Duration: April - May, 2018
Platform: Mobile
Design tool: Adobe XD
Institution: KBCC Cuny Techworks
Team: Fitzroy Lewis + 2 Designers
Role: User Research, UX Design
Overview
The design sprint occurred within a span of 5 days, the team project’s challenge was to think up a problem to a product that did not exist.
Challenge
To minimize expenses and ensure seamless connectivity for travelers, eliminating the need for physical SIM cards and the stress of switching devices.
Get users to trust a travel and talk app with sensitive information.
Promote collaboration with between a guest and a host.
Project vision
We took an agile approach and focused on the aesthetic usability effect for the user by leveraging the user's existing mobile service, to eliminate the need for additional purchases while delivering reliable and affordable connectivity.
User research
The goal was to Identify users wants with phone service connection when traveling nationally or internationally.
Surveys showed these pain points:
Travel preparations and itinerary management, whether for individuals or groups, often involve some level of hassle or inconvenience.
When traveling, the majority of people are drawn to either remote destinations or have a strong inclination to revisit a place they've previously enjoyed, unless their travel is centered around visiting family or friends.
Participants express a strong desire to explore remote locations, but are often hindered by connectivity issues such as limited Wi-Fi range. As a result, they tend to prioritize destinations within closer proximity.
Many participants express a dislike for relying on shared Wi-Fi networks.
Participants dislike paying expensive roaming charges from their mobile service.
Participants often find themselves burdened with additional fees for acquiring a SIM chip or a burner phone.
How might we?
Convince the user to sign up?
Collaborate with other apps?
Offer cheaper rates?
Reach new customers?
Retain existing customers?
Convince users to switch from their current provider?
Make the user trust the app sensitive information?
Make our product easy to use?
Storyboarding
How the user learns of the app and the services through first contact on their desktop through online search, then to the sign in process.
Paper wireframes
Introduction to service and user profile.
Digital wireframe
User testing
Moderated session: Duration: 5-8 minutes per person using a sequential model.
From the first iteration, We learned that:
Participants highly value visually appealing and clean design aesthetics
Participants express the need for the app to be extremely user-friendly and intuitive, but unfortunately, it did not meet their expectations in terms of simplicity.
Participants found that the call-to-action functions within the app did not direct them to the intended destination or desired outcome.
Participants felt that the app lacked a clear and inviting pathway or guidance, which resulted in a sense of feeling lost or unsure of how to proceed.
Participants felt restricted in their ability to explore and navigate freely within the app.
In the Second iteration, while building on the first iteration we discovered that:
We can reduce the amount of clicks to get to user end goal.
New user sign up - Guest role
New user sign up - Host role
Takeaway
Positive
- Seamless Connectivity:
Convenience: Users can easily switch between their home and international service providers without changing SIM cards or phones.
Automatic Switching: The app can automatically switch to the best available network, providing consistent connectivity.
-Enhanced User Experience:
Language and Currency Support: The app can support multiple languages and currencies, catering to a global user base.
-Flexibility
Temporary Plans: Users can opt for short-term plans for travel, without long-term commitments.
Support and Assistance: 24/7 customer support through the app can assist users with connectivity issues and other queries.
Negative
-Technical Challenges
Connectivity Reliability: The app's performance depends on the reliability of both home and international networks.
- Regulatory Compliance
Users voiced concerns about the limitations on the number of guests a host can accommodate and sought clarity on the reasons behind this restriction, as well as concerns about the limitations on the number of hosts a guest can connect to and questioned the rationale behind this limitation.
Legal Hurdles: Navigating the regulatory landscape in different countries can be challenging and may require extensive legal work.
- User Adoption
Learning Curve: Users may need to understand how to effectively use the app, which can be a barrier to adoption.
Trust Issues: Gaining users' trust to switch from their traditional service methods to the app can be difficult.