Project Overview
PostUp is a startup aiming to develop an iOS app that helps freelancers and remote workers find public spaces to work remotely.
I was recruited to lead a 5-day design sprint to develop a solution.
1 week
Duration
Tools
Responsibilities
Conduct UX Research
Sketch Wireframe
User Persona
Journey Mapping
‘How Might We’ Questions
User Flow
Conduct User Interview
High Fidelity Design
Design Process
Problem Statement
Freelancers, remote workers, and people who travel to new locations to work struggle to find work-friendly public spaces to do some quiet work, take a call, or have a quick meeting. Users struggle to find a location that meets their needs.
Solution
Introducing the ultimate work-friendly mobile app for busy professionals. This innovative mobile app is designed to help users easily find a workspace that suits their needs, no matter where they are.
Open Source: App's open-source allows users to share WiFi passwords and bathroom codes with others.
Optomized Filter Search: Filter search by noise level, bathroom access, and WiFi availability.
Workability Rating: Users rate locations based on their work-friendliness, making it easier for others to find suitable locations.
Day 1 - Understand
Review Research
The design brief included some user interviews, the users were asked the following question, and their responses are located below.
“Tell us about your experience finding a public place to do remote work.”
It’s a place has good Wi-Fi 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 bonus points if their coffee and food are actually good.
-ClaireI like to find places where other people go to work they’re usually more friendly towards me setting up my laptop and working. I don’t have to get nervous that I will be asked to leave while I’m in the middle of my work.
- Beth
I know a lot of places to go near me, but I am often in other parts of the city and need a place nearby to post up for an hour or two between meetings.
- RhondaI usually look at pictures of the place before I go just to make sure there’s enough room for me and my coworker to take a table without feeling guilty.
- AdamUser Persona
The design brief of this project included the following person.
Nina
32 Years Old
Freelance Copywriter
Boston, MA
Behavior
Nina works remotely but travels three days a week for client meetings. She utilizes free time between meetings for work or calls, but struggles to find suitable locations in unfamiliar areas.
Frustrations
Nina finds searching for a place to work time-consuming and stressful. Sometimes, she settles in only to face issues like unreliable wifi, lack of restrooms, or additional costs, leading to wasted time or further searching.
Goal
Nina desires to optimize her work time by locating suitable places to work with basic amenities, less noise, and limited crowding for meetings or calls.
Journey Mapping
Using the research and personas provided to me in the design brief of this project, I jumped into imagining possible solutions by mapping out possible user flows.
How Might We
After creating the user flow, I used "How might we" questions to generate ideas and explore potential solutions. This helps to shift the focus from constraints and limitations to possibilities and potential solutions.
How might we create a platform that helps freelancers, remote workers, and people who travel to new locations find work-friendly public spaces to work, take calls or have meetings easily?How might we develop a system that allows users to rate and review public spaces based on their work-friendliness, noise level, availability of amenities, and overall experience?How might we design a mobile application that can help users locate nearby work-friendly public spaces and provide information about available amenities such as Wi-Fi, charging stations, and quiet areas?Lightning Demo
For my demo, I picked Yelp and Google Maps, the top apps for finding public places. I also found Work From, a website that helps users locate workspaces.
I'll highlight the most effective features that can inspire the design of the PostUp App.
The filter option at the top of the search page is a great user-friendly feature.The “workability score” on the site does a great job of giving an overview of how work-friendly a place is.Filter menu below search field removes unwanted businesses.The way they present an overview of a place is concise and informative.YELP
I enjoy the icons displaying recommended places and services for users to select.Save places with bookmarks, prompt for reviews.The “workability score” on the site does a great job of giving an overview of how work-friendly a place is.Clicking a listing displays a menu for easy access to directions or calling the business.Top tabs show location, amenities explain offerings.WORKFROM.CO
Day 2 - Sketch
Crazy 8s
Once I completed the lightening demo, it gave me some clarity on some of the solutions that are on the market today. I took inspiration from those designs to create the 8s sketch.
SOLUTION SKETCHES
The critical screen
After the critical Screen
Before critical screen
Day 3 - Decide
Storyboard
Now that I had an idea of what my critical screens are, I moved on to creating a storyboard of how my design
High Fidelity Design
After completing the storyboard section, I've put my expertise into practice, creating a sleek and modern user interface that offers a seamless experience. PostUp enables users to locate suitable places with ease, share updates, and organize their contacts and conversations.
Day 4 - Prototype
High Fidelity Design
After completing the storyboard section, I've put my expertise into practice, creating a sleek and modern user interface that offers a seamless experience. PostUp enables users to locate suitable places with ease, share updates, and organize their contacts and conversations.
Day 4 - Prototype
Usability Testing
The purpose of this usability test is to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the PostUp app. PostUp is an app designed to help remote workers find great public places to work. The app is intended to provide users with an easy-to-use interface that allows them to search for and locate quiet workspaces, take phone calls, and have quick meetings with clients.
Participants:
The usability test was conducted with 5 participants, most of whom are remote workers. The participants varied in age, gender, and experience level with mobile apps.
Tasks:
All participants were given the following tasks and here are their results.
Task: Navigating to find workspace
Day 5
Tasks: filter search results
Tasks: Access workspace information (wifi/bathroom code)
Reflection
Overall, the PostUp app performed well in the usability test. Participants found the app to be easy to use and navigate, and they were able to complete tasks with minimal difficulty. However, some improvements could be made to improve the app's overall usability, such as increasing font size and simplifying filter options.
A valuable lesson learned as a UI/UX designer for the PostUp app is the importance of conducting user research and testing throughout the design process. User research and testing provide valuable insights into user behavior and can reveal areas of improvement that can enhance the user experience. In this project, the usability test revealed that some users found certain features difficult to locate and that font size could be increased to improve readability. Continuous user research and testing can help ensure the app meets the needs of its target audience, resulting in a more effective, user-friendly app.