Project Background:
A close friend of mine and I were chatting about certain digital products we use and the specific features we dislike about them. Being a social guy, my buddy recalled the days before the pandemic and how he loves getting groups of his friends together in Seattle to either go out to eat or bar hop. He explained to me his frustration of getting everyone on the same page when it comes to organizing social event like these and wished there was more efficient way of doing so. We came up with the idea of a groups feature built into a popular maps application that would offer more precise decision making on places to go. We further discussed how the feature could give the users of the group the ability to vote on the places chosen by the group creator.
Timeline: 4 weeks
Project Objective:
Define what users would need from a groups feature in a navigation app.
Understand Google's position in the market and design the feature to coincide with their brand and design thinking.
Keep the design simple and confined to what it’s function should be. Don’t over design it.
Research
Market Research, Competitive Analysis, Ethnographic Field Study, User Interviews, Empathy Map
Market Research / Competitive Analysis:
To begin my market research I studied Google Maps and defined where their product lies in the market of mapping applications. I discovered who their target demographic is and highlighted the apps top features. The goal for my competitive analysis was to research other top mapping applications and define their target market along with their top features as well. This helped me better understand the map app space and illustrate where feature opportunity lies.
Ethnographic Field Study:
My objective for this research exercise was to observe a real life situation of a group that is deciding on activities they want to engage in at place they want to travel to and understand the struggles and actions of that decision making process. I took notes observing a group message and video chat over a 3 day period of 6 women planning a trip to Miami and deciding on the activities and places they will go when there.
Insights:
1. People want a way to compare and contrast places and activities in real time.
2. Details about the modes of transportation from one place to another influence decisions.
3. Debating over specific places or activities can be stressful and cause arguing.
4. Understanding the proximity of places goes into planning a whole day.
5. Multiple personalities equate to difference in importance of activity choices.
User Interviews:
My goal for my user interviews was to gain better understanding of how groups of people make decisions on places they want to go and identify pain points of the current process when planning a day of activities. The interviews consisted of three participants, one who was a part of the ethnographic study and two others who are experienced in trip planning.
Empathy Map:
Derived from my interviews, the responses I gained were jotted down onto sticky notes and categorized into five categories: thinking / feeling, hearing / seeing, doing, gains and pains. This exercise helped me to view all the responses from a different perspective and empathize with my user. I synthesized insights from these responses which then were converted into user needs.
Define
Persona, HMW Questions
Personas:
Taking all my research into account, I created these two personas that best define my user base. They are two individuals who travel frequently and engage in event planning often with coworkers as well as friends. One is a travel enthusiast while the other is a business professional.
HMW Questions:
From the data that I collected during my interviewing process, I formulated "how might we" questions by taking the insights / needs of my interviewees and constructing POV statements which led me to ask how those most prominent problems might be solved.
Ideate
Feature Roadmap, Sitemap, User Flow
Feature Roadmap:
Once my how might we questions were derived, I used a brainstorming method to come up with a wide range of ideas to solve the defined problems. These features were the ones I found best answered those critical questions.
Sitemap:
To create this sitemap I had to play around with the Google Maps application and define their existing platform. I then had to visualize where my feature would lie inside the existing UI. Once that was defined I was able to map out how my groups feature would integrate over the course of many iterations. The parts of the platform that would not receive any change or addition were labeled as such.
User Flow:
This flow was created to simulate how the user would move throughout the interface and how the feature would be used. This deliverable helped me to understand the decision making process the user would face and helped me to brainstorm how that process could be streamlined.
Design
Wireframe Sketching, High-Fidelity Wireframes
Wireframe Sketching:
As a way to rapidly get my ideas onto paper, I did a quick sketching exercise. I wanted a way to add profiles to Google Maps in order to let people interact with each other within the app. In addition, I was looking for a way to set time and travel constraints prior to planning trip.
High-Fidelity Wireframes:
Since my goal was to build a feature into an existing app, my next step was to dive straight into high-fidelity wireframes and get a feel for how my screens would seamlessly integrate. I used screenshots of the existing UI to my advantage and tried to create my custom screens to perfectly blend in.
Prototype
High-Fidelity Prototype
Test & Refine
User Testing, UI Kit, Final Design
User Testing
Scope:
- For my user testing I had three participants, all of which are experienced with using Google Maps, use my prototype to complete a set of tasks. These were done in person to view and record the way they interacted with the prototype. My goal was to uncover any parts of the UI that were confusing or undesirable.
Tasks:
1. Navigate to the saved tab and create a new group list.
2. Successfully add members to the group by email search.
3. Access the newly created group and add destinations to the list.
4. Once all places are selected, the user must navigate to the to the optimize tab by swiping down from the group list and trip constraints will be entered.
5. Navigate through the steps of the group trip one by one, identifying each route to take on the map and the time frame in which to do so.
6. Identify the itinerary tab to see all trip steps on one screen.
2. Successfully add members to the group by email search.
3. Access the newly created group and add destinations to the list.
4. Once all places are selected, the user must navigate to the to the optimize tab by swiping down from the group list and trip constraints will be entered.
5. Navigate through the steps of the group trip one by one, identifying each route to take on the map and the time frame in which to do so.
6. Identify the itinerary tab to see all trip steps on one screen.
Objectives:
1. Test and understand the ease of use of my added feature into Google Maps.
2. Observe points of confusion when navigating through the feature.
3. Understand how useful the user finds the added feature and identify what could make it better.
4. Find areas to improve the information architecture of the feature.
5. Find where the liking feature could be improved upon in future revisions.
2. Observe points of confusion when navigating through the feature.
3. Understand how useful the user finds the added feature and identify what could make it better.
4. Find areas to improve the information architecture of the feature.
5. Find where the liking feature could be improved upon in future revisions.
Primary / Secondary Changes:
Primary
- Fix the constraints page to more easily understood. ( Show date, tweak start and finish selection pattern)
- Make the selection of group on the new list page a binary feature instead of having multiple options.
Secondary
- Potentially add an indication to swipe down when trying to access the map view from the group list.
UI Kit:
I built a UI Kit to capture the existing design elements of Googles design system and to showcase the icons and elements I added to the design.
Final Design:
Reflection
This feature addition was a project that I was incredibly excited about from the very beginning. I knew there was so much potential for adding a group feature to such a popular mapping application. I believe a struggle for me at the start was that I had so many ideas for what this feature could be that it became tough for me to focus on letting the design process reveal what is most needed. In the end, I do believe I created an effective MVP that can be refined and added onto in the future. Due to time constraints, I had to just lay the groundwork for what this feature could actually be. I plan on continuing to refine and prototype this project into the one I envision.
Next Steps
-Build out my prototype in more depth, including certain drop down menus and interactions.
-Refine the liking option within my feature to help group members understand others preferences and voice their own.
-Think of mopre ways to customize the route view list and how it could inform the user of time frames better without being annoying or troublesome.
