INPROCESS
August 2023 (3 weeks)
Background
As a former apprentice in the UX design apprenticeship at BRIDGEGOOD, I was part of a design sprint that developed an app called INPROCESS for BRIDGEGOOD aimed at assisting emerging designers document their design process.
PROJECT SUMMARY
THE PROBLEM
THE SOLUTION
Role
UX Designer & Research Lead
Team
1PM, 2 UX designers, 1 Graphic designer
INPROCESS aims to bridge the gap between emerging creatives and obtaining a design internship. By offering a more efficient, user-friendly, and integrated platform for documenting their design process, users will be equipped with the tools to land an internship. The platform’s core mission is to empower young creatives with documentation skills to further their career in the design industry.
Emerging designers don’t have the adequate confidence, mindset, nor documentation of design process needed to land a design internship.
In order to tackle this problem, my team identified how INPROCESS can address these problems. Here are some of the core focus areas:
Develop effective strategies for documenting the design process
Engage with peers to build a supportive community
Access valuable educational resources and tools
A streamline documentation experience & community engagement
1. A streamline documentation process through an upload feature along with optical character recognition technology
The aim was to have user’s documents in a centralized location, making it easier to organize, export, and share documentation.
User Flow:
1.) Selects a picture of affinity mapping to add to documentation gallery
2.) Decides to keep documentation public and uploads it to the feed
3.) Utilizes optical character recognition technology to analyze content in the picture
2. Building community engagement and fostering a supportive environment by making it easier to share documentation with other creatives along with connecting with them.
User Flow:
1.) User accepts and follows back another user
2.) Views the comment of another user of their recent documentation post
3.) Shares the document with another user and starts to build a design community
USER RESEARCH
Gathering Insights
To gain a better understanding of user’s needs, my team conducted several interviews, both over zoom and in-person with college students and emerging designers. The following key insights were discovered:
What challenges do emerging designers face?
88% of emerging designers did not document their design process.
USER PERSONA & FLOW
*Image of a interviewee’s answer to interview questions
78% of emerging designers had the goal of landing an internship.
USER TESTING & IDEATION GOALS
Version #1
Only 22% of emerging designers have confidence in themselves.
“Social connections can be a big help in a world where creatives should be seen.”
What were the major findings?
Version #2 ✅
In usability testing a large number of users were unable to utilize this feature within the app. To address this we incorporated a standard export icon that activated a slide up menu with different export options like Mail, Notes, and Messages.
Adding additional export options gave users more flexibility to export their documentation.
RESULTS: 90% of users interacted and were able to export their work to google drive
The major findings that were found helped formulate the features and functionality of the documentation app. From user interviews, data analysis, and competitive analysis my team was able was able to conclude on three major finding:
Emerging designers did not document their design work
There was no effective way to document their design process
Lack of community and the feeling of isolation
After research, we created a persona that reflected key findings, pain points, and opportunities from user interviews and analysis.
I created a user flow to help bring together research and persona to help facilitate a design flow. This included features and interactions we wanted to incorporate in the design. Creating the user flow gave my team a clearer undertstanding of the finished prototype and ensured that the research aligned with the our designs. This is an example of the “uploading documentation” task:
To validate my team’s design choices I conducted usability testing on the following concepts:
Quick action button allowing user to export documentation outside of INPROCESS.
Sharing documentation between users within the app.
Utilizing optical character recognition technology to assist in organizing and reviewing documentation.
ISSUE #1: TESTING AND DESIGNING
A quick and efficient way for user to export and store documentation
Gain user trust by incorporating the security of google drive to secure their documentation.
RESULTS: 20% of users recognized or associated the icon as a way to export their documentation to google drive.
In lo-fi designing my team implementated a google drive quick action button. The quick action buttons served two main purposes:
LOW-FI WIREFRAMES
At this stage, our primary objective was to concentrate on the essential layout and structure of the website, eliminating distractions to focus on core user interactions. We began with simple sketches and basic wireframes, allowing for rapid iteration and experimentation with various design concepts.
These low-fidelity wireframes provided a crucial foundation, enabling us to assess the overall flow of the site, the placement of key elements, and the navigation pathways.
FINAL DESIGNS
FINAL THOUGHTS
In this three week design sprint it presented many challenges but also opportunities to grow as a designer. One of the most significant parts our design process was translating user needs and pain points to prototypes and ensuring that we keep users top of mind. I found that it’s tempting to “design stuff” but keeping a user-centric mindset through research and user testing helped create a product that address a problem.
Here are some key takeaways from this design sprint:
The design process is NOT a one size fit all
Every user pain point influences the design solution differently and at different stages within the design process. Sometimes at the user testing phase a pain point is discovered that contradicts the initial problem statement. Adapting and adjusting is vital to create a product that solves the user needs.
Empathy, empathy, and more empathy
Empathy is the backbone to the design process and help to drive insights on user needs. Thinking with empathy allowed us to understand and relate to users' needs, preferences, and pain points. This understanding helps create solutions that truly address users' problems.