Overview
Struggling with group hangouts? Ditch the endless polls and scattered planning! Hangout Scheduler makes it easy. Spark lively discussions, share ideas freely, and organize automatically them within a thread based on info categories. Find the perfect venue – all in one function—no more app-hopping or brainstorming with break points. Hangout Scheduler makes planning effortless and fuels productive group conversations.
Impact
Hangout Scheduler streamlines group planning, significantly reducing completed time and frustration. Poll creation is now 66% faster, saving 103.96 seconds, while poll voting is 72% quicker, reducing time by 102.45 seconds. The booking experience was also shortened by 68%, saving 42.03 seconds. Overall, interviews revealed high user satisfaction, as Hangout Scheduler eliminates planning headaches and helps users focus on enjoying their hangouts.
My Role
Product Designer
Project
Personal Project
Platform
iOS Mobile Application
Timeline
Completed in 6 weeks (2023)
Messenger / Plug-in Function
Spark effortless meetups with data-driven insights. Share freely online and gather offline.
Challenge
Group hangouts become a battle: endless messages obscure decisions, information gets lost, and task-hopping slows everything down
Group hangout planning in chat apps can be chaotic. Endless back-and-forth messages bury decisions, making it hard to track preferences. Information overload drowns out key details, leaving everyone confused. Constant app-hopping creates a slow and fragmented experience.
Decision Deadlock
Reaching consensus on location, time, and activity is challenging, requiring extensive back-and-forth and managing diverse preferences.
Information Overload
The chat floods with messages and other information, making it hard to find relevant details and ensure everyone is aligned.
Friction-Filled Flow
Jumping between communication, research, and booking apps creates a clunky and time-consuming experience.
HMW Statement
How might we simplify planning group hangouts in chat apps by streamlining decision-making, reducing information overload, and consolidating everything in one place?
Problem & Insight
Research uncovered user frustration with group hangout planning in chat apps, highlighting issues with app juggling, poll fatigue, and chaos information within chats
Research revealed key pain points in planning group hangouts via chat. The process felt cumbersome due to multiple apps, information overload, endless polls, and booking hassles. Hosts struggled with back-and-forth communication, poll creation, and information aggregation. Participants juggled switching apps to share opinions, vote, and keep track of polls amidst a flurry of chat messages. Booking venues added another layer of complexity, requiring a switch from chat to booking apps and back.
Poll Overload
Endless polls for location, time, and other details overwhelm hosts (creating them) and participants (tracking and voting).
Chat Chaos
The flood of diverse information in chats makes it challenging to find relevant details, causing users frustration when making decisions.
App Juggling
Users jump between apps to share ideas, find information, and book venues, leading to a fragmented experience.
Design Goal
Enable users to effortlessly plan group hangouts through a unified chat experience that organizes information clearly and simplifies decision-making
Design Solution
Hangout Scheduler empowers users to streamline in-chat group planning, enabling effortless idea sharing, well-organized discussions, and seamless venue selection
Hangout Scheduler eliminates planning chaos with three user-friendly features. Hosts can effortlessly set up a poll to gather categorized ideas and spark lively discussions. Participants can share their preferences and explore options within the familiar chat interface, eliminating app juggling. Finally, booking becomes a breeze – venue information integrates seamlessly with poll results, allowing hosts to book the perfect spot directly in Messenger.
01.
Effortless Idea Gathering
Hosts can easily create a categorized poll to organize different options, sparking group discussions and facilitating informed decisions.
02.
Frictionless Voting
Participants can share their opinions and explore all options conveniently within the poll, eliminating the need to find infor in a group chat.
03.
Streamlined Booking
Venue information seamlessly integrates with poll results, allowing hosts to book the perfect spot directly within Messenger.
Testing
Usability testing revealed user preference for streamlined voting options and clear text field labels, leading to reduced confusion
I conducted usability testing with 12 participants, iterating on the design thrice based on their feedback for four testing rounds. Key findings included users feeling overwhelmed by excessive information when voting, preferring a more concise format, and encountering unclear wording for text fields. This hindered task completion and required language refinement for clarity.
Iteration
Poll Creation got a makeover: Combined date/time fields and time zone annotations to ease user confusion
Voting got easier: Disclose simple information with images and eliminate excessive data to reduce user frustration
Final Design
Empowering effortless group planning, Hangout Scheduler streamlines decision-making within chat apps through categorized polls, clear voting, and integrated venue booking
Hangout Scheduler streamlines group hangout planning within chat apps. Hosts can easily create categorized polls directly in the chat, fostering productive discussions and gathering preferences effortlessly. Participants enjoy a smooth voting experience with clear data and all available options, eliminating the need to search through chat messages. Booking is a breeze as venue information integrates automatically with poll results, allowing hosts to find and book the perfect spot directly within Messenger—all within a single, streamlined flow.
01. Poll Creation
Hangout Scheduler offers hosts an intuitive interface to create clear, categorized polls directly in the chat, simplifying preference gathering, sparking discussions, and neatly presenting all options.
02. Poll Voting
Hangout Scheduler delivers a seamless voting experience. Clear, organized data keeps all options accessible within the chat. Participants can explore choices and cast votes effortlessly, streamlining decision-making.
03. Booking
Hangout Scheduler simplifies booking for hosts. Venue information integrates directly with poll results, helping hosts easily find the perfect spot based on group preferences. No more app-switching or endless searching.
Results
Usability testing confirmed that Hangout Scheduler significantly reduces planning time and boosts user satisfaction, making group hangouts smoother and more enjoyable
Usability testing with 5 participants highlighted Hangout Scheduler's effectiveness. The poll creation task was reduced by 103 seconds (66%), the voting process became 100 seconds faster (72%), and the booking experience was completed 42 seconds quicker (68%). Interviews and questionnaires confirmed that Hangout Scheduler significantly enhances user satisfaction by saving time and simplifying the planning process for stress-free hangouts.
Poll Creation Experience
Task Time Reduced by
103.96
sec
Poll Voting Experience
Task Time Reduced by
102.45
sec
Booking Experience
Task Time Reduced by
42.03
sec
Reflection
Design
Design the new function based on an existing system
I initially tended to reference designs from other platforms when developing new functions. However, this approach often led to inconsistent UIs that diverged from the existing system, resulting in a steeper learning curve for users. Through this experience, I learned the importance of designing within the framework of the existing design system to ensure consistency and ease of use for users.
From Information Overload to User-Centered Design
I strive to solve users' problems by providing all the necessary information. However, this approach often led to information overload. Testing revealed that my assumptions differed significantly from users' actual needs. I learned the importance of prioritizing information and employing design strategies like progressive disclosure to present information effectively.
Research
Efficient Information Analysis Through Categorization
During competitor audits and user interviews, I faced the challenge of organizing extensive data. To manage this, I employed affinity mapping, which helped me categorize information, prioritize data, and extract essential insights from cluttered texts and files.
Conduct Usability Testing
I learned to design tasks that effectively validate my designs and prepare questions to gather essential information for design iterations. Additionally, I mastered the skill of asking follow-up questions at the right moment to avoid interrupting the testing process and users' experience.