Product & Experience Design for SaaS Start Up

Product & Experience Design for SaaS Start Up

Client
AOS
Role
Product Designer
Industry
Professional Services
Year
2019

AOS Empowers Users and Fights Poverty With a Clever Multi-Sided Marketplace Experience

Client

Act of Service (AOS) is a Christian SaaS startup that donates a portion of its income to charitable organizations fighting poverty. AOS aims to offer products and online services that help users generate income and develop new skills, resources, and experience. AOS must create a minimum viable product to support its goals for itself and its users.

Problem

As poverty grows worldwide, AOS aims to solve this problem by developing a product that reduces poverty and income inequality while enabling financial freedom.

User & Audience

AOS focuses on attracting working-age individuals and families trying to create financial freedom or have incomes near the U.S. poverty line. To better understand and address their needs, user personas were developed, helping to tailor the product to AOS's target audience.

Scope & Constraints

The project aimed to develop and showcase a mobile app that facilitates AOS users in increasing their financial freedom thus reducing poverty. AOS's vision to accommodate all employment environments added a requirement for a physical product to be integrated with the digital solution.

Role & Responsibilities

As the only designer on the project, I was responsible for every aspect of the design process. Alongside collaborating with the stakeholders to form the product, my responsibilities included conducting research, iterative ideation, creating wireframes and sketches, and developing prototypes.

To Prioritize People AOS Embraces Social Enterprise Thinking to Create Humane Solutions

Social enterprise thinking prioritizes people and the planet over shareholder gain, operating through a human-centered design approach and design thinking process. Social enterprises span every industry and can be funded by various means, provided they generate revenue while creating a positive impact. AOS's project goal is intrinsically human-focused with a substantial social component, which led to the use of social enterprise thinking in developing a solution for AOS

Wireframe Ideation
Refined the user Interaction and experience

Wireframe ideation was conducted to visualize and structure the user interaction and experience for the digital elements of the solution. The process aimed to organize page content and ensure a clear layout for the app. This was completed in two phases: initial sketching of page layouts, followed by the creation of refined low-fidelity digital wireframes.

Initial Wireframes
Refined Wireframes

The initial phase involved hand-sketching wireframes based on task flows, which helped brainstorm and visualize page layouts, interactions, and features. These sketches provided a foundational understanding of the user interface by outlining the structure of each primary feature.

The refinement phase transformed the initial sketches into low-fidelity digital wireframes. By incorporating the refined user flows, the wireframes were adjusted to include necessary pages and steps in the user experience. This phase ensured comprehensive coverage of interactions, features, and content, offering a clearer representation of the user experience.

Initial Wireframes
Refined Wireframes

The initial phase involved hand-sketching wireframes based on task flows, which helped brainstorm and visualize page layouts, interactions, and features. These sketches provided a foundational understanding of the user interface by outlining the structure of each primary feature.

The refinement phase transformed the initial sketches into low-fidelity digital wireframes. By incorporating the refined user flows, the wireframes were adjusted to include necessary pages and steps in the user experience. This phase ensured comprehensive coverage of interactions, features, and content, offering a clearer representation of the user experience.

Design Inspiration
Research was utilized to Inform UI and Material Choices for the solution

The design inspiration phase focused on examining existing brands, products, and mobile applications to guide design choices for the user interface (UI) of the mobile app and the material for the smart lock. This research aimed to integrate key elements from these sources to enhance and inform the final design

App Inspiration
Material Inspiration

UI exploration identified five key design elements: color schemes, border styles, elevation techniques, iconography, spacing, and element shapes. These findings laid the foundation for creating a cohesive and modern user interface for the mobile app.

Material exploration involved reviewing smart lock products with similar forms and functions. This research guided the selection of materials that would complement the design, improving both the aesthetic and practical qualities of the smart lock.

App Inspiration
Material Inspiration

UI exploration identified five key design elements: color schemes, border styles, elevation techniques, iconography, spacing, and element shapes. These findings laid the foundation for creating a cohesive and modern user interface for the mobile app.

Material exploration involved reviewing smart lock products with similar forms and functions. This research guided the selection of materials that would complement the design, improving both the aesthetic and practical qualities of the smart lock.

Mobile App Prototype
Was Utilized to Demonstrate Functionality and Impact of the Solution

A prototype was developed to illustrate how the solution would reduce poverty and increase financial freedom. The prototype presentation incorporated personas, user flows, and interactive prototypes to effectively showcase the design and functionality of both the mobile app and the smart lock.

Persona
Userflow
Prototype

A scenario was crafted based on the Fortunate Family persona to demonstrate how users would select a service from the AOS market. This narrative provided context and highlighted the practical advantages of the feature.

A detailed walkthrough using high-fidelity wireframes was presented to explain the complete process of selecting a service. This demonstration illustrated the functionality and user experience of the feature.

A video recording of the clickable prototype was produced to offer a realistic example of selecting a service from the AOS market. This visual representation conveyed the feature's operation in a practical setting.

Persona
Userflow
Prototype

A scenario was crafted based on the Fortunate Family persona to demonstrate how users would select a service from the AOS market. This narrative provided context and highlighted the practical advantages of the feature.

A detailed walkthrough using high-fidelity wireframes was presented to explain the complete process of selecting a service. This demonstration illustrated the functionality and user experience of the feature.

A video recording of the clickable prototype was produced to offer a realistic example of selecting a service from the AOS market. This visual representation conveyed the feature's operation in a practical setting.

Solution Satisfies Stakeholders with the help of the Mobile App and Lock Prototype

The project concluded successfully, with stakeholders expressing strong approval of the mobile app and lock prototype. They believed the lock could be effectively produced to facilitate in-home user access. While some were concerned about the lock's practicality for commercial use, stakeholders felt it would suffice for small businesses.

Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3

This experience underscored the importance of considering both company maturity and priorities during product development. For AOS, which is still in its startup phase, prioritizing robust security measures was a critical decision. Establishing trust with users is vital for new companies like AOS.

This project highlighted the significance of assessing risks and creating effective solutions to mitigate them. While a less security-focused approach could have been taken for the minimum viable product (MVP), doing so would have heightened the risk of harming the brand's reputation.

Thanks for exploring my work!

It’s been great showing you around so far! Not quite ready to wrap up? Feel free to revisit any project—use the skill filter to find what you're looking for. If you’re ready to talk about what we can create together, I’d love to chat.

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