Group Creation Experience
I was one of two designers from Q2 to Q3 2022, responsible for conceiving initial concepts, conducting market and user research, refining designs through iteration, and gathering feedback from stakeholders.
Q2 - Q3 2022
Team of 2 designers
Web app design
Product Strategy
UX Research
Interaction Design
Testing
Challenge
MyPlace is a social platform that fosters a global community of like-minded travelers, empowering users to open their homes to family, friends, and trusted contacts.
Currently, MyPlace lacks a user-friendly feature for group creation. Only MyPlace team members have the authority to initiate groups and appoint a single admin, preventing users from resource sharing and missing out on valuable social interactions and community-building opportunities.
How might we streamline the process of group creation on MyPlace to empower users in building stronger, more interactive travel communities?
Results
During the implementation of the redesigned group creation process, we observed significant improvements in user engagement and community building on MyPlace. The redesign of MyPlace's group creation process lead to increased user autonomy, fostering meaningful socialization and reducing attrition, leading to higher retention rates and positive user feedback.
100%
of participants felt that the new group creation experience was easy
90%
of participants plan to finish uploading their homes
80%
of participants would come back and use the group experience to socialize travel plans with their friends
Areas of Concern
User Frustration - Group Creation & Safety
Users were previously unable to create their own groups without requesting permission from a MyPlace team member. The former user flow required users to leave the app to create a group, which deterred them from completing the group creation process. Additionally, based on my interviews, users had expressed concerns about the safety and security of MyPlace due to the newness of the website and platform.
Business Problem - Retention & Privacy Concerns
When users were compelled to exit MyPlace to create a group, it resulted in0
Decreased customer retention, primarily due to the additional steps required for group creation.
Raised privacy concerns related to location disclosure and potential cyberstalking.
New Groups Experience
In the new experience, I found inspiration from social media giants like Facebook and LinkedIn, specifically their group management tools, and their step by step group creation process. I use these as reference when designing the elements to enhance community-building and user connections on MyPlace.
Setting up your profile and adding friends can time consuming. Personalization helps new users connect with like-minded friends, and importing friends from social media, like Facebook, speeds up the process.
The new groups tab consolidates users' bookings, joined groups, group events, and recent activities into a single, convenient calendar view, eliminating the need for navigation to other pages.
The updated experience grants all users the power to create and become group admins. As an admin, you can easily configure your group's visibility and privacy settings, addressing any security concerns effectively.
“The new layout makes forming my own groups so much simpler this time around”
Anonymous User through Maze testing
Conclusion
The updated group creation process at MyPlace has significantly boosted user engagement and community interaction. Key outcomes include:
Increased User Autonomy: Users can now effortlessly create and join groups of their choice, empowering them with a sense of control over their community interactions.
Enhanced Socialization: The new group creation flow facilitated meaningful social interactions, fostering connections between like-minded travelers within the app.
Reduced Attrition: Users no longer need to leave the app to find or create relevant groups, resulting in a decrease in app abandonment rates.
Higher User Retention: With the improved group functionality, we witnessed higher user retention rates as users found value in the enriched community experience.
Positive User Feedback: User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the ease of use and the newfound sense of community on MyPlace.