Project duration
3 months
My role
Lead UX Researcher
The process
Research
Analysis
Design
Iterate
Build
Overview
Project duration
3 months (full time)
Deliverables​
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Research Report
Presentation
Research repository
Wireframes
My role
UX Researcher
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Team
Product Manager
Growth Marketing
UX Designer
Developer
The challenge
Fring's freelancer app, faced a challenge: users weren't sure how to engage post-download. That lead to inactive users that rarely updated their availability or interacted with the app.
Approach
Collaborating closely with the lead product designer my primary responsibility was to reimagine key features of the freelancer app and align user experiences with Fring's vision.
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Generative Research:
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Evaluative Research:
Conducted interviews to understand in-depth the experience of finding freelance work and product direction.
Performed usability tests and surveys to uncover issues and inform design improvements.
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Stakeholder research:
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Secondary research:
Conducted interviews and team discussions to help establish clear guidelines to work on and understand expectations.
Gathered and analysed existing data from various sources (papers,articles, competitor blogs etc) to inform design decisions and product direction.Created a research repository with open access to all the team.
Stakeholder interviews
I interviewed stakeholders using semi-structured interviews and open discussions to uncover misaligned expectations and mental models about the product's direction and goals.
The results re-shaped the quarter's OKRs and inspired discussions on the product direction: The goal is offering real value to Fring's freelancer community.
Deliverable
Compiled a presentation for the monthly meeting that helped clarify & re-align the teams products expectations and key objectives.
Secondary Research
Conducted thorough desk research to explore prior projects, identify key questions, and understand best practices.
Analysed competitors' digital marketplace platforms and value proposition to shape our hypotheses and get insights from similar solutions in the freelance work domain.
Deliverable
Created a research repository in Notion with open access to all company members.
Recruitment
We recruited 4 new app users and 4 existing users to get a better understanding of both cases.
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We contacted freelancers via Linkedin Fring App and email.
User Interviews and usability testing
Developed hybrid interview and usability test scripts to gain critical user insights and prepared the tas
Recognising two primary user categories, separate scripts were tailored: one for new and one for existing users.
The interview script focused on understanding our users motivations, beliefs and context when it comes to freelance work
Our approach aimed for more diverse data. Our goal was to have a perspective from both user categories.
Key tasks included assessing ease of use and user sentiments after repeated and first time use.
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e.g. “search for two companies in the platform: e.g. Shell and Rabobank”
Analysis
Using Miro we conducted a thematic analysis to identify the main findings
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Based on findings, I created a combined persona and user story board, to visualise the users journey and emotional states & help the team understand and empathise with the problem.
Main findings
Some insights that impacted the design are
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Freelancers did not understand the value or purpose of Fring app
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FTUE users were very confused of what they can do next and existing users dropped off or were inactive.
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App navigation was confusing
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Usability issues like lack of freedom of e.g. searching jobs led to further disengagement or dropouts.
Design suggestions
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Collaborating with the Product Manager we prioritized design changes for immediate user experience impact within budget constraints.
Later we revised suggestions based on the team's feedback feedback for the MVP design.
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Initiated the ideation process with paper sketches and later transitioned to Figma.
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Impact
1.Strategic Pivot:
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Guided Fring's focus towards building a freelance community, led in reshaping quarterly objectives.
2.User Mental Model Alignment:
Found discrepancies, leading to strategic UX/UI improvements.
3.User friendly app design
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Reduced Fring's app cognitive load & enhanced usability, aligning with user's mental expectations.
Unique Value Proposition:
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Emphasized a "freelancer-first" ethos, differentiating Fring from competitors.
Challenges
Balancing Functionality and Simplicity:
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Ensuring new features enhance user experience without overwhelming simplicity.
Complex and diverse User Behavior:
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Deciphering nuanced user needs in a multifaceted freelance platform.
Technical Limitations vs. User Expectations:
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Aligning user desires with technical constraints effectively.
Key learnings & insights
Matching our users' mental model and goals ensures the app's interface is intuitive e.g. "enable search work feature"
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If I would do this again I would conduct further quantitative research to triangulate data.
Although more time consuming, contextual inquiry would help uncover deeper insights on the context of use.
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