Looking at our users' feedback we designed 3 new features to improve searching and selecting a service. These included favorites, reviews, and a social impact badge.
Favorites
During research, users mentioned how long looking at individual listings takes.
I came up with a Favorites tool so users would be able to save listings to look at later/easily return to.
Reviews
Located at the bottom of listing page
Strong user value
Key aspect of service selection
Social Impact
Located in the Listing page/Listing Card
User can filter by brands that support social impact
User can read how the company supports social impact
Project Update
Original
20%
Of users were clear on the site message
Hi-fi Protoype
100%
Of users were clear on the site message
80%
Of users were able to find a service
100%
Of users were able to find a service
Original
60%
Of users said that navigation/filtering were difficult
Hi-fi Prototype
0%
Of users said that navigation/filtering were difficult
80%
Of users had difficulty with search bar, navigation bars, and location search
25%
Of users had difficulty with search bar, navigation bars, and location search
We performed a user test on the Hi-fi prototype to see if task completion was affected
Opporty
Background & Challenge
Opporty is a service marketplace focused on supporting businesses that provide social good.
Opporty was a startup with a functioning website and small online community. As a UX designer it was my role to work with a team on redesigning the website.
The CEO wanted to increase site traffic and user engagement. Our team began with a discussion on the scope of the project and the brand identity. Our team of 4 had 2 months to complete this project.
Our main focus was on how to connect users with businesses.
How might we streamline the searching and navigating process so that users can find services they are looking for with ease?
First we needed to understand our user.
User Research
Needs & Wants
We began our research by discussing the company's brand identity with the CEO. He noted his main focuses as emphasizing accessibility, supporting businesses with disadvantaged owners/employees, and supporting companies in showing their expertise.
From there we wanted to know what current users thought of Opporty. We set out to perform 5 user tests and interviews on the current site.
We wanted to find out from user tests:
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What were the initial thoughts/reactions to Opporty?
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How do they navigate Opporty to find services?
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What is their experience navigating Opporty?
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Are there things they wish they saw on Opporty?
20%
Users clear on site message
80%
Users able to find a service
60%
Said navigating/filter was difficult
80%
Had difficulty with search bar, navigation bars, and location search
Our user test results made it clear that there was a problem with the site navigation and user flow. Users weren't clear on what the site was and how to get around to find what they needed. We decided to conduct 5 user tests to see what users were looking for in a service marketplace and how they usually looked for a service.
We wanted to find out from user interviews:
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How do users look for a service?
-
What are their goals/priorities when looking for a service?
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What were past frustrations in looking for a service?
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Why did users chose one service provider over another?
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What role did social impact have on hiring a service?
We synthesized our data using affinity mapping and infographics and encapsulated our user into a persona.
Strategy
Framing & Solution
Using our research discoveries we planned our design direction. Moving forward we would focus on:
Design Changes
-
Landing page with clear brand message
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Streamlined search with prominent search bar
-
Clear seller and user CTA
New Features
-
Favorites allowing users to save listings
-
Reviews allowing users to leave and read reviews
-
Social Impact Badge
A new challenge presents:
After our initial wireframe design, our scope was widen to highlight businesses of minorities and disadvantaged groups.
Our team had lengthy discussions around the implications and complications of highlighting certain groups over others and the sensitive political and legal issues that might arise in the future.
I proposed a more general Social Impact Badge that would allow business to highlight the good they do without needing to name the specific groups they identified in or supported. This alternative was accepted by the client and implemented into the final design.
Meet Sarah
Sarah is a busy entrepreneur who is just starting her own business. She is looking for legal help regarding real estate. She needs to trust a site & find service quickly so she can keep up with her busy schedule.
To accomplish this she should be shown clear branding & have a clear search & navigation flow.
Ideation
User Flow & Wireframes
Our research showed that users really struggled with navigating the site. We decided to look at the original user flow and redesign it to make finding a service more streamline. We reduced the clicks a user needs to make to contact a service provider from 5 to 3.
Original User Flow
Redesign User Flow
Final Design
High Fidelity & Handoff
Our final design incorporated all the new features as well as the redesigned flow and landing page.
Key Takeaways
Reflections & Next Steps
1. Look at what your competitors are doing: When we looked at our competitors there were features that they offered which users had come to expect in their mental models.
2. Strength of positive team relations: Working on a team with different types of people and personalities only works when you foster positive relationships based on empathy and respect.
3. Iterate, iterate, iterate: There are always ways to improve or tweak designs. Understanding how to take feedback and use that in my next iteration made my designs stronger.
In the future I would like to do more user testing around filters and what type of filters users prefer to find service providers.