Toolshare
ACADEMIC + PASSION PROJECT
ASSIGNMENT
Design a community app where tools can be shared between neighbors
ROLE
UX Design
TIMELINE
8 weeks
CHALLENGE
PROBLEM
Tools can be purchased and rented, but there are occasions when an expensive tool is only needed once or inexpensive tools are not necessary to own. And then, times a store is an inconvenient drive away, or out of stock or just frustrating tracking down a sales clerk for help.
INSIGHTS
Through an in-depth competitive analysis, I discovered that a sense of security was the top concern among users with other apps like Lend Me It. It was identified that the terms and conditions were an extremely important part of the onboarding process of new users. I also uncovered during interviews that some main pain points were inconvenience in time (learning a new tool or commuting to store), limited connection to community, lack of resources to finish more projects.
SOLUTION
The final solution was a mobile app that helps neighbors locate nearby tools with features such as a feed, search, camera for uploading photos, favorites, user account, reviews, scheduling and booking, messaging, specifications, tutorials, and terms & conditions.
RESEARCH // COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I found that Mooch, TradeMade, Lend Me It were the top three competitors with Lend Me It being top competitor because they provided all the features.
I saw an opportunity to provide additional features, such as tutorials, uploading before and after photos to share with the community which can create a sense of accomplishment and motivating others.
RESEARCH // PERSONA + USER JOURNEY
I needed to understand the consumer that I will be designing for, the target audience. Walking through Alex’s situation helped me understand his thought process.
I saw an opportunity for Toolshare.
RESEARCH // USER INTERVIEWS
Now that I had a more defined target audience, it was time to get some real feedback..
Criteria
Ages between 25-50, tech savvy, uses social media, and an interest in home improvement or DIY projects.
Interviewees
I reached out to 3 people in my network that matched the criteria.
Matthew, a student who was in his 20’s, Jake, a sales clerk at a pawn shop who was in his 30’s, and Todd, a department manager in retail who was in his 50’s.
Interview
I conducted one interview in person, one over a phone call, and one through video chat.
I wanted to find out where they were getting their tools, a situation when they needed a specific tool and did not have it, what did they do, and what makes a great app to them.
And also, what would convince them to use a community app that allowed the sharing of tools between neighbors.
Matthew
Student, 22
Todd
Dept. Manager, 54
Jake
Sales Clerk, 32
RESEARCH // EMPATHY MAP
I used an empathy map to further understand behaviors, emotions, thoughts, and pain points.
Based on the insights I gained, some main pain points were
Difficulty in learning a new app (consider the ease of use)
Time inconvenience (to learn a new tool or commute to a store)
Cost of a tool only needed once
Hassle of locating an associate at the hardware store for help
Terms and conditions are an important part of gaining trust
DESIGN
RAPID PROTOTYPE
I started by sketching onto notecards. I laid out the low-fidelity wireframes in the order that I wanted to present in the prototype.
This helped me figure out the main features and flow. I used the Marvel app to take photos of the notecards, uploading them into the platform, creating my first interactive prototype!
USER SCENARIO
I mapped out the journey of a user interacting with the prototype, searching for a lawn mower and booking it. This helped me imagine what the steps were to achieve this goal.
USER TASKS
User tasks for the usability testing
Task 1
Following the same steps Alex did, who was planning on working in their yard over the weekend and needed a push lawn mower. They used the app to search nearby and to find the right tool to borrow.
Task 2
The second task was for someone who loaned out their ladder, but suddenly needed it back. They have to contact the user that is currently borrowing it and request it back.
USABILITY TESTING
Observations
After conducting usability testing with 4 different people over video chat, what I had observed from users that were trying to achieve the given tasks, was either they quickly navigated through the app or were confused by an element or icon. In the next iteration, I will use more universal elements and icons to help make it easier to locate them
HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
I used Figma to build the high-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototype that highlights some of the app’s features. The paper prototype was actually the last stage for the 8 week class class assignment.
I had been wanting to practice more with digital prototyping in Figma. So I decided to continue on with the iteration process during my own time.
I wanted to experiment with a dark mode UI, try something different for this mobile app.
For the Feed, Results, and Favorites pages I created containers for the content, using low and high contrast to bring out the colors. I also chose more universal looking icons on the bottom navigation
And I added a fun and familiar feature for the mobile experience by creating a swipe animation on the favorites page using smart animate in Figma.
UI FEEDBACK
I posted this image in a UX Facebook group to get some feedback on the UI.
One mentioned considering a social login option
Another suggested creating a mockup photo for one of the images. That some of the users might be using the camera to take photos of the tool in their environment and uploading it directly (instead of using a stock photo).
Two commented on decreasing the spacing between the results.
One reminded me not to forget the page indicator for the icons. I could choose a different color and add a line above to help with accessibility.
SUMMARY
Takeways
What I learned is that I need to spend more time developing my target audience. To conduct more interviews since I only did 3 user interviews. Ask for UI feedback earlier in process, perhaps share and ask for feedback on a design system. And I would like to follow through designing all features that I had mentioned in the beginning, implementing them into the prototypes.
Reflection
If I had more time I would include the rest of the features that I wanted to include (tutorials, reviews, messaging, interactive map, scheduling & booking). I would consider and implement the UI feedback from the Facebook group. It is important to check the colors and follow WCAG guidelines in the beginning when choosing the color palette.
I would also like to learn more about Terms & Conditions, and what that means for this app. And conduct user testing for the next iteration that includes all the changes.