PostUp

A GV Design Sprint Case Study

Overview

Problem

Many individuals struggle trying to find public places to work from that meets their needs and expectations. Therefore, PostUp wants to make it easier for remote workers to find great public places they can work from.

Solution

I designed an app where users can conduct a filtered search to find a public place to work from that meets their exact needs and expectations.

My Role

My role was to create a UX/UI design supported by research to test if the new app design can help users find a public place to work from that also fits their needs.

Day 1 - Map

Research

On the first day, I studied the user feedback PostUp has received regarding their struggles trying to find a public place to work from. Individuals were asked about their experiences on finding a public place to do remote work from and these were their responses:

Wifi is most important and even better if it's free

A quiet place/background to take calls

Places that are less crowded to get work done

Bathrooms are important for long working periods

Needs to know how busy or crowded a place is before working there or meeting someone there

Needs essentials like wifi/outlets/bathrooms. Bonus points if there's good food or coffee.

Needs a place nearby

Work friendly places with other people doing the same work

Likes to look at pictures of the place before going to make sure there's enough room

Persona

Starting Point:

Nina

32 years old

Freelance Copywriter

Boston, Ma

Behavior:

Nina is on the go a lot and doesn't know the best place to get work done between meetings.

Frustrations:

Nina spends a lot of time looking for a place to go and it doesn't always work out as expected.

Goals:

Nina wants to quickly find a place that meets her needs before she settles in to do work, take a phone call or a meeting.

User Interview

"Most services that are out there are maybe of people that are deciding if they want to eat or drink at a place, not work, so it takes a lot of searching and interpretation to find out the right place for me."

-Chelsea

In the interview with Chelsea, she mentioned that most of the information that's out there is really time consuming to dig through and takes a lot of jumping back and forth between websites and apps.

When making a google search, she checks for:

Distance
Photos of the place for space
Hours of operation to see when it opens or closes
The “busy times” which is usually not that helpful because it's more about how long lines are in the coffee shops
Amenities like wifi/outlets/bathrooms, so checks reviews (can be difficult to find because reviews are usually about the food or service)

Map

I mapped out a possible route the user can take when using the PostUp app to look for a public place to work from:

Day 2 - Sketch

UI Inspo

On the second day, I looked at other apps that relate to PostUp in some way, to gain some inspiration. When I made my search on the app store, very few results showed up. I realized not too many apps are made for this purpose.

Best Coffee Shops App:

This app helps coffee lovers find the best coffee shops. You can leave a rating, write reviews, as well as upload photos of your favorite coffee shops.

Pictures and captions make the app interactive and help users get a better review of the coffee shop.

Users can easily access all the posts/reviews they've made on their profile.

Clear call to action for users to get directions to a coffee shop.

Closest Cup App:

This app helps users find the closest coffee shop near them. It also shows you the contact information and which shops have the highest ratings.

But unfortunately they don't have any other unique features.

List of coffee shops are nice and clear. Distance is also shown clearly underneath.

Google Search:

I made a google search for “Starbucks” and clicked on the first option that came up. I found google search to be most helpful, because everyone is familiar with google’s layout and people usually make google searches to find the nearest coffee shop.

Reviews help individuals figure out if the coffee shop meets their needs and expectations.

Photos help users get a sense of what the place looks like.

Crazy 8s

After gathering UI inspiration, I sketched out my Crazy 8s. The most critical screen would be the 'list of results' screen. Because I worked on this assignment on my own, I only created one version of my critical screen. I then created other screens that would come before and after my critical screen.

Solution Sketch

In my solution sketch, the user would conduct a filtered search, then the list of results would appear in the next screen. From there, they would choose whichever coffee shop they’d like to view and then the next screen would demonstrate the coffee shop's information, including photos, reviews, direction, phone number, and hours of operation.

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3 Day 3 - Decide

Storyboard

In my storyboard, I created a simple sketch of the necessary UI elements needed to build my prototype. I created possible interactions a user would have with each screen:

They would start off on the search screen and click on ‘Filter’ to conduct a filtered search.
From there, they would choose any of the filters they’d like to apply, then apply those filters.
Next, the list of coffee shops based on their filtered search would appear in the next screen.
From there, they would choose whichever coffee shop they would like to view.
Next, another screen would appear with the coffee shop's information.
From there, they can choose the ‘photos’ button, ‘reviews’ button, and ‘direction’ button, to view any photos, reviews, as well as direction to the coffee shop.

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7 Day 4 - Prototype

Creating a Prototype

On the fourth day, I created a realistic prototype of the screens I sketched in my 7-panel storyboard. After reviewing the user feedback and interview, I designed a simple search engine to make it easier for users to find a public place to work from. By conducting a filtered search, users can select the exact options that meet their needs.

The search results are listed clearly and users are able to access photos, reviews, direction, as well as contact information.

Prototype:

https://sketch.com/s/0c03a210-da90-44fb-8c25-2961a09ca696/a/WKkKVwA/play

Day 5 - Test

Testing the Prototype

On the last day, I tested my prototype on five individuals who work remotely. They usually work from home, but they also go to any nearby coffee shops a few days out of the week or from time to time. I asked each of them if they ever struggle finding the right coffee shop that meets their requirements. They all responded saying yes and that the coffee shops are either too busy or too loud sometimes.

At the end of the usability tests, I received great feedback from all of my participants:

They liked the layout and responded that the screens were very easy to navigate and that the app is user friendly.
One individual mentioned how this app would be very useful especially if they’re in a different area or location and need to find a good coffee shop nearby.
They liked that you can access photos, because it's important to see the place before going there.
They also liked the idea of a filtered search and believe that it would be very helpful.

Findings/Adjustments:

I did not run into any critical issues during my usability tests, but one individual mentioned how the screen that shows the coffee shop’s information could possibly look better if the check marked list of amenities was in the bottom of the screen instead of the top, because the important information should be on the top. So I went ahead and made that change and this is how it looks now:

Before

List of amenities was on top of the screen.

After

List of amenities is now on the bottom of the screen.

Final Screens

Signing Up

Pay $5.99 a month to find the best public places to do remote work from!

Filtered Search

Choose all the right amenities that fit your requirements!

Coffee Shop Info

Access the contact information, photos, reviews, and direction to any coffee shop near you!

Loading/Sign Up

Search

Search Results

Photos

Reviews/Direction

What I Learned:

In this design sprint, I learned that getting started is more important than wasting time trying to prevent any mistakes. When starting a new project it can be difficult to figure out how to get started, but with the design sprint we are offered specific instructions, that make the process much easier. Because the process only takes five days, it's crucial to stay on top of everything and not waste any time trying to get everything right, since you will learn a lot by the end of the week.

Future advancements:

Create a profile page that displays all your posts and recent visits.
Create screens that demonstrate other people's profiles that shows all the coffee shops and public places they have visited along with their ratings.
Create a unique and interactive homepage.