Innovative Productivity App (coming up)
User research • Product innovation strategy • Product design
Context
A current team project (new product development) exploring user challenges with productivity apps.
This article explores our on-going journey of identifying unmet needs, developing proof-of-concept ideas, and crafting innovative design solutions tailored to market demands.
Tasks (so far)
Discovery research methods
Online survey
Market research
Focus group research
Product strategy
Defining target segmentation
MVP
Designing POC concepts
Low-fidelity designs
Feedback iteration
Assignment
We set out to uncover the challenges users face with today's productivity apps and spot market gaps, all with limited resources. How can we design a product that’s innovative and truly user-centered?
Online survey research
Competitive benchmarking
Focus group research
Data synthesis
Concept designs
Deliverables
Role
Product Design & Research and Communication Lead
Method
'There's no such thing as a linear, one-size-fits-all research journey.'
Philin
Idea Generation Phase
understand users & market
The stakeholder aimed to create a unified solution for students and professionals to streamline studying and organization without relying on multiple paid apps.
Online survey
Google Form
Qualitative & Quantitative research method
71 respondents
14 questions
European countries, and Turkey
After joining the team, my first mission was to challenge existing assumptions. I established a 'Lean product development' workflow, staying agile and integrating design thinking at every step.
The original design
Data synthesis
I categorized the respondents into two groups; Students and Professionals.
Both user groups have similar struggles of juggling between apps on a daily basis so they lose the holistic view of their progresses and goals...next to feeling overwhelmed.
Next, we analysed the market to identify the gap, overall landscape, and trends of the productivity app market globally.
Market competitive benchmark
Using SWOT analysis and a perceptual map, we identified gaps, opportunities, and areas where we could add value in the productivity market.
From these insights, I organized a brainstorming workshop with the team to generate solution ideas.
Brainstorm workshop
This led me to conduct an online survey to uncover insights about users' productivity habits, personas, attitudes, and challenges.
We discovered a saturation of digital productivity tools in the market, yet users remain unsatisfied with the existing solutions, not only as a single solution, but as a whole. This insight indicates that there are opportunities to explore deeper into a specific problem area.
We’re at a critical decision point: should we continue the project? (if not, how to deliver the harsh truth to stakeholders?), is there an untapped problem area in the market we can identify? but most importantly, which problem should we focus on?
In the meantime, I worked on several tasks in parallel, including organizing documentation on Confluence, project roadmap, setting up a feedback cycle, delegating tasks to team members, and developing user personas (yes, I believe in starting to draft them early rather than later).
I prioritized user persona over buyer persona at this point.
Next, I'll define product concepts with real users, in the process I'll discover more practical feedback. Stay tuned.
Define
Following discovery research, I gathered and analysed data using note taking technique, affinity diagrams, and customer journey map to synthesise valuable insights. Then, turned them into a problem statement.
Problem statement
'How might we reduce time of a hotel website booking process while increasing user's trust?'
Main Insights
Most users distrust website information due to factors like missing photos and price explanations, risking both low satisfaction and brand trust deterioration.
Information scattered across various locations forces users to navigate back and forth to find missing details, leading to a longer and more frustrating booking process.
The most frustrating experience faced by users are during room comparison, date and location selection, and property search respectively.
Design & Prototype
Once I've got insights and the problem clearly defined. I drew an ideal user flow before drawing low-fi wireframes on paper.
Design what and why
Problem:
Many hotel booking sites have too many information on landing page and ignore the need of seeing the property's location as it's one of the first priority users look for early on in a booking process.
Problem:
Hotel booking sites lack clear, step-by-step instructions for users.
Users can't modify booking details after initial selection, causing frustration.
Hotel and marketplace websites overlook crucial room card information for users.
Solution:
'Map' section with dedicated property's location on landing page instead of on later stages.
'Progressive disclosure' design principle to limit information on this page to the goals; to explore properties and to book a hotel.
A simple branding and logo. Representing being welcoming, organic, yet lively and confident.
Solution:
Clear filters aligned with user priorities streamline decision-making, such as filtering rooms with work amenities for business travelers.
Comprehensive room cards feature essential details like breakfast inclusion and free cancellation, alongside room size and amenities for easy reference.
Problem:
At this step, many hotel booking sites separate questions in a few pages while it could be combined together at one step.
Solution:
Gather all the necessary questions in one step to avoid longer process or the feeling of longer process, together with overview and detailed payment explanation.
