QuickFix
Maintenance know-how made easy
The challenge
Dealing with maintenance issues can be difficult, should an individual hire an expensive professional or spend their time searching for the information themselves. Would it be better if expert advice could be made readily available to users so that they can apply it to these problems?
Project
Concept app
Application
Mobile web
Designer
Sean Micheal Hart
Project overview
View prototypeMy role
UX researcher & UX/UI designer
Methods
User research
Competitive analysis
Infomration architecture
Wireframing
Prototyping
User testing
Duration
8 Months
March - October 2021
Design solution inspired by a user-centered approach
Understand
If a need is not being met, then there is a problem that needs to be defined and understood.
In order to better understand the problem, research was conducted in order to uncover the user’s needs, motivations and behaviors towards utilizing maintenance services. The following research goals needed to be met to define this understanding.
Competitive analysis
To determine the strengths & weakness of existing apps
User research
To better understand users attitudes & behaviors towards utilizing maintenance services.
Competitive analysis
The first step was to uncover similar apps that were being used in the maintenance help sector so that I could determine what aspects of their products worked well for their users and what aspects needed improvement in which I could take advantage of.
TaskRabbit is a freelance labor app that matches expert help with local demand.
Specializes in a variety of different maintenance services.
Platform allows for fast and simple bookings.
Nextdoor is a social networking platform allowing users to find industry advice & hire local professionals.
Offer local help to their users.
Platform allows for fast and simple bookings
Strengths
Large social media presence and reach.
60,000 taskers available worldwide.
Offer contactless products and services.
Weaknesses
Usability issues in app, language based on location & cannot be changed.
Does not provide information based services.
No option for instant help.
Opportunities
To offer information based services without the need to physically hire the expert.
To provide real time advice in minutes.
Threats
Well established competitors such as Thimble who offer the same services on a larger scale.
Local retail business with solid customer bases.
Strengths
Strong market influence on local communities.
Has 27 million active users worldwide.
Strong social media presence.
Weaknesses
Numerous usability issues on website, poor back and forth navigation and login issues.
Layout is content heavy which can be confusing & overwhelming.
Opportunities
Lack of structured services offered.
Response time for advice offered slow.
Layout is messy and confusing.
Threats
Direct competition with client to business platforms like TaskRabbit.
Social media platforms like Facebook can offer the same services and are better established.
User research
Once the competitive analysis was complete and I was able to determine what similar apps had to offer to their users the next step was to conduct research in order to better understand how a user would respond to an app that provided maintenance advice.
Research methods
Research goals
To determine what platforms would commonly be used to find maintenance information.
To understand user preference when seeking maintenance advice.
To understand user habits when interacting mobile & web applications.
Key survey insights
Communication
A large percentage of users (75%) stated that a video chat function (a main app feature) would be the preferred method of communication.
Local help
A large percentage of users (86.4%) stated that they would prefer to be linked with local professionals when seeking advice.
Preferred method
More than half of the users (68.2%) used the internet when looking for advice which gave evidence that a web-based up would be the most accessible way to deliver the app.
Research methods
Research goals
To understand user expectations & preferences when dealing with maintenance professionals.
To understand each subject's behaviors & attitudes when dealing with maintenance related issues.
To extract key insights to help define the problem statement & begin ideation.
Affinity map
Key Insight examples
Comms features
Insight - Users find it difficult to describe a problem to a professional when there is only one communication option available.
Solution - The ability to send pictures, voice recordings and schedule video calls.
Location
Insight - Users would prefer their advice to come from local professionals.
Solution - Geo-location features can put a local professional at the top of a user’s search.
Professional credentials
Insight - Users become hesitant to use the services of a professional when they are unsure of their qualifications and experience.
Solution - Proof of qualifications, badge of guarantee, and a rating system will be implemented.
Filtering
Insight - Users become frustrated when they are unable to find the exact professional that they are looking for.
Solution - Implementing a filtering system to narrow the results and speed up the search process.
Speed & reliability
Insight -Users are reluctant to communicate with a professional when they cannot speak their language.
Solution - Designing a smooth and intuitive layout and including a response time guarantee when dealing with professionals.
Language & accessibility
Insight - Users are reluctant to communicate with a professional when they cannot speak their language.
Solution - Prioritizing professionals who speak the user's language, this will be based on what language the user chooses with their sign up information.
Define
Once the need is understood, a clear problem statement is defined and solutions are then developed.
The problem statement and user personas
The next phase was to take the data extracted from both the competitive analysis and the insights from the user research and define a clear statement. From here I was able to turn this data into two workable personas to further help define who this app would best represent.
The problem
People who are confronted by maintenance related issues don’t always want to hire someone and need a way to quickly and reliably interact with a professional so that they can use the expert advice provided to solve their maintenance issues.
We will know this to be true when we see an increase of users opting to sign up to the platform.
The user personas
With insights extracted from user research I was able to come up with two workable personas that I believed would best represent the users of this app.
Persona 01
The corporate highflyer
Time poor
Active lifestyle
Likes to take charge
Persona 02
The ‘jack of trades’ handyman
Always gives it a go first
Rather rely on people than tech
Ideate
Ideas are then created and new solutions are then explored.
The user journey and the user flow
The Journey
Understanding the user's journey helped identify potential tasks they would use the app for.
The flow
Understanding the user’s user flow allowed me to visualize the way they would complete a task helping me to design a frictionless user experience.
Site map & card sorting
The next phase was to put together the app’s architecture in such a way that allowed seamless navigation. This consisted of creating an original site map then using a card sorting technique to iterate and further improve its structure.
The original design
Redefining through card sorting
Refined categories
Account information
Bookings
Choose expert
Homepage & nav
Revisions are implemented
Prototyping
It is time to bring ideas to life through sketch and design
Wireframes
Sketches
Once the research phase has ended it was time to begin putting what I learnt together. I began by sketching simple wireframes to understand the layout, this would in turn help me determine what elements to include and where to place them.
Making changes from low to high fidelity
Participants
Affinity mapping
Extracting insights from test results.
Rainbow spreadsheet
Refine
Through testing new insights are made and new iterations are designed.
Iterative design
Using the results from the tests and collaboration from other designers, I was able to iterate existing designs for better function and accessibility.
Designing for accessibility
Onboarding with a user centered approach
My goal was to integrate an onboarding system that would lead a user through Quickfixes core features, minimizing friction while optimizing the app's usability.
Present
With new iterations and a polished prototype, the app is ready to be presented.
Design language system
All aspects and elements of this app have been documented into a design language system to be made readily available for both designer and developer.
Open design systemAchieving user-centered design
What I have learned
Through studying UX design I have learned how to use a design thinking and user centered approach when tackling problems and finding solutions.
Research is the foundation of any UX design process and is something that takes time to perfect.
The design process is not about perfection but the continual pursuit of iterative improvement.
It is important to try and a find a balance between business goals and user needs.
What would I do differently
I would take more time when documenting my work, clearly naming and organizing each asset coherently.
I would put more effort into organizing my design documents so that I could improve upon my workflow.
I would put more effort into learning new tools that could help streamline work related processes.
It can be challenging managing time when balancing other commitments, my goal will be to take on a more agile approach when working on future projects.
Thanks for scrolling through!
If you get a chance let me know what you think or if your interested in working together you can email me on sean.mhart90@gmail.com
