FlexiMeet: UI/UX Case Study
A Solution for Effortless Meeting Room Reservations
Project Overview
I’m thrilled to share my journey through a case study that I undertook when I joined Designerrs Academy to learn UX UI Design From Scratch.
FlexiMeet is a streamlined meeting room booking app designed to simplify and enhance the scheduling process with an intuitive interface and real-time availability updates.
By addressing common pain points in current systems, FlexiMeet ensures a more efficient and user-friendly booking experience. Through custom meeting policies, it significantly reduce double bookings and scheduling conflicts.
Problem Statement
Be it pre-pandemic or post-pandemic times, meeting rooms have always helped teams work efficiently. Agreed!
Then why did the need for such a solution arise if they are already so helpful in office spaces? Let's understand.
Why “FlexiMeet”?
For companies aiming for a hybrid workspace, the physical office is evolving into a space where different teams can come together and bridge the physical-digital divide. But…
…problems like these hinder the employee’s productivity and time.
So, what’s the solution? Meeting Room Reservation System : FlexiMeet— An invisible medium that would ensure that right spaces are available for right people at the right time.
With the idea in mind, I proceeded with my design process :
Design Process:
But first, I need to define my Target audience:
Our target audience includes employees in small to mid-size companies who need a reliable, efficient, and user-friendly solution to streamline their meeting room reservations.
Empathize
Here my goal was to gain a deep understanding of the challenges and needs of users regarding the current booking process.
User Research
To achieve this, I conducted interviews with 10 participants from various organizations, gathering a diverse range of perspectives. Each interview lasted approximately 30–45 minutes and focused on the following key areas:
1. How many meeting rooms are there in your office along with their setup (equipment and sitting space)?
2. How is the room booking done?
3. How often are you notified about your upcoming meetings?
4. How frequently and for what purpose do you use those meeting rooms?
5. During which time (b/w the working hours), the rooms are in peak usage?
6. How do you feel when you are asked to vacate a room due to someone’s else meeting?
7. Your company is opting for which mode of the meeting? (online/offline)
8. From your experience, how efficiently were you able to book a room and conduct a meeting?
9. Have you faced any conflict of timings with any fellow teammates’ meetings or in case of extended meetings?
10. How is rescheduling or cancellation of room bookings conveyed to team members?
User Insights:
Drawbacks in the Current Booking syUserstem used by my participants :
- Microsoft Scheduling Assistant doesn’t allow employees to have a visual view of the room or the available assets, such as a TV or projector.
2. Manual methods such as spreadsheets or paper-based systems often lead to scheduling conflicts, inefficiencies, and a lack of real-time updates.
Define
Now that, I was aware of the current process, taking ahead my user feedback, I tried to pinpoint their core challenges and define problem statements for a more targeted solution.
User Persona
Here I have created a Primary persona named “Sakshi Mehra”.
FYI: I am targeting only employees and none from the lead or management to avoid any bias, as all my participants are employees in diverse workspaces.
Empathy Map
Here, I have created an empathy map for my persona Sakshi Mehra based on the user findings and insights.
User Journey Map
To narrow down my problem statement, and what areas have an opportunity to focus on in my app, FlexiMeet, I tried creating a User Journey Map for Sakshi, where she’ll be booking a room using a spreadsheet method.
Now, I was in a state where I could clearly define the user, lay out her obstacles, needs, and eventually her ultimate goal from the application.
I defined them by creating a user story and a clear problem statement.
Through this, I was able to frame a hypothesis statement that framed my path to the ideation process.
User Story
As an employee, I want an efficient and streamlined meeting room booking system so that I can easily find, reserve, and manage meeting spaces without conflicts or delays.
Problem Statement
Sakshi is an employee who needs a reliable and user-friendly solution to book and manage meeting rooms because the current process is time-consuming and prone to conflicts.
Hypothesis Statement
We believe that developing a user-friendly meeting room booking app for Sakshi will significantly reduce the time and effort required to manage meeting spaces and minimize scheduling conflicts.
Ideate
Now is the time to get ideas on paper (or Figma’s whiteboard to be specific, ha!).
I like storytelling a lot, so it was sure I had to add a Storyboard, because after defining the “Why” and “What”, I need “How”.
Big Picture Storyboard
Scenario: Sakshi is made aware of an urgent client meeting, so she needs to book a room urgently. Let's see how FlexiMeet can help in this situation.
Close-Up Picture
Scenario: Sakshi accesses the app: FlexiMeet to book a room.
Booking Feature Comparison
Here, I tried to figure out the main user pain
Site flow
The aim after creating storyboards was to develop a flow to map how users like Sakshi can achieve their goal of room booking through FlexiMeet.
While concluding the Ideate phase, I still went back and had a glimpse on my Primary research through my interviews, to see if the flows aligns with my participants’ goals and needs.
Design
This would not be my favourite part, but it was more fun than I thought.
Style Guide
Prototype Link
TEST
It was a huge personal achievement to reach this phase. During this phase, I had to show the product to a real-world audience to get their perspective and make changes where necessary.
Usability Testing
Based on user findings, some changes were made in high-fidelity designs. And many are yet to be made.
Conclusion
As a first-time designer, I’ve learned that creating the best useful design is a lot like trying to find the perfect meeting room — there’s always a tweak to be made or a new feature to add.
And while I may never be fully satisfied (because let’s face it, a designer’s work is never truly done), I hope FlexiMeet makes your meetings a little more seamless and a lot more productive.
Lessons Learnt
- User-centered design should always be our priority.
- Iterations always will be there and are helpful.
Initial tests revealed navigation issues that were addressed in subsequent iterations, resulting in a more intuitive interface.
3. The decision to use a monochrome colour palette with shades and tints not only provided visual appeal but also maintained clarity and focus.
Despite the significant improvements made, the design process for FlexiMeet continues as user needs evolve. So, feedback is always welcomed.
Thanks for reading!!
