Umanagit Connect

SERVICES: Project Management + User Experience Design

CONTRIBUTION: User Research + Content Strategy + Interaction Design + Information Architecture + Visual Design + Usability Testing + Wireframes + Sketching, + Prototyping

PLATFORM: Web, iOS, Android

TIMELINE: May 2015 – Present

CHALLENGE
Develop a tool for the independent music industry that resolves the issue of finding the perfect musician(s) for a short or long-term project. The goal is to reduce the time and headache of this process by requiring those offering their services to fill out an in-depth questionnaire and create an online profile to better match the artist with the perfect project.

OUTCOME
Connect is an app under development by Umanagit as part of a suite of tools that will change the way independent artist manage and promote themselves.

PROCESS
I began with a survey of the competition. On one end of the spectrum were classified styled listings and on the other were profile base search tools. Users create a profile that indicates interests then use a search form to find other that fit those selections. A competitive analysis revealed little consistency in functionality or in features offered. Next, I used a questionnaire to determine user’s experience with current tools and what they would want from an app to improve their experience. Finally, I used a card sort that lead to a list of profile content and its importance to making a decision.

Based on insights from my research I was able to define a strong feature set and develop a content strategy that address the key concerns of profile creation and integrity. I used this information to create an information architecture, user flows and personas for the app. This led to wireframes and eventually a prototype.

Usability testing yielded lots of positive feedback but two major criticisms:

  • There is no social component. Why would a user regularly use this when no community being created or supported?
  • Search results should be available in a feed based on preferences similar to matches on a dating site.

Both issues were fixed in the final prototype.