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Overview
Team
5 UX Designers & Researchers,
CTO & Co-founder
Hats Worn
User Researcher
UI/UX Designer
Project Facilitator
Project Manager
Team Manager
Timeline
Sept 2023 - May 2024
(9 Month Timeframe)
Tools
Figma & Figjam,
Notion
GSuite
Impact of WISE Cities
The designs for WISE Cities set it apart by prioritizing accessibility and inclusivity, adhering to WCAG guidelines to ensure usability for older adults. Unlike competitors, WISE Cities embraces a bold, colorful, and highly intuitive design language that makes navigation straightforward, regardless of a user’s tech experience. This focus on accessibility ensures that users can easily engage with the platform’s features, fostering a sense of independence and connection.
WISE Cities Long-Term Problem Statement ...
How might we develop a digital product that empowers older adults to stay active in their communities while aging in place?
This is a story of ...
How I navigated through 5 Sprints, leveraging User Research to design 3 features and forge an optimal platform for older adults.
Landing Page &
Search Feature
In-app Tutorial Feature
Events Calendar Page
Background
Let's take a closer look at the client ...
Who is WISE Cities?
" WISE Cites is a female-run startup focused on designing accessible technology to address the issue of social isolation among the elderly. The company's first app allows seniors to form local groups and gives community centers and local businesses the opportunity to connect with this typically hard-to-reach audience. "
- Do Good Institute @ UMD
How was the project structured ...?
Adopted Jake Knapp’s “SPRINT” Method
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Efficient Collaboration: facilitated seamless collaboration among our multidisciplinary team, fostering synergy and cross-functional alignment to deliver user-centric solutions effectively.
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Rapid Iteration: rapid iteration cycles were achieved, enabling quick validation of ideas and swift refinement of prototypes, ultimately accelerating the development process.
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Continuous Improvement: leveraged insights from user feedback and testing, design sprints drove a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that solutions evolved iteratively to meet user needs and exceed expectations over time.
Project Expectations
While creating design solutions to enhance older adults' experience with the WISE Cities online platform, integrating user research into our process was imperative to gather data for informed design decisions. Both user research and UX design were equally vital stages of the project, given the limited research available on older adults and their interaction with technology. Conducting both research and design simultaneously ensured a comprehensive approach to addressing their needs effectively.
Final Project Journey
This project utilized an Agile workflow, leveraging iterative sprints to seamlessly integrate research and design. The process consisted of five sprints, each with a clear focus:
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Sprint 1: Focused entirely on research to establish a strong foundation of user insights and requirements.
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Sprints 2, 3, & 4: Balanced research and design, emphasizing the development of three key features. Each sprint involved iterative testing and refinement.
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Sprint 5: Dedicated to finalizing design improvements and optimizing features based on feedback from prior sprints.
This structured approach ensured flexibility, collaboration, and continuous iteration throughout the project.
Research
Aligned with the Agile methodology, research activities were interwoven into the workflow. Key reseach activies included the following:
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Structured and Visualized Key Business Components: Developed a clear, actionable framework to identify and align core elements, including value propositions, customer segments, and revenue streams.
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Analyzed and Enhanced Interactions: Mapped out relationships between key components, uncovering opportunities to improve synergy and efficiency.
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Supported Strategic Decision-Making: Provided insights that informed the overall viability and success of WISE Cities, ensuring the alignment of design and research efforts with organizational goals.
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Evaluated Strengths, Weaknesses, and Threats: Conducted a detailed analysis of competitors, identifying their key advantages, vulnerabilities, and potential threats to WISE Cities’ positioning.
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Highlighted Opportunities for Differentiation: Pinpointed unique gaps in the market and areas where WISE Cities could stand out, aligning recommendations with user and market needs.
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Informed Strategic Enhancements: Delivered actionable insights to refine services, address competitor gaps, and strengthen WISE Cities’ competitive edge.
This focused analysis provided a strategic foundation for positioning WISE Cities effectively in a competitive market.
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To deeply understand the pain points and challenges faced by older adults, as well as their behavior patterns related to online searches and technology usage, I conducted a thorough exploration of their needs and preferences. This was achieved through a meticulously crafted research strategy involving surveys, field research, focus groups, and individual interviews.
Let’s take a closer look at each step of the user research process, the evidence and the outcome
Data collection from 60 surveys
Conducted 3 focus groups
with 20+ participants
Lead 10+ generative user interviews
These steps uncovered key challenges within the community, providing crucial insights that clarified the overarching design goals and guided the development of the final design solution.
