Skout
6 Months
Mobile
UX Designer
Design Process
Throughout this project I followed the Double Diamond method to structure my design process. Starting with a broad exploration of the problem space during the Discover phase, followed by defining key user needs in the Define phase. This informed ideation and prototyping in the Develop phase, and I refined the solution through user testing in the Deliver phase.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Understanding The Market
After researching the market I found a number of competitors in the space of helping patrons find new bars to visit but none of them used the “vibe” as a search factor. All of the apps below only allow users to search by the typical features and allow users to reserve tables or promotional deals. This research shows that there is a large market with no direct competition for the Skout app.
The Pub Finder
OpenTable
BarPass
BarGlance
WHAT ARE USERS LOOKING FOR?
Knowing The Needs of My Users
Before I began my user interviews I wanted to get more knowledge into what the public was currently searching for when looking for bars near them. I looked at the top searches to inform my interview questions giving me some great insights even in the early stages of this project.
RESEARCH
Understanding User Needs
I conducted user interviews with 8 potential Skout users to better understand what factors they were considering when looking for a new place to go. I also needed to understand how these users were currently finding new places bars and what information they were receiving that was helping them to make a decision.
-23 year old student
-32 year old
-21 year old student
OPPORTUNITIES
Users Already Consider The Vibe
All of my interviewees mentioned that they currently consider what the vibe of a bar will be like before they go there. However they struggle to get this information currently
Users Search In Different Ways
My interviewees all searched for new bars in different was but considered a lot of the same factors when deciding on a place to go
Essential Information
Many of my interviewees mentioned a number of the same key factors when searching for a new bar to visit. The lack of live information hinders their search experience when currently searching
COMPILED TASK ANALYSIS
Completed a CTA To Identify Proposed Premium Features
I created 4 user persons based off my interviews to completed a CTA by looking at the tasks and scenarios that each of them was trying to achieve. Once I understood the scenarios and pain points I was then able to propose some premium features that could help to solve these issues. I chose two of these functions to move forward into my designs.
USER TESTING
Identified Significant Issues With The Beta UX
After I completed my CTA I began another phase of testing to understand where my proposed premium features could fit within the beta UX, it was during this testing that I encountered significant issues with the beta UX and realised I must focus my design iterations to solving these major issues while implementing the premium features that I had proposed from my user research.
FINDINGS
Confusing Selection Options
Users were struggling to easily identify the difference between the six options they were presented with.
Lack of Filter Functionality
Users felt there was a lack of filter options when navigating the bar results they were given.
Poor Accessibility
Many users did struggle with the accessibility of the app, especially considering that this app would be used in the environment of alcohol.
Confusing Vibe Information
All of the users felt that the vibe information that they were getting was confusing and hard to understand, leading to a major abandonment point in the app
Moved to high fidelity prototypes
Following user feedback from prototype testing, several areas of improvement emerged:
Easier identification of vibe search options
Clear identification of premium features and their functions
Users could clearly identify the vibe information and description
Iterated the designs, focusing on highlighting the premium features to users
Presented a demo to the Skout team, including my user testing feedback and accompanying research. Through valuable discussion we identified some key areas that could be improved and the team introduced some new features that they wanted added to the MVP.
Areas for improvement:
Choice: How can we increase the ways users search for the vibe they are looking for?
Delight: How can we increase the satisfaction of a user seeing the vibe of a bar for the first time?
Clarity: How can we improve the UI to make the users experience more smooth?
Made significant changes to the interface to focus on the areas of improvement
I began to explore how imagery could be used to portray the vibe of a location. I created several mockups of bars with different vibe matches and used and received excellent feedback from both potential users as well as the Skout team:
FINAL DESIGN
PREMIUM HOME SCREEN
Simplified
the users experience by reducing the number of option they have when landing on the app
PREMIUM SKOUTING SCREEN
Diversifying
how users search for the vibe they are looking for by giving them three new search features: Age, Gender and Activities
PREMIUM RESULTS SCREEN
Freeing
the user and giving them more ways to search. Including the premium map and venue search features gives users more ways to search for what they are looking for.
PREMIUM BAR INFO
Reimagined
how users see the vibe, utilising AI video and text to clearly communicate what the vibe of a bar is. Reducing the reliance on percentages by using graphs to show age and gender demographic information. Giving the user the ability to save not only the location but the vibe of the location at that time
Outcomes
Delivered a fully functioning MVP to the Skout founders ready for development
Identified key premium features based on significant user research that will help to generate revenue
Made significant design changes to address critical issues from the beta user experience
Significantly reduced friction points that the user felt during the experience of finding a new bar
Learnings
There were several key learnings that I was able to take from working on a live project like this. Firstly, it gave me great insight into working with real clients with changing ideas and expectations. I had to remind myself on several occasions not to jump ahead in the process and to trust the user research I was gathering. A big part of this was not to get myself fixated on the elements that I thought needed changing and to design for the insights and feedback that I was getting from my users. Finally the biggest learning for me during this project was to test earlier and to test more often. This was especially key while working on a project in the pre beta stage like this. If I had tested the beta earlier in the process it would have given me more time to design for the issues my users were facing.