**Please be aware that this project is governed by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with a client, which is a fictitious entity utilized for demonstration purposes of a real project.**
Overview:
Silver Group is on a mission to introduce a dedicated content posting platform that harnesses the power of their banking services to foster community and connectivity. Our primary goal is to streamline and simplify the design, ultimately enhancing user engagement on this platform.
Background:
Silver Group Bank currently has an outdated content posting feature that sees limited use, mainly due to its unofficial status and challenging usability. The bank is committed to transforming this feature into an official platform called "Groups." This redesign is aimed at inspiring users to engage more actively with the platform.
Design Process:
Research
During our research phase, I created user stories to gain a deeper insight into the demographics of the users we were designing for.
User Stories:
As a user, I want to be able to post different types of content.
As a user, I want to be able to unpublish my content whenever I see fit.
As a user, I want to be able to preview my content before I post it.
As a user, I want to be able to view and delete drafts.
Surveys & Interviews
To ensure a well-rounded perspective and optimize the user experience of "Groups," we conducted testing and interviews with users from various roles within the company. This approach included engineers, administrators, stakeholders, and more, making "Groups" suitable for universal use within the organization.
Pain points:
After synthesizing the research findings, we identified several pain points:
Unpublishing: Users encountered challenges when trying to unpublish a post. They had to request the group owner to take it down, which often led to delays lasting for days.
Limited Content Types: Users were restricted to posting only blogs, with no options for sharing different types of content.
Automatic Posting: The absence of an automated scheduling feature prevented users from publishing content at a later, predetermined time, limiting their flexibility and efficiency.
Analysis
Executive Summary:
Silver Bank is dedicated to enabling its employees to freely express themselves through blogs, polls, forums, and event announcements. However, the existing platform is outdated and challenging to navigate, particularly for new hires. To address this, the bank has invested in a comprehensive redesign to create a more intuitive and user-friendly space for sharing thoughts and ideas. By revitalizing the system, Silver Bank is fostering a collaborative environment that empowers its employees to communicate and connect more effectively, promoting a culture of engagement and inclusivity within the organization.
Problem Statement:
The existing outdated system at Silver Group has resulted in significant inefficiencies for users when attempting to make posts. This has led to a notable decline in platform utilization.
Use Cases:
Ideation
Design Principles:
User Empowerment: Prioritizing user control ensures that users can efficiently manage their groups in a manner that suits their preferences and needs.
Enhanced Usability: Addressing the shortcomings of the previous design, the focus is on creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface that facilitates ease of learning and task completion.
User-Centric Approach: Placing the user's needs at the forefront of design, the goal is to develop solutions that effectively address user problems and provide meaningful value.
Future Vision:
Our vision for the future is to elevate the monthly user base within Groups, stimulate increased content engagement, and cultivate excitement for Groups as a vibrant and dynamic platform. Key design focuses include:
Un-publish Feature: Empower users to un-publish content at their discretion, enhancing control over their posts.
Content Creation Variety: Enable users to create content in multiple formats, including blogs, events, forums, and polls, offering diverse ways to share within their Groups.
Dedicated Draft Space: Provide users with a dedicated area to create and save drafts, allowing for flexibility and convenience in content creation and management.
UX User Flows:
Before embarking on the design process, it was essential for me to establish precise user flows that mapped out the tasks I intended to accomplish within the project. This ensured a solid foundation for making informed design decisions moving forward.
Design
After creating the user flows, my next step was to sketch rough screen layouts. These sketches outlined the placement and structure of elements, helping me gain a clearer visualization of the eventual screen designs.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes:
Following the initial rough sketched wireframes, I advanced to create mid-fidelity wireframes that comprehensively incorporated all the planned features for the actual screens. These detailed wireframes were then presented to stakeholders to ensure their alignment with project requirements.
Iterations
After completing usability testing and discussing the findings with stakeholders, we unearthed several valuable insights to incorporate into the final screen designs, including:
Dedicated Messages Section: Introducing a dedicated section for users to send optional messages to the group owners who will be reviewing their submitted posts, enhancing communication.
Start and End Time/Date for Polls: Implementing a feature to specify the start and end time/date for polls, ensuring accurate vote retrieval and better user control.
Event Date and Time Information: Including event date and time information along with the time zone for clarity and improved event management.
Draft Filter Function: Implementing a filter function for drafts to enhance organization and streamline content creation.
Expanded Poll Choices: Allowing users to add more than two choices for their polls, providing greater flexibility and customization in poll creation.
Handoff
After conducting three rounds of usability testing and holding weekly meetings with stakeholders, I successfully refined the platform's designs. This resulted in a streamlined content posting process that offers users a simple and intuitive experience. By systematically addressing all identified pain points and incorporating user suggestions throughout the research process, we made significant improvements to the overall user experience. Remarkably, we completed the project ahead of schedule and successfully launched it in July 2023, receiving enthusiastic reviews. Notably, the platform's user satisfaction score increased by 25% compared to the previous version.
Final Screens:
