Case Study: UMM App
In 2021, I worked as an intern for the Umm app team. Umm is an app that was created amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to offer people a platform to find nearby activities to help cope with isolation.
My Role
As the sole UX/UI intern, I worked under two senior designers and would discuss future concepts for the app as it periodically updated. I would produce deliverables such as wireframes, user flows, and visual mockups in order to further develop and improve the experience of the app’s features.
The Challenge
The team would meet frequently over Zoom and Slack to go over features of the app that needed improving, as well as the implementation of a few newer features of the app. Designs would be sent for user testing, and depending on the outcome, would be iterated upon. I would analyze the data provided to me and determined user pain-points and gaps in information.
Since the start of the pandemic, people all over the country have become more isolated, and therefore in much more need of safe social interaction. There was an increase of people who, while unable to go do the things they normally would, would still like community over similar interests.
Umm’s objective is to facilitate the process of meeting people and engaging socially where one may not know how to start, themselves. My challenge was to target user needs and using those needs to determine they would like to know in return.
The Approach
Since the app was made to help people cope with pandemic isolation, we prioritized making and finding activities and groups as seamless as possible. This means that I would have to take a lot of information, all valuable, and create an experience where this information is easily digestible.
I started with some heuristic analysis to pinpoint usability problems in the interface. Next, usability tests were done to discover user pain points and problems they ran into. Participants were asked to complete a series of tasks on the mobile app, like setting up a Happening.
Design solutions to problems the users were experiencing while navigating the app, as well as for new features to fulfill their wants such as video chat, were implemented on an interactive basis informed by the results of the user testing.
Core Problem
Users reported that the earlier designs’ experience due was unclear due to an inconsistent and non-comprehensive presentation of information. Users did not know of certain features the app had to offer while they were using it because they were not displayed in areas that were easily visible.
The Solution
Discover Page
The Discover page is main explore page of Umm, where the user can view, as well as search for, events and activity prompts near their area. Here are a couple of designs for it.
Venues and Events
These screens expand on the venues on the Discover page. Previously, there was no way for users to know the details of certain venues, like hours and contact information, so this design allows for all that information as well as informing the user of the events and activities taking place at that particular venue. Here are the designs for that.
Group Activity Chat
One of the newer features on the app was the option for groups to be formed around a particular event or activity (called a “Happening”) and a chat feature for everyone in the group to remain in communication with one another. The chat feature also allows for details about the Happening to be easily viewable, so information like location, time, date, and whether or not that information has been decided on yet are neatly folded away.
Additionally, to aide the users in communicating about their activities, a voice and video chat feature is there as well.
I also designed the settings for the group chat, which allows the users to edit what type of information is available for the current Happening they would be planning for.
Result
With the redesigns, users were more efficiently understood the functions of the venue page and the chat section, especially with the Happening details, and saw it as a more legible display of important information pertaining to that activity. Users felt confident that details about a Happening with their group would not go unnoticed by members after getting comfortable with the screens.