difficult time connecting with another young professional in a complimentary field.
the solution
A pairing app that allows young professionals to find other young professionals in a natural, safe way.
the process
I followed the Double Diamond method. There are four phases - discover, define, develop, deliver.
discover
research - user interviews & competitive analysis
Four participants
All young professionals actively looking for a professional partner
Check out my research plan
Check out my interview discussion guide
findings
All participants believe having a professional partner is important for the success in their job.
A common challenge that young professionals face are finding another young professional.
All young professionals are open or actively looking for an alternative to current way of searching.
Users currently solve this problem by searching LinkedIn or current client connections.
Check out my synthesis debrief
define
pov statements & hmw questions
pov
hmw 1
hmw 2
I would like to explore ways to help young professionals partner with other young professionals in complementary lines of work because they feel those relationships are dependent on their success in their job.
How might we make the search for another young professional in a complimentary field exciting instead of discouraging?
How might we make vetting another young professional in a complimentary field as seamless as checking a product's reviews on Amazon?
idea generation - brainstorming
how does the chosen idea solve the hmw questions?
The search is now exciting and simple - similar to LinkedIn but now users are ensured these professionals are also looking for a partner.
Vetting is seamless - link to socials allows the professional to see similar connections and activity.
persona
user flow
Top flow - complete the initial onboarding and set up profile.
Bottom flow - connect with a professional.
develop
low-fidelity
Prioritized the following screens:
Entry Form - onboarding
Home - where the user could see recommended connections, requests and recent accepts
Messages - recent conversations between connections
Search - to look up professionals near them
Profile - the users personal page
features list of importance
mid-fidelity wireframes
Brought the sketches to life in Figma after feedback from my mentor.
Designed all onboarding screens.
Added all icons and verbiage.
Researched existing UI patterns to ensure user experience is intuitive to similar applications.
Designed 25 screens. 6 onboarding screens previewed below.
high fidelity mockups
visual design
Added all visual aspects- color, branding, text and images.
Had multiple sessions with my mentor to get feedback on the UI pattern, UI elements and branding.
Made multiple revisions based on this feedback.
Designed 40 screens. 9 screens to preview below.
6 screens of the onboarding flow
3 screens of the connecting & messaging a professional flow
usability testing
Performed with three young professionals.
They had two tasks to complete:
Onboarding with profile set up
Connecting with and messaging a professional
Results from the testing showed promise to the designs, all completed tasks with ease. One mentioned the verbiage was confusing for the “rank your partner preferences” screen.
iterations
change: elaborating on instructions for “rank your partner preferences”
prototype
outcome
what would i do differently?
If I could go back, I would love to do an extra research method. A diary study would give me more information in the day-to-day life and struggles of the professionals with the given dilemma. After realizing this in the middle of the project, I made sure to listen closely and ask questions after usability testing on the incorporation to every day life. One participant shared “Everything felt natural and easy when clicking. This app would be easy to use when I have a short break in my day.”
what was my biggest takeaway?
When it comes to end to end mobile apps, it is important to understand what features are needed and at what level of importance compared to others. This will make a huge impact on your screens and user experience!
what impact will the design have?
If I had more time I would have included more ways for the user to vet a potential professional partner. I would love to design screens with testimonials, specific statistics, reviews, and more specific onboarding questions to vet out scammers.
was the design successful?
Yes! The expertally app checks all the boxes that the user needs: ease of use, vetting opportunities, local options, increased clarity of options and convenience. This is a conceptual project, but through usability testing it is clear that users would be impacted through all of the listed factors.