A UX Case study: Eventor
Crafting the user experience of a local event finder app
Introduction
I recently completed a training in User Interface/User Experience design facilitated by Stutern Graduate Accelerator(SGA). As my final project, I worked on a local events finder app called Eventor. This case study explains my process and final output.
Background
The Problem
Many people want to leave popular social networks, but are concerned leaving would mean no longer being notified about local events happening around them. However, searching for trending events often requires them to use several different online sources such as: Google, eventbrite, to find event details: venue location, tickets, time and dates,etc. This process is often time consuming and laborious for many people.
The Solution
Eventor is an app designed with a user centered approach. Event Listings are customised around the user’s Location and Interests. The user does not have to navigate through numerous events before they find events happening around them. Furthermore, everything the user needs to know is provided within the app including payment for tickets and in-app chat feature to enjoy peer-to-peer communication with other attendees sharing similar interests.
Role
Solo project. I conducted user research, developed insights and created high-fidelity solutions.
Objectives
The goals of this project were simple; identify the pain points target users encounter while searching for events of interest and explore feasible ideas that best solves these user needs.
Research
User Interviews & Surveys
I started out with conducting a user research across 26+ users who attend different events using an online survey and one-on-one interviews. Below are the interview questions asked:
1. How often do you attend events? Scale 1–5
2. How do you hear about events in your locality?
3. What events interest you?
4. What sites or apps do you use to find events?
5. What information about an event is most important to you?
6. How do you book tickets for events you wish to attend?
7. What tools help you plan for an event?
8. What details do you wish to know about the venue?
9. What size of event do you attend?
10. What criteria do you consider before attending an event?
Interview Insights
With the answers from the user research, I was able to identify some of the issues people face and their requirements while searching for events around them.
Summary of Research Insights:
Find the link to the complete research findings HERE.
Pain Points
The major pain points uncovered are as follows:
- Users have difficulty deciding what events to attend as there are many events to pick from, especially in a new environment
- Users have to visit too many websites and apps to find all required details such as; address, date and time, etc.
- Many users have a hard time getting directions to the event venue
- Users want a link to pay for tickets easily from the events page
- Sometimes, because of any reason, users forget or miss the event they have planned to attend
Personas
To capture user needs and requirements, I created these three personas:
User 1- Active user who regularly attends events
User 2- Non-frequent user who seldom attends events
User 3- Organised user who attends only if the event time and date fits into her/his schedule
Job Stories
With some of the pain points uncovered, I created three jobs stories for the features that will be addressed with the first version of the event app.
- When I want to find an event to attend, I want to be able to see all the details of the event in one place, so that I can plan ahead.
2. When I want to attend an event, I want to filter based on my interest and see how many people are attending, so that I can decide which to attend
3. When I want to find an event, I want to log in to see what is happening within my place, so that I can book tickets at last minutes.
Competitor analysis
I conducted a competitor analysis to further explore the functionality of existing products and platforms and then use this to develop an improved experience in my new app design.
I completed a feature analysis of 3 key apps to establish strengths and weaknesses of features highlighted during the research phase. I included in this analysis: Eventbrite app & website, Nearify app and Facebook Events.
Other event apps and websites were also analysed for ideas while researching.
Based on the research and the personas created, I made a list of key features and prioritized them based on their importance and my ability to execute given time constraint.
Here is a list of these key features:
- Push notifications
- Map Integration (for directions to venue)
- Bookmark events (Like events for future reference)
- Calendar integration
- Search and filter results
- Chat with other attendees and organisers
- Share events with friends and social media
- Event Listings based on user location and interests
- Save location & interests
- Get tickets
- Sold-out notice
- Manage payments (Add card details for faster check out)
Additional features for the future:
- Ride share integration
- Parking options and integration
- Peer reviews
Ideation
At this stage, I did some brainstorming and came up with a few ideas aimed at resolving the issues that were uncovered during my interaction with the users at the interview stage. I came up with the following solutions for each:
- RSVP option which tells the user the number of people interested in an event. The total number of attendees going will be added up to help user make a decision.
- Event Details: presenting the user with all event details in one view.
- Map Integration: Google Maps by clicking on the “Get Direction” button to navigate to their venue.
- Payment: ‘Get ticket’ button directly from the events page. Also, add card details under ACCOUNTS for faster check-out.
- Bookmark and Calendar: User can bookmark interested events and have a separate list for this. App synchronises with Google calendar which allows a user set a reminder.
Information architecture
The information architecture is found here.
Design & Implementation
Sketches
Using pencil and paper, I fleshed out ideas on the layout and elements of each screen. Throughout this process, I put in mind the pain points uncovered during the research, as well as, insights from the competitor analysis.
Doing this helped with quickly iterating several sketches, without committing too much time and energy into one idea.
Wireframes
After several sketches and iterations, I proceeded to figma to create the low-fidelity prototypes of the app screens with some actual information to make room for usability testing with users.
A quick usability tests revealed areas of the design which required some corrections. These changes are largely reflected in the hi-fidelity designs.
Visual Designs
I designed all the high fidelity designs of the app using figma
Prototype
A high fidelity prototype of the app created in figma is found here.
Conclusion
In the course of my training, I learnt how important it was to follow a user-centered design process. As I continue to develop my design skills, I hope to solve more problems paying attention to user needs. Finally, I’ll close with one of my favourite quotes by Steve Jobs — “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.’’
