Mobile App: Local Eyes
A travel app concept intended to help solo travelers feel less like a tourist and more like a local by matching them with the nearest, most compatible guide.
TIMELINE:
2 weeks (Fall 2018)
ROLE:
Collaborated with 2 UX design students with a focus on user research, insights, and project management.
DELIVERABLES:
user interviews, survey, user persona, user flow, user journey map, sketches/wireframes, mid fidelity prototype
TOOLS:
Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision, Slack, Trello
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Male travelers in their 20s want to experience different cultures, but struggle to find authentic local experiences.
DESIGN QUESTION
How might we help male travelers in their 20s achieve a local perspective in a foreign country?
Initial Setups
TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS HELPED KEEP US ON TRACK
In order to meet our deadline, I established shared spaces where we could document our progress and maintain communication. While Trello was helpful in setting reminders, the Gantt Chart made it easiest to track assignments over time.
These tools kept our team on the same page.
DESIGNING FOR A SINGLE, MALE TRAVELER
The proto-persona is Brandon O’Brian, age 25, a single male traveler who works full-time as an Assistant Manager at Whole Foods. He wants to find an escape from work and possibly find a girlfriend.
Proto-Persona: Brandon has an adventurous spirit and is seeking new experiences.
Research: Understanding User Motivations, Demographic Behaviors, Current Marketplace
WE CONDUCTED 7 IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS TO TEST OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE USER
Some questions we asked included:
• Tell me about your most recent travel experience.
• How did you plan your trip? Why?
• Are you currently planning any trips? To where? When? For what reason?
• How do you feel about being a tourist? Why?
SINGLE MALE TRAVELERS ARE BUDGET-CONSCIOUS, SEEK ADVENTURE, GO WITH THE FLOW
We found that single male travelers in their mid-20s worked full-time and save up funds and vacation days to travel. They book the cheapest flights and accommodation, prioritizing cost over luxury. They don't intend to plan their activities in advance and prefer to "go with the flow." They want to gain a local perspective during their travels and would rather have a bad, authentic experience than a good, familiar experience.
FURTHERMORE... GEN Y + Z CRAVE A VARIETY OF NEW EXPERIENCES, RELY ON MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
As part of the Gen Y (Millennial) and Gen Z (Post-Millennial) generations, there is a dependence on mobile phones for communication, research, location-based awareness, entertainment, and social interaction. Millennials value truth and authenticity and are open-minded about how they will discover the next new experience.
BY CONNECTING TRAVELERS WITH LOCAL GUIDES, THE APP COULD MAKE TRAVEL MORE SPONTANEOUS
We hypothesized that if the app could connect Brandon with a local guide, then he could quickly feel less like a tourist and more like a local with little-to-no planning.
HOWEVER... LOTS OF TOUR GUIDE APPS ALREADY EXIST!
Through a competitor analysis, we discovered that the market for tour guide apps was saturated with local guides ready and willing to show tourists around at little-to-no cost. Price and availability were no issue, but there were so many to choose from, and they needed to be booked in advance. How could Brandon be paired with one of those guides without doing any research or planning?
Indirect competitors such as Detour, Field Trip, and Pocket Guide stood out for offering location-based, self-guided tours that could be taken at any time, while direct competitors such as Vayable and Withlocals allowed travelers to filter results by interests.
Competitor Analysis: For a traveler who likes to "go with the flow," it is unlikely that he would take the time to formally book a tour.
Define: Area of Opportunity
We believe that male travelers in their 20s are open-minded about finding a deeper connection to the local culture and that we might be able to help if we systematically match a local guide as a resource and a travel companion.
If Brandon could be matched with a guide based on some quantifiable data such as location and shared interests, then that may help personalize his results and allow him to achieve a local experience more quickly.
Ideate: Making Design Decisions Based on User Needs/Goals
Considering the aspects of competitors that answered the needs/goals of our user, we came up with Local Eyes, a GPS-enabled travel app, that would help “localize” travelers by matching them with a local pair of eyes.
Travelers would have the freedom to set their interests so that Local Eyes could instantly match them with the nearest and most compatible guides. Then they would have the freedom again to choose which guide to meet up with. Doing this would allow our product to offer experiences rooted in interpersonal connections and give travelers the opportunity to feel less like a tourist and more like a local.
USER FLOW: ENABLE LOCATION, SELECT INTERESTS, GET MATCHED, MEET UP
The user flow outlines the user's decision making process as he prepares to be matched with his local guide.
USER JOURNEY: MAPPING THE UPS + DOWNS OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
We created a user journey map to empathize with the user’s experience from taking the questionnaire to being matched with a local guide. The goal was to identify opportunities where the prototype could better alleviate or anticipate concerns. We assumed that the user would match with at least one person and timing would not be an issue.
User Journey: The user starts out alone and ends up with a travel resource & companion.
Rapid Prototyping & User Testing
The first prototype was quickly sketched and uploaded into InVision to test for user comprehension and ease of use.
USER TESTING RESULTS: CONFUSION OCCURRED WHEN USERS VIEWED MATCHES
We tested the prototype in InVision with 2 users. Both experienced the most confusion on the "View Matches" screen not knowing where they were in the process and not being sure what the percentages meant. Changes were iterated in the mid-fidelity prototype created in Sketch.
User Testing: Throughout the experience, users needed more clarity on "where" they were and what to do next.
Mid-Fidelity Version: Adding breadcrumbs and status bars helped orient users in the digital space.
Future Opportunities
More research. While we primarily focused on tour guide apps, Local Eyes contains elements of dating and ride-share apps as well. I learned later on that the social app Bumble BFF offers similar services to Local Eyes and would have been a strong competitor to analyze for this case study.
Other considerations. We prototyped a basic scenario for the traveler. If given more time, we would also need to develop the tour guide’s side, since this is a two-sided system.
Additional criteria. What if the guide could only spend an hour with the traveler? How far are Locals willing to travel? What if there are no matches? There are certainly more questions and scenarios to consider in subsequent iterations.
Reflection
Managing a project. Every project needs a leader who can manage time, communicate the team’s goals, facilitate a process, and maintain a user-centered approach. My background in retail management and event planning helped make me a good fit for this role and allowed our project to stay focused on a user-centered solution.
Staying focused on the user. It’s easy to see potential in an idea, however it can quickly lead a team down a different path if it doesn’t address the user’s pain points or goals. It was important to constantly ask ourselves if our solutions responded to what was said in user interviews, or if we were designing for what seemed like a good idea.
