PostUp
Efficiently Finding Your Ideal Public Workspace: Streamlining the Search Through Custom Filters
OVERVIEW
PostUp is a new startup that wants to make it easier for freelancers and remote workers to find great coffee shops, free spaces, and public spaces to work from.
ROLES
UI/UX Designer
PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS + DELIVERABLES
Google Ventures Design Sprint
Interaction Design: High Fidelity Interactive Prototype
UX/UI Design
Analyzing User Research
Establishing Realistic Goals
Ideating Solutions
Wireframing and Storyboarding
Conducting Usability Testing
Creating High-Fidelity Prototypes
Problem
The community of Postup users reported that they have difficulty finding a good workspace that suits their needs.
Solution
Added a filter option to narrow down preferences in workspaces, such as location, wifi, outlets, etc.
Users can view and choose workplace location based on their needs on a map
DAY 1
Understanding
During Day 1 of the design sprint, the initial focus was on comprehending the target audience and their primary issues while searching for a public workspace. To achieve this, I conducted User Interviews and developed a Persona to gain a deeper understanding of the user's requirements and concerns. To effectively capture the user's perspective, I employed an Empathy Mapping technique to identify their thought process, actions, and emotions. Through this comprehensive approach, I was able to pinpoint the key aspects that users considered important in a workspace.
“I like to know how crowded a place is...I don’t want it to be super loud...I want to be sure I can get a place to sit and talk for a bit...”
“If a place has Wifi, outlets, and bathrooms, that’s all I need. If I need to buy some food or coffee to stay there, I really don’t mind....”
“Wifi and bathrooms are the most important thing I look for, especially if I plan on working there for a full day”
According to User Interviews provided in the Design Sprint prompt, user’s concerns were:
Noise level/environment
Food and drink options
Wifi and bathrooms
LET’S MEET ANNA
Anna is a 32-year old freelance copywriter living within the New York City area. She loves to explore and find the newest food trends. She works from home at least 4x/week and prefers to work from public spaces around the city.
FRUSTRATIONS
Spends excessive time looking for public workspaces
GOALS
Wants to spend more time getting her work done
Important to find a place with good wifi and bathrooms.
DEEPENING USER EMPATHY
With a better understanding of the user population, it was important to create one database that allows users to easily access activities information within their neighborhood. Users expressed frustration with the inconsistency and oftentimes feel hopeless.
DAY 2
Sketching
To start the brainstorming process, I set a 15-minute timer and conducted “Lighting Demos” to see how similar products presented their search and filter functions. “Crazy 8s Exercise” also allowed me to quickly gather these insights for the app and put them into sketches.
LIGHTING DEMOS
I searched for similar products that target a similar area and listed the pros and cons of each. These products served as great examples and models for my design in PostUp.
I compared competitors, such as Gasbuddy, Yelp, Whole Foods, Seated and Google Maps/Reviews. There is still a lack of consistency of the data (such as the location’s hours and space’s noise level) among the apps.
CRAZY 8’S
Using Crazy 8s allowed me to sketch out possible solutions for the search page of the app. It helped me reach the conclusions that it is essential to include:
A map of all the places within the searched area
A snapshot of the restaurant’s hours, address, and level of noise
DAY 3
Deciding
By using storyboarding, it helps visualize how the user interacts with the app to help find a workplace that suits their needs. Some sketches include:
Initial user flows of the app
When the user clicks on the location on the map, it leads to the page where the public space’s information is listed
These sketches were uploaded onto the Marvel app. The Marvel app allows users to navigate the app with sketches that supports user flow.
DAY 4
Prototyping
A high-fidelity prototype of PostUp was created of the low-fidelity screens created through Marvel app. It was used for the next step of the sprint, usability testing.
Now, Anna can search for workspaces in the East Village, New York. She puts her preferences of wifi into the filters. PostUp then shows the workspaces that meets her requirements. She is able to successfully find her workplace that fits all her needs,787 Coffee, to work from.
DAY 5
Usability Testing
Using the high-fidelity prototype, I conducted usability testing with 5 potential users of PostUp. These tests were conducted in-person and each user was asked the same set of questions to see how they navigated the app.
RESULTS OF THE TEST
Users were confused with the “sort by” and “filter icon” call to action (CTA) buttons. They were not sure why the “sort by” buttons lead to the “filter icon”
Users had difficulty knowing which app they were on (confused if they were on a google maps app or Postup app)
Although the app said the location is open, users did not know when the shop/location closed
This project is a modified Google Ventures design sprint. It allows companies to quickly create high fidelity prototypes and determine if they wanted to go through with the designing and building of this project.
WRAP UP
Reflection
As it is my first design sprint, it allowed me to learn how to quickly make design decisions based on user research and usability testing. It also challenged me to ask more concise questions during the usability testing. I was also challenged with using toggle switch more consistently in this project.
Future Considerations
Integrate real life statistics of the noise levels and environment of public spaces
Connect to a navigation app, which allows users to navigate to the public space from their current location
Conduct usability testing to add potential features