Askpert
My Role
UX/UI Design
Project
Career Foundry Course
Timeline
3 months
Overview
This project aims to create a web application that provides expert answers to any type of question promptly. The application creates an environment where seekers can ask questions without feeling judged. It also offers the option of one-on-one private conversations with experts who have a similar background, if desired by the seekers.
context
Enable anyone, anywhere, to instantly chat with an expert in virtually any field.
summary of solution
Reliability, intimacy, and community are key.
Design Process
Understand
Anaylzing Project Brief
Before starting the research, I thoroughly review the business requirements and analyze the project brief to set clear research goals. Afterward, I extract key keywords.
Competitive analysis
With these keywords in mind, I conducted a competitive analysis to identify the pros and cons of existing apps in the market.
After conducting a thorough competitive analysis, I began the ideation process, keeping the business requirements in mind. Here are the key points:
To maintain a diverse range of experts who can provide instant responses, a strong community foundation is necessary.
Balancing the quality and quantity of experts is challenging. Implementing user verification during onboarding can help bridge this gap
Give visibility to urgent questions
Once the community flourishes, create sub-communities with advanced professionals. Payment will be required for access
Research
User Interview
Based on insights from competitive analysis, I formulated interview questions tailored to these objectives :
- Understand user perspectives on minor inquiries
- Examine user concerns about engaging with experts
- Discover user behaviors and patterns in seeking advice
survey
It was challenging to get responses from people who give advice. So, I contacted individuals on Reddit known for giving advice and asked them to join the survey. These were the survey goals :
- Discover what inspires experts to give advice.
- Learn about the difficulties they face when giving advice
Empathy Map
After interviewing users and conducting surveys, I developed an empathy map to grasp the needs of advice seekers and how they match those of advice givers
And here are some main takeaways I found through user research :
Diverse Perspectives and Reflection
Insecurity Due to Lack of Terminology
Comfort in 1:1 Conversations
Reciprocation Beyond Monetary Means
Advice givers :
Analyze
Problem Statement
Advice seekers need a convenient and judgment-free way to address minor questions with reliable experts.
Advice givers need a platform to offer advice without losing inspiration.
How might we questions / Ideate
Based on the problem statement and insights gathered during competitive analysis, I made HMW questions to ideate solutions.
- How might we maintain a large pool of experts?
- How might we provide a safe environment while maintaining anonymity?
- How might we create a non-judgmental platform for addressing minor questions?
Solutions
Anonymous Community System
One-on-one direct chat room
A sub-community for specialized expertise
Personas
After ideation, I developed two primary personas: one for the advice seeker and another for the advice giver.
Primary Persona - Advice Seeker
Primary Persona - Advice Giver
User Journey Map
After making personas, I created a comprehensive user journey map by considering where the goals of the two main personas overlap and how they interact, as they need to achieve their individual goals within a shared community format.
User Testing
After making user journey map, I made user flows and based on that, conducted card sorting with 12 participants. This is final site map below based on card sorting result.
Card Sorting - 12 people participated
Site map
Usability Test
Conducted usability test with 6 people using a mid-fidelity prototype. Here is the primary changes following the usability test.
Learning
I've discovered that when two primary target users share a common interest, it's crucial to align their objectives during the same phase. This ensures a seamless and engaging user experience that caters to their shared goals effectively.
Thank you for exploring this far!
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