York/Sheridan Program in Design
January - April 2020

Empowering human reconnection by bridging mutual interests, availability and proximity

heading image for Bump product
Role
Co-Product Design Lead, UX/UI Designer
Contributions
Co-lead application analysis, user research, usability testing, wireframing and prototyping.
Duration
4 months
Team
Supervisor, Co-Product Design Leads, UI/UX Designer, Visual Designer
Overview

Project Breakdown

Context
Bump is a social media app that focuses on reconnecting people based on mutual interests, time availability, and location.
Pain points
Making new meaningful connections is difficult when you already have established friendships and don't want to meet strangers. Scheduling time and location are also major barriers for people who want to meet up in person.
Research Phase

Understand the Users

Context
The first objective was to understand who our users were and for what reason they would be using this app.
Problem Point
We needed to find the user's intentions
Solution
  • I collaborated with the design team to conduct user research to create user personas.
  • I guided sprint and affinity mapping sessions to connect product features with data from user research. We visualized the product flow using a MoSCoW chart, a system map and context scenarios.
User Needs
  • Mutual Interest
  • Similar availability
  • Accessible way to meet
What I learned
  • Our initial user personas were individuals still in school but through user research, we noticed that participants over the age of 25 were more susceptible to losing touch with friends.
  • We needed to simplify reconnecting with old friends by removing the hassle of planning and scheduling events.
  • User research showed that users had an interest with reconnecting with old friends but were more willing to meet in person if planning was made more convenient.
User Personas
MoSCoW Chart
Development Phase

Designing the User Experience

Initial Concept
  • To address the user pain points, we designed a system that filtered similar interests, availability, and location based on the users preferences.
  • The other objective was to gamify the interaction to retain user attention. I conceptualized the first iteration of dragging profiles to create groups with shared lifestyle habits.
Updated Solutions
  • During the onboarding process, users can customize their interests and schedule to reflect their current preferences.
  • We increased visibility of the scheduling feature for users to easily change availability and location.
  • Users can also filter what time they are free. Night owls will never again clash with early birds.
  • Users can form unexpected groups when availability, location, and interest overlap.
  • The messaging system reflects the key purpose of this app by suggesting conversation starters using similar interests within the group.
Testing Phase

Analysing Usability

Context
We conducted usability testing to analyze user interaction behaviour with the system flow and to review user opinions on the product.
Problem Point
We needed to assess if we addressed user needs
Solution
  • I collaborated with the design team to create an interview guideline for usability testing sessions.
  • I conducted testing interviews and assessed testing results with the design team.
  • I lead post-testing interviews to gather general thoughts and feedback for the app.
  • I worked with the design team to update UI and UX changes to the product.
What I learned
  • Users enjoyed the smart features that filtered based on similar availability and mutual interest.
  • Users were fascinated with the dragging feature. Though it was a foreign interaction to any social media app they experienced before, all participants immediately understood the association of organizing like-groups.
Post-Testing Interview
Proposed Changes

Final Prototype

Style Guide

Next Project

Sprinklr Survey Platform

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2022 Bay Area. Made with 💙 by Katherine Ng