Espresso-Location Based Networking App

Espresso—Location Based Networking App

Brief

Applying for jobs can seem hopeless for some users, furthermore applying online without any connections can seem like you are sending your resume to a blackhole. Users report that they receive a lot of annoying or irrelevant messages on their professional networking platform. We sought to solve both these issues by designing a location based networking app called Espresso.

Project Goal: Help users save time by creating useful and meaningful professional connections.

Target User: Job seekers who want to build strong connections along the way.

Project Timeline

Team: Fernando, Kathleen, Corey

Problem Exploration Exercise

I led the team through the problem exploration exercise, aligning the team on the problem we were solving. The dimensions we explored gave us insight into the surveys and user interviews.

User Research

We did surveys and user interviews to better understand user's experience while networking. We received 40 responses and conducted 14 user interviews.

We found that users felt uncomfortable at networking events and needed a way to network in a more relaxed yet engaging way.

Personas

Based on our goals and the user research, we selected 2 primary personas and 1 secondary persona to focus on.

Sketching

After prioritizing features based on the personas, we sketched together. We took into account common design patterns in other messaging apps to make the app intuitive to use.

Profile Screen Sketches

Tabbed Navigation Sketches

People Nearby Sketches

Wireframing & Usability

Users were surprised and delighted to see the favorite drink of others on their profile.

Onboarding

The user testing of the final prototype went well, except for the on-boarding process. We originally asked users to login , setup a profile enable notifications, enable location services. All before we showed them any value on using this application. Therefore, we delayed on-boarding until after they see the value in the application.

Conclusion

Users understood the app overall and were delighted by seeing the favorite drink of others.

Next Steps

Information architecture study on the roles and industries.
Potential gamification to incentivize those with little time to talk to others.
Comparative research of other location based dating applications to see what features could be used to improve the experience.
Research on the privacy concerns of users considering the following options show their location distance the last the time they were online.
Research on what an organic conversation is comprised of. By chance? Meeting someone that is like you in a different way? Something in common other than profession, school or workplace?