re.Intro | a Case Study
A product created from nothing.
The Very Beginning
What you are about to read is how an inexperienced UX designer gave birth to a mobile application prototype called ‘re.Intro’. The creation of ‘re.Intro’ was developed as a result of taking an accelerated User Experience (UX) design course. The assignment was to pair up with another classmate (the user), and interview them to explore potential mobile application opportunities.
The opportunity that emerged was a mobile application to assist the user in setting and achieving goals through positive reinforcement.
The project had a deadline of three days. On the fourth day, the prototype along with deliverables were due, which included:
- User Interview Script
- User Persona / Affinity Diagram
- User Flow
- Storyboard & UI Sketches
- Minimum 5 Screen Clickable Prototype
- 5 Minute Presentation
LET’S DO SOME RESEARCH!
The User Interview
The intention of the user interview was to discover what could be improved in the users daily life. The interview took place in a lounge area of a small school called Red Academy. It lasted fifteen minutes. I bombarded the user with broad questions to get as much information as possible about their life and habits. It was definitely more difficult than I had imagined. It started vague and ended vague. I did film the interview to be able to recall and clarify the user’s answers. Filming the interview would prove very useful later on the design process.
The Diagrams and Personas
The next step was to categorize the users traits and habits. I did this by producing an affinity diagram using the software Sketch. The diagram allowed me to categorize their characteristics, preferences, likes, and frustrations into a simple to understand overview.
The overview was then translated into a user persona (created with Photoshop). You can see both revisions of the affinity diagram and the user persona include category consolidation.
After rewatching the interview three times and evaluating the user persona repeatedly, I concluded the user’s problems and goals were one in the same. This is when the decision was made to build a product that would assist him with both. Kill two birds with one app (sorry birdies). Below you will see the user’s problems and goals tied together.
- Spend more time with friends.
- Prioritize free time.
- Be more creative.
- Pursue s stable career.
- Monetary gains.
LET’S DO SOME PLANNING!
The Sketches
Because the user spent so much time interacting with different media streams, the solution was to create an app that would curate a customized feed of media using the users pre-selected media sources. I “assumed” (don’t cringe too much) that any person wanting to achieve goals needed to feel more confident and positive. At this point of the UX process, time would not allow deep research into how a person sets and achieves a goal. This is something I will take with me and improve on while working on new projects.
To demonstrate the basic function of re.Intro, I created a storyboard to display how the user might feel using the app.
Once the storyboard was finished, it helped me interpret the flow of how the user might move through the app. I then created some low-fidelity user interface sketches.
The first version of the UI sketch seen above existed to demonstrate the core purpose re.Intro. I added one more screen to inform the user the purpose of the app.
The Flow
After seeing the app developing on paper, it was time to create a user flow.
Once version 1 was complete I realized there was an opportunity to create a more focused product. Goals! The app needed to have a step to set goals. Once the user sets goals, the curated content is more specific and more purposeful.
LET’S BUILD A PROTOTYPE!
The Prototype
Now that there was a clear purpose, it was time to create a functional prototype! I did this using Adobe Experience Design. The prototype started off as low-fidelity, but being able to utilize the included content in Experience Design, a mixture of a low and mid-fidelity prototype was developed. Four iterations of the prototype were created based solely on my own experience using the app in the process of designing it. Below you will find the some static screens of the fourth iteration.
If you would like to view prototype version 4, check it out below:
https://xd.adobe.com/view/57b1c213-13a8-4643-833f-6989e89ea7b0/
The Very Ending
The whole process used to create a user centered design (UCD) was eye opening. I found it challenging to not include details in the product that I personally would want to use. I found it really interesting how you can find opportunity just by asking questions. The idea of UCD now makes complete sense. Honestly, I can’t wait to discover more opportunities and create designed solutions.
