AI Face Finder
Concept test a new AI feature
THE PROBLEM
Is the design heading in the right direction?
iProspect is used by branch managers and recruiters to identify potential real estate agents to recruit to their real estate brokerage. The team was preparing to update the tech stack and wanted to modernize the user interface at the same time. The goal was to make the interface more user friendly without losing any of the functionality.
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This product had never had any formal user research done and so the team wasn't sure what the major pain points were in using the product and what parts were critical to keep in the new interface.
HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE
I conducted the study over 2 weeks. I spent 1 week compiling the data into a final report.
MAKE OF THE TEAM
The team consisted of myself (UXR), a UX designer, the Product Manager, and several engineers.
KEY GOAL
Identify major pain points and key functionalities.
MY ROLE
I was the sole researcher on the team who conducted the study. I collaborated with key internal stakeholders to plan and execute the study.
As the sole researcher for the study, I was responsible for creating the research plan and running the research study. I also analyzed the data and compiled a final report to present to the rest of the project team.​
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Research
Process
The research plan consisted of three parts: review of past user feedback, participating in user training on the product, and conducting contextual interviews with experienced users.
I had no experience with the product I would be doing research on and so my first step was to attend a training session that new users attend to learn how to use the product. This allowed me to quickly familiarize myself with the primary functions of the product and see how it was meant to be used.
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I then reviewed past user feedback that was collected sporadically over time by the product manager. I pulled any relevant feedback that could then be added to the data I would collect through user interviews.
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The final step was to conduct contextual inquiries with experienced users to learn how they are using the product as part of their daily routine and to identify pain points and what they consider to be the key functionalities.
Low-hanging fruit with big impact
After analyzing the data, I was able to identify 5 areas that would be relatively quick and easy fixes but that would have a big impact on the user's efficiency in using the product. Implementing these would give the product team a quick win in modernizing the product without a huge investment of resources.
We needed to involve the stakeholders
This was a problem we observed in the exhibit space. It was brought to the attention of the stakeholders, but it wasn't a high priority for them. We could have done a better job highlighting the need for changes by creating personas that allowed our stakeholders to empathize more with the users.
Changing the layout did help
Humans don't do well when they have too many choices. By eliminating two pathways, we decreased the number of options users had in the exhibit space. This led to less users entering the exhibit through the exit and led to more users going to the main entrance.
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
LESSONS LEARNED
There are a lot of parallels between museum exhibit design and user experience design, but there is still a lot museums have to learn from UX.
One of the primary goals of museums is to create engaging exhibits that draw visitors in and help them learn something new. There are a lot of methods and techniques in exhibit design such as limiting the amount of text, displaying objects in an accessible way, and creating a clear flow in the exhibit space that contribute to achieving this goal.
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UX design also seeks to creating engaging experiences for users, while eliminating as many pain points as possible. They also seek to address things like layout, flow, and accessibility to improve user experience.
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However, museums still lag far behind UX in directly interacting with and gathering feedback from users as part of the design process. If museums tested their exhibit layouts on users during the design phase through low-fidelity mock-ups and usability tests, they could avoid costly changes later when the exhibit is already built and in use.