UX Writing — Creating ADA, an App for Professional Women
ADA is an app designed to make it easier for women to network, find mentors, receive and give feedback, and lift each other.
I created an app I wish existed for someone like me.
UX Writing Course at AllWomen
During the UX Writing Course at AllWomen, we had to develop any service available through a screen with the following:
- Brand voice
- UX writing style guide
- A few screens to showcase our proposal, voice, and tone
To do that, we had to research the market, interview potential users, send surveys, identify solutions and opportunities, and develop user flows.
My journalism, media production, and content creation background came in handy. Additionally, I relied on the Design Thinking Process to create a product I could be proud of. And that’s how ADA was born.
Empathize: how do women feel when networking?
As a woman, I've struggled to network my entire career. I've attended many events and joined Meetup, LinkedIn, and Facebook groups.
I've sent dozens of messages, emails, and even a thank-you note. For some reason, connections fizzled.
Recommendations rarely came. Was I doing something wrong? What was I missing?
I wanted to discover if other women found networking challenging. Were they making meaningful professional connections?
First, I sent out a survey through several platforms. For example, I used the AllWomen Slack channel, with a few hundred members, to get as many answers as possible.
I also interviewed a few women to learn how they network and look for jobs.
Do they have mentors? Have they thought about mentoring themselves? Which platforms do they use? What has their experience been? How easy or difficult is it to talk to other women in a professional setting?
Note: Yes, I’ve also wondered if men struggle as much, less, or the same as women when networking. However, I chose to narrow my research and focus on women. Why? Globally, “less than a third of leadership positions are held by women”, the gender pay gap, unpaid care distribution, and a dozen other reasons.
Research process: which networking tools for women are already out there?
What solutions have already been introduced?
I dived deep into SERP engines, App Store, and Google Play to find if apps or services were designed to connect professional women. Sure enough, I found enough material.
Benchmarking competitors
While there were many websites, I focused on the following:
My strategy was to identify:
- How are they helping women connect
- What services or tools do they offer users
For the course, I also focused on:
- How do they connect with the user
- What’s their brand strategy
- How do they use voice and tone (how consistent is it throughout, what’s the style, etc.)
Define Phase: what is the problem when women try to network?
Though the survey engagement was lower than I had hoped, I identified valuable insights. With the responses, I built an affinity map. Next, I organized and categorized the respondent’s pain points.
There were several relevant takeaways from the desk research, surveys, and interviews.
What struck me the most was that most women felt it was hard to connect with other women through messaging, especially if they were strangers.
Many respondents mentioned disappointment in reaching out and never hearing back. Additionally, too many platforms make networking overwhelming and impersonal.
Hypothesis:
“Women find it harder to connect with other women through online messaging and prefer video calls and a more empathetic approach toward networking. They value their time and wish to connect in meaningful ways.”
User personas: Who is ADA for?
These user personas represent my target audience. They helped me understand my user needs.
User personas contribute to making better design decisions. They guide UX research by pinpointing what questions to ask.
I thought of a mentor and someone who needs mentorship. Each served as a reference point to create the product, the writing guide, and the identity of the app.
My user personas made me put myself in the user's shoes and visualize what a networking app for women should have.
Ideation: How do I address my findings?
I love the ideation process as much as I love the research process. Pain points, needs, and wants are a great way to start before ideating solutions with pen and paper.
I made a list of the most important “wants” gathered from the insights and asked, “How can it be done?”
Ideation: ADA Wireframes
Drawing ideas and designing a few user interactions was an essential step to showcase how ADA would speak to its users.
Why the name ADA?
Ada Lovelace is the namesake of ADA.
Ada was an English mathematician who worked alongside Charles Babbage, and she created a program for his computer prototype, making her the first computer programmer.
I chose to name this app after Lovelace because, as women, we are capable of incredible things, and we often have a much harder path to get to where we want to be.
If we share our knowledge and make it easier for women to access mentors, and people in positions of “power” we can transform the future of tech and the world.
Developing a Writing Guide for ADA
ADA: The power of connection, one woman at a time
ADA is a revolutionary app designed exclusively for professional women. Networking and mentorship are a key to success.
ADA is more than just an app; it’s a vibrant community where like-minded women join to inspire, support, and elevate each other. It’s a space where each member is encouraged to reach their professional goals.
The nurturing environment aims to lead to networking, mentorship, and personal growth.
The user-friendly interface, designed with the modern professional woman in mind, ensures seamless communication and interaction. Women can book calls and have their portfolios and CVs reviewed. In exchange, they can treat their mentors to coffee. An ADA member can set training sessions to share her expertise, and in return, she can gain points in the app.
Mentors achieve medals, and users can leave reviews. Mentees can also pay it forward by sharing their expertise through blog posts or Zoom training sessions. Everyone has value. Every member can contribute.
Women can organize local meetups, movie nights, or book clubs in their area. ADA offers the tools to help them connect, engage, collaborate, and grow.
Designing Content For Women By Women
We are excited to redefine how women interact in the professional world.
Our platform is specifically designed to support, enhance, and empower professional women.
It is a space where aspiring talent can easily meet with mentors and advisors.
They can access useful tools, receive feedback, and share their expertise.
ADA is about having a support network whenever or wherever you need it.
The future of ADA
In an ideal world, I would have the resources to do more research and invest in the project further.
But, as a mom and a full-time employee all I can afford right now is a few hours to work on a few more screens to include on my UX portfolio.
In the future, I would like to research whether men and women share the same excrutiating fears when networking, whether men find it easier, and in what settings do they network. An interviewee mentioned that men, especially those at the top, tend to network in places such as the golf course or saunas, spaces where women aren’t always around (or allowed). Something to dig deeper for sure.
The goal of the project was to think about the user and speak to the user using the skills learned in the UX writing course.
I learned a lot throughout the process, and that’s what the course was about. Expanding my skills. Would I have done some things differently? Maybe. But I don’t dwell on that.
If you have any thoughts, please share!
Note: UI is not my expertise. I’m not a UI designer. I worked hard to create something visually appealing because people respond better to visuals. My specialties are UX research and UX writing.
