Work Space Mobile App
Take the ‘work’ out of finding your next work space!
Curate a collection of the best local spots, perfectly suited to your individual needs.
Timeline: March-May 2023
Role: UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI designer
Problem
Working at home has become the easy, safe, and convenient option for most students and professionals. Many people would prefer to have a change of scenery but do not have the energy to uncover the best places to study in public and do not want to risk wasting their time by going to places that do not have the resources for them to be productive.
Solution
Take the hesitation out of finding your next Work Space!
Work Space is an app that allows users to see the best work space recommendations from real, like-minded users. See ratings for the most important characteristics about a business and share it with your peers.
Work is already hard enough without having to hash out the details so rely on Work Space to do it for you.
Work Space Objectives
Connect
Share your favorite work spaces with friends and colleagues
Save Time
Find your idea space quickly
Discover
Explore new places to work in your area
Rate
Leave reviews, ratings and photos from your experience for others like you
With Work Space, you can WFH out of home with ease. Work Space's goal is to make finding new work spaces just as convenient as working from home but with even more benefits.
Competitive Analysis
Just as user research gives us an idea of what people are looking for in an app, competitive analysis is telling of what features already work for the market and allow us to improve upon existing design.
Although Work Space aims to help users find and rate specific work-friendly establishments, any app or website that revolves around a rating system for businesses will be able to serve as valuable competitive app research. The three sources used here are Google Reviews, Facebook Places, and Yelp. A heuristic review was done of each, evaluating the quality of their appearance, content, and navigation; the results are charted to the right.
Take Aways
Google Reviews
What are the main goals and functions of this app?
Allows users to see reviews and photos of businesses uploaded by real customers
Provides users with details about a business conveniently in one place (i.e. business number, hours, etc.)
Gives a general estimate of how busy it is (method of observation is unknown)
Allows users to ask and answer questions from fellow users anonymously
How can Work Space be different, improved, more intuitive, and more innovative?
Work Space will not only give users the ability to have profiles but also communicate with other users through direct messaging. This function can be used to share recommendations, make plans to meet up, and more.
Facebook Places
What are the main goals and functions of this app?
Allows users to see reviews and photos of businesses uploaded by real customers
Provides users with details about a business conveniently in one place (i.e. business number, hours, etc.)
Gives a general estimate of how busy it is (method of observation is unknown)
Allows users to ask and answer questions from fellow users anonymously
How can Work Space be different, improved, more intuitive, and more innovative?
Work Space will not only give users the ability to have profiles but also communicate with other users through direct messaging. This function can be used to share recommendations, make plans to meet up, and more.
Yelp Reviews
What are the main goals and functions of this app?
Allows users to see reviews and photos of businesses uploaded by real customers
Provides users with details about a business conveniently in one place (i.e. business number, hours, etc.)
Gives a general estimate of how busy it is (method of observation is unknown)
Allows users to ask and answer questions from fellow users anonymously
How can Work Space be different, improved, more intuitive, and more innovative?
Work Space will not only give users the ability to have profiles but also communicate with other users through direct messaging. This function can be used to share recommendations, make plans to meet up, and more.
User Research: Research Methodology
Research work and study habits of professionals and students
The goal of this step is to discover if there is any data that reveals the study and work preferences of the population as a whole. This research should evaluate differences in age, professionals versus students, gender, etc.
Create hypotheses and develop a survey to conduct to test its validity
Based on the data collected, create one or more hypotheses that can be tested in a survey. Then develop a survey that can either validate or refute the hypotheses and include questions that allow the comparison of data between users of different demographics.
Survey a test group of at least 5 professionals and students each
The purpose of the test survey is to understand if the survey created is extensive enough and asks the right questions.
Revise and refine the survey if necessary
Adjust the questions to better collect the necessary data and remove unnecessary or repetitive questions.
Conduct a final survey of at least 15 professionals and students each
This final survey is what is used to validate or refute the original hypotheses and therefore should survey a larger group in order to get more diverse and therefore more accurate data.
Compare and analyze the results to the original hypotheses
This step could possibly lead to the need to repeat steps 1-5 if the surveys reveal that the hypotheses were too far off. This would be necessary in order to develop correct hypotheses that would influence the design of the Work Space app.
Adjust app proposal as needed
If the survey findings refuted my hypotheses, it may be necessary to adjust the app proposal since the goals, preferences, and behaviors of users may be different than expected.
User Research: Proposal
Hypothesis
I believe people want to work outside of the home but hesitate to based on their fears of wasting time finding a place they like.
I believe people would be more likely to visit an establishment to work if they had more details like WiFi, parking, comfort, etc. before visiting.
I believe people would like the ability to share their favorite business recommendations with friends.
Statement of Intent
The goal of my app is to get people out of the house and into spaces that feel comfortable to them without having to do extensive research. I think more people would feel comfortable doing so if their experience was made more convenient.
Objective
The objective of the app is to give people an idea of the resources (both tangible and intangible) a business has and whether it is a good match for them without having to filter through thousands of written reviews. The app will encourage people to get out of their homes to work and eliminate their fear of wasting their time by going to a work space that doesn't accommodate their needs.
User Research: Findings and Conclusions
Would you be more likely to visit a new place to work/study if you knew details like the WiFi, parking, and seating situation before going?
