Roles
Strategy
UX/UI Designer
QA Testing
User Researcher
Duration
2 weeks
Project Background
I have a deep passion for surfing and I want to share my love for surfing with the world. The Board Shed mobile application was designed to make the process of buying and selling a surfboard seamless for users regardless of their distance from one another. Private selling platforms are a great tool for people to use when looking to make a cost efficient purchase or to make some extra cash for some old items taking up space in the house.
Goals
The overall goal of this study was to empathize with potential users of the application, and see what their wants/ needs are and if they are currently being met by competitor platforms. Upon conducting research, the goal was to provide a new surfboard exchange experience that empowers the users to make educated surfboard purchases or sales.
Research Goals
- What are the current available methods a person can use to purchase a surfboard?
- What are the current pain points of selling a surfboard online?
- What essentials does a person look for when purchasing a new/used surfboard?
- What are the pain points of purchasing a surfboard online?
- What are the reasons you start looking to buy a new/used surfboard?
- What motivates someone to get into surfing?
- If a person were new to surfing how would they go about finding a surfboard?
Market Analysis & Interviews
Market and competitor analysis helped me gain an understanding of how competitors are currently trying to meet user wants and needs. This process gave me a look at what the current pros and cons are of searching the market for a surfboard to purchase, as well as the current available methods one can use to sell a surfboard and how to further improve the user’s experiences.
Interviews & User Surveys
I conducted user interviews and surveys to grasp a more personal understanding into what drives a user’s decisions when purchasing a surfboard as well as what the thought process of selling one. The participants include 14 individuals who were interviewed via 1:1 or through the an online survey. The feedback from the interviews and surveys helped provide useful data for creating my user personas and defining a problem to solve.
Key Findings
- Users are 55% more likely to purchase a surfboard through a private seller than in person at a surf shop.
- Users are 67% more likely to purchased a used surfboard then a Brand New board ***Mainly due to cost
- Users want to know as much as possible about the specs before making a purchase
- Users are 67% more likely to use a private selling platform to sell a surfboard than taking it into a local shop.
- Users biggest pain when selling a board is finding the right audience to sell too.
Research Conclusion
Using different areas of research such as competitor analysis, market research, 1:1 interviews and user surveys I was able to empathize with the potential users of The Board Shed application and gain valuable insight into the current surfboard market.
Next Steps
- Define a problem from research findings
- From the defend problem start to ideate potential solutions
- Following the ideation of the problem create new social feature to implement and create prototypes of the best solution
Problem & Solution
Users are looking for a way to make better decisions when purchasing surfboards through private sellers, as well as reach the correct target audience when selling a surfboard. The proposed solution is to provide a mobile platform for users to buy and sell surfboards to anyone throughout the country. This platform will allow users to reach their niche target audience. This application will allow users of all experience levels to make educated decisions before making a purchase. NOW! How can this idea be brought to life?
Ideating a Solution To The Problem
Creating user personas allowed me to keep in mind who the next step of the design process was for. In order to help gain an idea of how the design foundation and flow on the current platform I laid out a site map and several user flows with the new features implemented.
Design
After I ideated the foundation of the application and developed several user flows, I wanted to create a welcoming experience for users to navigate the app without becoming overwhelmed. I wanted to create an experience to empower the user to make a educated decision on a purchase or sale no matter how long they have been involved with surfing.
Prototyping & Testing
Following several rounds of ideating my wireframes and once a prototype was created, and a usability testing plan formulated, I recruited four test participants to conduct usability test. While observing the users interaction with the prototype and the defined tasks laid out in the testing plan, I was able to visually understand the successes, patterns, and current pain points of the application design. These insights were extremely valuable for me to go back and make iterations to the design. Four tests were conducted all in person. All four of the participants fell between the age range of 25-35 years old. There was a 100% completion rate and each test last about 10-15 minutes. Checkout the prototype!
Projects Insights
Through research I was able to identify some unmet needs for users in within the Surfing industry. The idea of creating a mobile app specifically for buying and selling surfboards would be extremely useful for the surfing community. Having the ability to use one centralized platform where anyone can go and make a well educated purchase that fits their personal needs really empowers a user. Currently this market has not been tapped into, there are current methods where you can purchased surfboards but it is extremely difficult to make a well educated decision within those avenues. I was really stoked to see where how this project started to come together, there is still a lot of iterations to make, but I am extremely confident that this is something that would catch on within the surfing industry.
Nest Steps
- Make recommended high importance updates.
- Build more in-depth prototype to re-test for more potential pain points and additional improvements.
- Organize and hand off documents to investors and developers.