Off the Beaten Path
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OFF THE BEATEN PATH TRAVEL APP
PROJECT DETAILS
CHALLENGE: Design a travel app that introduces travelers to hidden travel spots that they may not have previously known about and that are not overly crowded with tourists.
ROLE: UX Researcher
CONTRIBUTION: User Research (Survey), Persona Development, Site Map, Wireframes, User Flow Chart, Low & Mid Fidelity, Prototypes, Usability Testing, Style Tiles
TOOLS USED: Pen, Pencil & Paper, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, InvisionApp, iPhone 6+, MacBook Pro, FaceTime, Skype
MY PROCESS
USER RESEARCH & STRATEGY.
User Research Survey
For this assignment my biggest issue was estimating the timeline. My mentor told me that estimating timelines is one of the hardest things in the industry, mostly because of the unknowns.
Personas
My process for this assignment began with me referring to Chapter 11 - Personas from “Designing for the Digital Age”; which tells readers to divide interviewees into roles. The goal of personas is not to represent every possible audience member but rather to address the major needs of the most important user groups.
Empathy Map
In order to truly build empathy for Karena, I needed to get a better understanding of her feelings; what she thought about, what her environment was like, what she experienced doing her day along with her pains.
INTERACTION DESIGN
Card Sorting
I used Optimal Workshop's remote card sorting to allow participants to remotely select the navigation categories for the app.
Site Map
This assignment proved a bit more daunting for me; I looked at site map examples and found horizontal layouts, vertical layouts and a combination of the two. Once I had my site map, I changed it, changed it again, and changed it yet again. I definitely want to work on building my confidence and improve my site maps.
User Flow Chart
My process for this assignment began by reviewing my site map, changing objectives, writing under each objective step-by-step process to accomplish task. I then iterated this process and then, began to create a sketch from what was written down.
Wireframes
Reviewed user flow, site map, and OTBP UI requirements then sketched wireframes; created the final product in Illustrator. Next, I reviewed my sitemap and sketched out the path I thought my user would take to search for and purchase tickets to an amusement park. Finally, I added a few pages that I thought helped with the flow.
Prototyping & Testing
I wasn’t really sure how this was going to go since my design was going to be tested remotely. I wouldn’t be able to see what the participants were going to do or hear their thoughts.
Reviewed the reading material for the week, wrote down Erika Hall's Test Plan Checklist, downloaded the InVision app on my phone & as I examined each wireframe I thought about the tasks I would like for the test participants to complete & also took note of where I needed to refine and reiterate my wireframes.
I began by interviewing my participants and recording them as each of them took the test. I noted any difficulties they may have had and timed how long it took them to complete each task. After all of the participants had taken the test, I averaged the time on task and the total time it took them to complete the entire test.