How often do you use apps like Yelp to see reviews, post reviews, get business info, etc?
Do you like to try new environments to work/study in or stick with your favorite places?
These 3 survey questions were instrumental in confirming that people 1) currently study more at home than in a public space, 2) prefer to know as much as possible about new places before visiting, and 3) like to try new study locations. All of these factors lead to the conclusion that my first 2 hypotheses were correct; people hesitate to study away from home due to uncertainties in new places but would like to try new locations and people would be more likely to due so if those uncertainties were put to rest.
Do you like to share your favorite establishments with others and if so who?
What is your preferred location to work/study?
These 2 survey questions were instrumental in confirming that people seek out value the opinions of strangers when visiting new places as well as enjoy sharing their favorite places with others, thus confirming the last of my hypotheses that people would like the ability to share their favorite business recommendations with friends.
User Journey
This user journey aims to discover what struggles and opportunities can be addressed with the creation of the Work Space app. It explores the process a user would typically go through when finding a place to work without the use of the app.
User: Christina Robles, 26 yrs, Account Manager
"I just need somewhere to work that has everything I need but I hate having to research for hours only to be disappointed when I get there!"
This user journey tells us that our users need places to work outside of their home and offices but are frustrated by the lack of resources to discover suitable work environments. The lack of certainty can discourage users from exploring new places.
Work Space will deliver on these pain points to bring users the work environments they desire!
Opportunities
User Persona
The target users for Work Space are individuals who need a public space to get work done. This criteria encompasses a variety of demographics including students, remote workers, Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, artists, tech, and more.
Below is just one category of users of many that Work Space aims to cater toward.
Christina Robles
Age: 26
Location: Irvine
Occupation: Account Manager
Housing: Living in a townhome with her fiancé
Lives with her fiancé in a 2 bedroom townhouse. She has a dog and often works from home but finds herself distracted. She enjoys a balanced life style; often running in the morning and going out with her friends on the weekends.
Bio
Charismatic
Driven
Analytic
Personality
Frequency
She uses the app multiple times weekly when she is working from home or just wants to try a new place to work.
Favorite Apps
Preferred Channels Rated out of 10
Be able to work remotely without distraction
Develop her client portfolio
Enjoy the environment she works in
Goals
When her dog interrupts her meetings
Showing up to a coffee shop and all the seats are taken
Paid Parking
Frustrations
Convenience
Price
Resources
Motivations
Branding
Logo Typography
App Icon
Color Palette
#E4A199
#FEAA30
#301906
Final Product
Taking the project objectives in mind, PetMD prioritizes 3 main things;
Discovery: Work Space’s goal is to connect the right environments to the right people, making discovery the main function of the app.
Ratings: Quickly understanding the atmosphere and resources of a space can be done most efficiently through Work Space’s comprehensive rating system.
Connect: The app allows users to connect to their friends, coworkers, and peers through messaging and with their community by engaging in the reviews and ratings.
Key Functions: Discovery
Catered Home Feed
Work Space caters user’s feeds specifically to their needs based on their location, preferences, and history. The Home feed is the first look into the app for users and sets them up for success in their discovery journey.
Search
The search function, accessed through the Home page, allows users to discover and search for work spaces in a variety of methods.
In this demonstration, the user searches for places that have a Parking rating of 4 or higher and a WiFi rating of 3 or higher since those are their highest priority for their study spot.
Save Places for Later
In the Saved Tab, users can document places they would like to return to or visit for the first time. Users can create folders to organize their work spaces however they would like.
In the example, the user identifies places that serve coffee, ones that make good study spots, and places that work well for group gatherings.
Key Functions: Ratings
See Ratings on a Business’ Page
By clicking on a business’ page, users can see how a business has been rated by others based on common preferences like parking, food, access to outlets, etc. This eliminates the need for users to read through every review to find the information they need about the business’ atmosphere and suitability for their needs.
However, if users have the time and would like more insight, the full reviews are still available further down the page.
Leave your Review and Ratings for others
Ratings and reviews are the driving force of Work Space and are paramount in giving users a quick grasp on businesses that will meet their needs. Therefore, the function of leaving reviews and ratings is also a priority and is one of the first things a user sees on the business’ page. They are able to leave either a review, ratings, or both for others to benefit from. As seen in the example, users can opt not to rate certain criteria if they chose not to, it is always up to the user.
Key Functions: Connect
Share with Friends
In-app messaging allows for users to share their favorite work spaces with friends. This function can aid in collaborative work, study, and meet ups.
Users can also share outside of the app to individuals who do not have the app so that everyone can benefit from Work Space’s resources.
Reflection
Work Space is the first product design and research project that I had taken on to completion. To say there was a learning curve would be an understatement! I learned so much in this process but the most intriguing part was certainly forming the bridge between user experience and user interface. Design features I once took for granted became less simple when I began designing the features myself. I had to backtrack and identify how people digest information that they see and what the most effective architecture would be to make sure the users weren’t overwhelmed but still got all the information they needed quickly. I am satisfied with the end result, though ti took much trial and error!
If I were to revisit this project, I would expand upon the connect and social aspects of the app. I would allow users to create groups that they could share to and chat with, as well as allow users to share access to their personal Saved folders for collaboration with other users.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions!
