Project Overview
This project was part of my Google UX Designer certification course. The goal was to create an app for social good.
One thing that interested me was something I was currently working on myself: decluttering. Getting rid of things can be quite difficult without the help of an app or website, so I came up with Clutterbomb, which allows users in the same community to take other’s belongings who no longer need or want them. People don’t like keeping unwanted items around for too long (including me), so Clutterbomb allows them to get rid of things as quickly as possible.
Deliverables: Mobile App
My Role: Lead UX Designer and Researcher
Responsibilities: User Research, Wireframing, Prototyping
The Problem
The trouble with decluttering is that people may not necessarily wish to just throw out their belongings if they can give them to somebody else that may need them more. Bulk removal can also be a hinderance to this process since often times, their town only lets them throw out a certain amount of bags per week, so adding an option for the Salvation Army to come and remove these items would be a big help to the process.
The Goal
Come up with an app and accompanying website that easily allows people to give their stuff to somebody else in a quick and easy way. They can set up a safe meeting place using the integrated messaging system.
Competitive Audit
One of the first things I did was look for the closest direct/indirect competitors that resonate closely to the purpose of the app. Most of them require a payment of some kind as they are meant to primarily sell items instead of just giving them away. Craigslist and Facebook Groups were the closest direct competitors, as they had the option to give things away for free.
Personas
Problem Statement
Caleb is a welder with a girlfriend who needs to declutter and remove 90% of the junk in their apartment because it’s creating an unhealthy and unsafe environment for his family to live.
Problem Statement
Joan is a college grad who needs a quick and easy way to get rid of her belongings because she doesn’t want to bring so much stuff with her to her new apartment.
Ideation (Crazy Eights)
For this ideation process I decided to go with a Crazy Eights exercise, that includes coming up with 8 sketches for one minute each to come up with new ideas.
Designing the App
I gave myself a time constraint for this product, so starting with digital wireframes gave me a head start to begin the design process for Clutterbomb.
Unmoderated Usability Study
5 Participants were involved in the unmoderated usability study using the low-fidelity prototype. They were given specific tasks, but had no additional help from me. The main confusion of the study was that users couldn’t enter information where they thought they could, as a prototype already had content filled in for them. Otherwise the study went well!
- The user flow to list items is simple and straightforward.
- Users were easily able to search for items although they were confused that the field was already filled out for the prototype.
- Getting to their messages, sending messages and using the system seemed simple enough, even though this was also prefilled for the prototype.
High Fidelity Mockups/Prototypes
Once the digital wireframes were completed and I performed a usability study to list their items in the app, I began to create high-fidelity mockups for the next usability study, which went much better since it was easier to figure out what buttons needed to be pressed.
Even though the user flow was simple in low-fidelity prototypes, the high-fidelity versions had an even better reaction, as the users were also told that some screens were prefilled with information to avoid any confusion as to why they couldn’t type in a field.
Accessibility Considerations
- Having the ability to have the Salvation Army pick up your junk takes the backache out of having to move so much stuff by yourself.
- There were changes in color and layout on the Give Away/Donate screens. I chose to make the option of Giving Away and Donate as 2 tabs that the user could select, making it an easier choice than selecting 2 buttons.
- Button sizes were scaled up to compensate for people with larger fingers.
Takeaways
Impact:
“This app has made my decluttering goal for the year so much easier! I can give my things to people who need them more through the messaging app, or I can have boxes of stuff picked up by the Salvation Army. It’s so simple!”
What I learned:
I learned a lot about the user flow for things that may seem simple at first, but can be complicated for certain users, especially when there are similar looking screens that serve different functions.