Key Strategic Goal
Foster a more communal and enjoyable time for students at General Assembly (GA) by:
Conducting user interviews to gain insights and trends.
Creating a prototype that syncs with the user’s calendar to remind students of upcoming social events.
The Design Process - GA Social & The Double Diamonds
The Double Diamonds outline the Design Process for a given product. Here is how I experienced each step:
1. RESEARCH
I conducted User Interviews with 5 General Assembly (GA) students to gain a better understanding of the problem space. According to a majority of the interviewees, prior commitments including family and GA assignments hindered socialization.
2. SYNTHESIZE
I synthesized the data into an Affinity Map, which later informed me on the Persona I crafted. In addition, during this stage, I created a Problem Statement, given all the user feedback.
3. IDEATE
With a better sense of direction, I sketched out low-fidelity and then mid-fidelity wireframes. I made sure to include features that the users desired like alert systems on a phone’s calendar application.
4. IMPLEMENTATION
With both low-fidelity and mid-fidelity wireframes complete, I then proceeded to work on a working prototype. With a tangible product in hand, I tested the prototype with 4 new users. Given the testing, 4/4 users found the mobile application easy to navigate. In addition, 4/4 users found the application both useful and usable.
Design the Right Thing
Affinity Map
An Affinity Map was used because it helps visualize the seemingly disparate thoughts. It also helps group the ideas into themes to shed light on trends, patterns and insights.
Persona
With a strong sense of the problem area and the pain points, I crafted a persona, or an ideal user of this product. Doing so creates a sense of realism and urgency. In addition, personas tangibly create a target for the design process.
Problem Statement
Students at General Assembly (GA) must balance a heavy course load while tending to other personal matters like socialization and family. They noted that time constraints hindered them from enjoying time with their classmates.
How might we help students like Matthew enjoy a more active social life during their time at GA?
The answer: GA Social.
Designing the Thing Right
My eventual problem statement framed the social issue at GA as one that could be solved with proper time management tools. Namely, a feature that would alert a user of a social event anywhere from a week to 30 minutes in advance of the looming date.
As someone who has had the experience of missing out on scheduled social outings due to forgetting the date until the day of, the alert/reminder feature on a calendar seemed like an intuitive fix. Giving me a week’s or three days’ notice of a classmate’s birthday party not only raises the stakes of the quality of gift I have to give, but also essentially ensures that I would not overbook or forget that date.
Wireframes
the final product
A Mobile App So You Can Be A Part Of The Buzz
GA Social (images shown below) was a mobile application designed to help organize the busy schedules of General Assembly students. The rather intuitive interface was designed with the goal of setting alerts and Push Notifications for various social events. It would serve as an activities-hub for GA students trying to juggle their bustling lives.
Next Steps
The Next Steps would be to synthesize any feedback on the product to inform future changes. Doing so falls in line with the iterative nature of the Design Process. One possible addition to the product would be the ability to sync with social media platforms. This would allow Users to share their plans with friends, family and acquaintances.