Encouraging In-Person Social Interactions.
Klique is a social meetup app created to increase conversion of accepted invites to event attendees by making it easier for users to find others who share their hobbies and interests.
Project Details
My Role
UX Researcher, Visual Designer, & Interaction Designer
Tools
Figma, Canva, Google Workspace
Scope
July 6, 2024 - July 20, 2024
User Research, Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Analysis, Guerrilla Usability & Usability Testing, Information Architecture, Visual Design
Methods
The Problem Space
Background
A small startup launched an app to help people, who have just moved to a new city, make new friends. They found that while users may be signing up for local events to do this, only a small portion actually attend. I was given the task of creating an incentive to encourage users to show up to the events for which they’ve sign up.
Current Solutions
Facebook Events
Meetup
Eventbrite
Google search
While these options may suffice for finding local events, most of them do not provide incentives to encourage event attendance.
My Process
Discover
Competitive analysis revealed that Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite are the most common ways of finding local events.
Heuristic analysis revealed that these popular options succeed at providing users with a list of relevant events in their area, but many fail to encourage users to attend those events following the signup process. The Meetup app uses “connections” as an incentive to encourage event attendance. I chose to incorporate that technique in the Klique app.
User interviews played a vital role in determining what motivates users. Five participants were interviewed and asked questions that helped me understand why they use social meetup apps, what they like/dislike about the current apps available, and what they hope to gain from the overall experience.
User Research
Empathy Mapping
The empathy map placed me in the mind of the typical user. Using this tool, I uncovered the fears and stresses around attending an event, which made it easier to create a solution that would ease those concerns.
Anxiety, nervousness around attending an event where they don’t know anyone or what to expect.
Loneliness/feelings of isolation and a need to connect with others similar to them.
Being uncomfortable at events where you’re expected to behave a certain way without the freedom to leave when you want.
Having to use multiple social meetup platforms to find the right event because each one offers something different.
Pain Points
Define
User Persona
The user persona served as a reference point throughout the process. It combined the needs and wants of all the participants interviewed into one and ensured those needs remained the top priority.
Persona Summary
Everett is a 33-year-old male who is single, works as an engineer, and lives in Florida.
Motivations: Safety, entertainment, meeting new people, relaxation, and a feeling of belonging.
Needs: A comfortable atmosphere, having all the details about an event, and making connections with other event goers prior to the event date.
Frustrations: Pre-event anxiety, social unease, difficulty finding like-minded people, social pressure, large crowds, and having to multiple apps to find the right event.
“How Might We…?”
With the help of the Empathy Map and User Persona, I created five questions to help me stay focused on the needs of the user as I progressed toward the design of my prototype.
How might we encourage enthusiasm and excitement prior to an event?
How might we keep event goers relaxed and comfortable enough to open up and socialize with new people during the event?
How might we help users find others with similarities and interests that match theirs?
How might we help users feel prepared for an event, so they know what to expect?
How might we encourage users to build long-term friendships with the people they meet at events?
My goal was to ensure the prototype would effectively answer these questions.
Develop
User Flow
With a user flow, I had a better understanding of how my designs would appear before I had even begun sketching.
The Information Architecture was created at this stage and made very clear the screens I would need to create in order for the user to accomplish the task of signing up for an event they’d actually want to attend.
User flow would need to include:
An option to create an account to save interests, friends, and preferences/customizations.
A dashboard with a CTA button for attending a local event along with the user’s interests and upcoming events for which they’ve already signed up.
A detailed description of the event including photos of the location, a list of attendees with photos, and details about the host.
An option to connect with other attendees prior to the event to increase excitement and ease anxiety.
Sketches
Brand Attributes
With the user flows, I created low fidelity sketches that answered the “How might we” questions created during the Define stage. These designs were created with the needs of the user in mind.
Guerrilla Usability Testing
The Guerrilla Usability Testing technique was used after my sketches were made to ensure I was on the right track with creating an effective solution for users before starting my high-fidelity designs.
Key Findings & Solutions
Users did not understand the concept of badge events. A tutorial would need to be incorporated to help users understand how everything worked.
Certain parts of the app that were confusing or deemed unnecessary were eliminated to minimize frustration.
Navigational features, such as buttons and the navigation bar, were changed to create a more seamless experience for users.
Style Guide
Brand Personality
“A trusted friend that cares about helping people and making a difference in the world.”
Caring
Familiar
Humorous
Optimistic
High-Fidelity Mockups
With my sketches, style guide, and user flow in mind, the high-fidelity designs were created and made ready for the usability testing process.
Usability Testing
Second Round Usability Testing
Key Findings & Solutions
The introduction tutorial helped users understand Badges and Badge events.
A couple users were confused by “Kliques”, and so the tutorial was changed to include a quick explanation of Kliques.
Users were confused by the group chat feature. A popup modal was created to briefly explain how the chat worked and encourage users to engage with it.
Users were confused by the presence of a “Badge Event” and an “Event” button. To minimize frustration, the “Badge Event” button was removed and turned into a less noticeable link, encouraging users to pay more attention to the “Event” button, which is more important for first-time users.
Deliver
With the help of the usability test findings, the high-fidelity designs were iterated and finalized to create a product ready for implementation.
The Conclusion
Key Takeaways
My role as a UX Researcher involves one of the most important tasks of the project. If I can’t probe deeply enough to uncover the authentic needs of the users, I can’t create a viable solution to their problems. Asking the right questions and proper preparation for interviews is crucial.
During the second round, a few users expressed skepticism about some of the features of the app (i.e. the group/private chat options). While more users felt the app would succeed in encouraging event attendance, the app will still continue to be refined to ensure it’s an effective solution that increases conversion of accepted invites to event attendance.