Embedded Files
Overview
Overview
Assumption
Assumption
Some of the best ideas never come to life because they are never shared. These ideas come from the meetings that never get scheduled, especially between busy individuals.
Problem
Whether it's for work, school, or recreational activities, people inevitably have to meet in groups. Scheduling apps make it easy to set up one-on-one meetings, but they often miss the mark when it comes to meetings or gatherings that involve 3 or more people.
Solution
Overlay is an application that will allow users to combine their varying schedules and find open time slots to meet.
Project Context
My role: This project was an individual graduate-level project, and I took on the role as a UX designer and researcher. My responsibilities involved surveying the public, building interactive prototypes, and product testing.
Tools used: Figma, Adobe Photoshop
Duration: 5 weeks
Research and Social Proof
Research and Social Proof
Gathering Data
To validate my assumptions and problem space, I sent out an anonymous survey about scheduling group meetings and gatherings with 3 or more people. 41 participants responded.
Results
After conducting the survey, I was able to conclude that organizing a group meeting is difficult between 3 or more people (as supported by the average likert scale rating of 2.7 out of 5). This problem is challenging enough that the majority of users end up wishing to disengage with the group meeting or dropping plans altogether.
Key pain points:
Multiple schedules to juggle
Back and forth communication
Not having enough information about a group member's availability
"Checking the availability of other team members is hard. I resent group projects as a whole and this is a primary reason."
"Group chats are most beneficial, though individual attentiveness can vary. I don't love being on my phone and texts can get buried."
"https://www.when2meet.com/ has been a good resource to use but the UI sucks."
User Stories
While the survey was anonymous, I released it to the public through the University of Colorado Boulder and the St. Vrain Valley School District. Therefore, I was able to infer that the majority of the participants were students and employees from those institutions. I created user stories based on this knowledge to help me understand who my audience was and how they might use my product.
Content and Design
Content and Design
Product Features and Benefits
Mental Note Models
Journey Map
Content Map
Low Fidelity
The Final Prototype
Log in
All you need for your account is your phone number, so there's no extensive info to memorize.
Create a new Overlay
Set the occasion, choose days and times, and select one of your saved availability blockings.
Share
Send your Overlay to your group members via 6 digit code or URL.
Compare availability
View everyone's availability and see where schedules overlap.
Join an Overlay via code
If a group member already made an Overlay, you can join with a 6 digit code directly through the app.
Join via URL
With a URL, you can paste into a browser and go directly to the created Overlay.
Availability versions
After users time block their weekly availability at least once, their availability is saved, which eliminates the need to re-enter the same availability in the future. When users open another Overlay schedule, they will see that their availability is ready for use and still editable.
Users can keep a collection of availability versions for different occasions. They can choose which one of their saved time blockings to apply to each Overlay, which can also be changed later.
When it comes to scheduling group meetings, Overlay is designed to save time by saving what’s already there.
Testing the Product
Testing the Product
After creating my interactive, high fidelity prototype, I tested my designs with 4 users and asked for feedback about the usability of the product and what situations they might use the app for. Overall, the feedback was quite positive, as users commended the design for its visual appeal and ease of use. I also gained insights about different use cases for the product.
“I can see this being useful for group projects at school or just setting up time to hang out with friends.”
“Coming from a corporate background, availability versions are good if you know what your schedule generally looks like.”
“I would use this when working with external contractors or anyone outside of my organization.”
Creating a Marketing Plan
Creating a Marketing Plan
Through an entrepreneurial lens, it is important to understand how to bring a product to market. Knowing the various use cases of Overlay, I made promotional material to advertise the product if I were to have business partnerships.
Product slogan: "Make the meeting happen"
Professional use: partnerships with companies like Canvas and Slack
Casual use: a campaign to promote the product on Discord
Potential appeal to the freelancing community
Product Slide Deck
Product Slide Deck
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