Virtual Assistant & Advisor
Virtual Assistant & Advisor
Embedded Files
Case Study:
Case Study:
VA&A App and Responsive Website Design
VA&A App and Responsive Website Design
The products
The products
VA&A is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing virtual assistance and advice to the general public at any stage of life. The organization needs tools to help people customize their needs according to their life stage.
Project Overview
Project Overview
The problem
The problem
People are constantly facing different problems, challenges, or special life events at different stages of their lives. The strategy team at VA&A are trying to help whether people need a tool to guide them going through tough times, have good plans for the future, or simply save time.
The goal
The goal
Design an app to help people improve and manage their life easier and save time.
My role
My role
UX researcher and designer. Using Adobe XD to design the app and responsive website from concept to delivery
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Conducting research, empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating solutions, designing paper & digital wireframes, creating low & high-fidelity prototypes, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, determining information architecture, and iterating on design.
Understanding the User
Understanding the User
Summary
Summary
According to the United Nations, the share of the population aged 65 and older increased from 6 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2019 globally. The proportion is projected to rise further to 16 percent by 2050, so that one in six people in the world will be 65 or older. Although VA&A is designed for the general public at any stage of life, initial user research is focused on seniors —the largest increasing population in the world. Most interview participants reported they would like to live independently as long as they can if they had access to an easy-to-use tool to help guide them.
World Population Ageing 2019 Highlights by United Nations
Problem Statement and Persona 1
Problem Statement and Persona 1
She-fen is a senior retiree. She needs reminders, car rides, safety detectors, and nutrition monitors to ensure a healthy life because she would like to maintain good health and have a safe life.
Problem Statement and Persona 2
Problem Statement and Persona 2
James is a senior retiree. He needs tools to help him with financial planning, find social events, tours, and stay active because he would like to live independently as long as he can.
Competitive Audit
Competitive Audit
An audit of a few competitor’s products provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with the VA&A app and website design.
Ideation
Ideation
I did a quick ideation exercise to come up with ideas on how to address the identified gaps in the competitive audit. My focus was specifically on the flow of creating a customized app for seniors.
Starting the Design
Starting the Design
Digital Wireframes
Digital Wireframes
Easy navigation was a key point needed to achieve in the design, in addition to equipping the app to work with assistive technologies.
Low-fidelity Prototype
Low-fidelity Prototype
To prepare for usability testing, I designed a low-fidelity prototype of a customization flow for individual needs. Please view the low-fidelity prototype for VA&A app.
Usability Study Findings
Usability Study Findings
Most participants learned and used desktop computers during most of their lifetimes. The following were the main findings which were uncovered by the usability study.
App iconography literacy
App iconography literacy
Most participants had difficulty understanding the icons. Users need descriptions or labels under icons to know what they mean.
Instructions/Steps
Instructions/Steps
For all participants, it’s not clear how to do a customized task. Users need to know what steps are required to customize the app.
Swipe up pages
Swipe up pages
Not everyone is familiar with swipe-up pages. Users need better cues for swipe-ups to see more content.
Mockups 1
Mockups 1
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes, such as adding a label to each icon to clarify the icon’s function to users.
Mockups 2
Mockups 2
An additional change includes adding steps on “Welcome screen” to guide users before customizing the app. The steps provide clear instructions for users.
Accessibility Considerations
Accessibility Considerations
Clear labels for interactive elements that can be read by screen readers.
A translation tool in different languages for international users
A text enlargement feature for seniors. Color contrast adjustment feature for people who are color-blind.
Refined Design
Refined Design
High fidelity Prototype
High fidelity Prototype
The high fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype. It includes changes that were made after the usability study. Please view the high-fidelity prototype for VA&A app
Responsive Design
Responsive Design
Sitemap
Sitemap
After completing the app design, I started working on the responsive website. To ensure a cohesive and consistent experience across devices, I created a VA&A sitemap to guide the organizational structure of each screen design.
Responsive Designs
Responsive Designs
The design for screen size variations includes mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized the design to fit the specific user needs of each device and screen size.
Mobile
Tablet
Desktop
Going Forward
Going Forward
Takeaways
Takeaways
Impact:
Impact:
The app customized all the areas in one place, seems like something users could actually benefit from in their daily lives. One quote from participant feedback was that “The VA&A app is easy to be customized to fit my needs. I feel I am able to live independently as long as I can."
What I learned:
What I learned:
Even though the problem I was trying to solve was a big one, diligently going through each step of the design process and aligning it with specific user needs helped me come up with solutions that were both feasible and useful.
Next Steps
Next Steps
Conduct research into the areas and age groups who need assistance and advice the most.
Add more educational resources for users to learn about dealing with challenges and problems during difficult times or special life events.
Provide educational resources for users to learn about financial planning and literacy. Keep up-to-date with financial guidelines and changes from the government for the general public.
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