3 Key Challenges
3 Design Goals
3 Design Solutions
#UIUX #AccessibleDesign #InclusiveUX
WISE Cities
Creating intuitive tools for older adults and addressing the unique challenges of aging populations through accessible design
Applied Skills: Agile/Scrum Workflow, Prototyping, Usability Testing, A/B Testing, Surveys and Data Analysis
5 Personas
Identified 5 key user archetypes through extensive UX research, representing distinct audience segments.
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Developed detailed personas capturing goals, challenges, and behaviors.
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Added personas to the WISE Cities repository to guide feature development and future initiatives.
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Ensured user-centric solutions addressing real-world needs.
Dave the Analogue" represented the most common archetype among older adults—individuals less familiar with technology and often intimidated by digital platforms. Dave's persona became central to creating user-centered solutions and was added to the WISE Cities repository as a critical reference for future features and design iterations, ensuring ongoing inclusivity and impact
Design
Once the design goals and solutions were established, the work was divided into 3 sprints, each dedicated to a specific feature. Each sprint followed an iterative cycle, ensuring that the feature was carefully refined at every stage.
Challenge: difficulty accessing resources for aging among older adults. Solution ...
Streamlining Navigation
Starting with How Might We questions from the Mapping Stage ...
How Might We...?
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Create a user-friendly search function.
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Seamlessly incorporate tagging and multiple filters.
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Help older adults effortlessly browse through relevant categories, while reducing cognitive load
Initial Design
Mobile-First Design Approach —Designed for mobile first to optimize usability on smaller screens, ensuring seamless scalability and easy adaptation to larger screens like desktop. The designs for the mobile screen included:
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Landing / Search page.
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Filter page
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Search suggestions options
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Search Results page
Conducted user testing on the initial design to evaluate its successes and shortcomings, using insights to brainstorm and implement improvements for more intuitive interactions. The goal of the refinements were to significantly enhance usability and ensured alignment with user needs.
The landing page received positive feedback, requiring only minor tweaks to enhance usability and engagement for older adults. A/B testing was conducted at the client’s request to refine the filter design and identify the most effective solution.
Improvements
1. Landing page — Simplified Navigation and Layout
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Removed tabs feature; consolidated topics into filters to streamline navigation.
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Expanded all containers on the landing page to reduce clicks and improve accessibility for older adults.
Rationale: 40% of users didn’t recognize the purpose of the tabs, highlighting a lack of intuitiveness. Since the target audience consists of primarily low-tech-savvy older adults, the design was simplified to eliminate unnecessary complexity. Filters now help narrow searches by topic, while expanded containers cater to users' preference for fewer clicks and easier access to detailed information.
2. Active Filter Chips Location — A/B Testing
A/B testing was conducted to evaluate two placement options for active filter chips:
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Inside the filters page, allowing users to review their selections before applying filters.
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Outside the filters page, displayed above search results to provide a clear view of applied filters.
The testing revealed user preferences while ensuring the filter feature was both intuitive and desirable for older adults.
Findings: 88% of users preferred the active filters to be outside because they are always visible and require less clicks.
Real Quotes from the users:
3. Filter view — PROS & CONS
The objective was to test two filter view options for older adults:
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Option A: Full view (opens in a new screen).
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Option B: Dropdown scroll (stays on the same screen).
Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive:
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Preference Vote: 55.5% preferred Option A.
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Usability Rating: Option B scored slightly higher.
With inconclusive results, I prepared a pros and cons list for both designs to help the client select the most appropriate solution based on their goals and user context.
Based on the pros and cons analysis, I recommended Option A (full-screen view) as the final design. The full-screen layout provides more generous tap targets and offers a cleaner, simpler interface. While the dropdown option would let users stay on the same page, it risks creating a cluttered experience that could lead to accidental taps and user confusion.
Final Design
Initial Design
Improvements
Final Design
Challenge #2: Social iscolation among older adults. Solution ...
Building Community Engagement
Starting with How Might We questions from the Mapping Stage ...
How Might We...?
Design an intuitive and user-friendly calendar interface that allows older adults to search for events effortlessly?
Initial Design
Initiated the development of mid-fidelity prototype after talking to WISE Cities to understand the goals of the Events Calendar feature and gathering insights from our research. Presented the following designs:
“Wait, but this was not what we were expecting?” - Client
A communication gap led to a misunderstanding—feedback from WISE Cities revealed their vision for the calendar layout differed from the version approved during the sketching phase. Given the misalignment and limited data on what works best for older adults, it became clear that A/B testing with two distinct prototypes would be necessary to identify the optimal solution.
More To Come Soon!
Stay tuned for more content and details related to design process for creating Events Calendar and In-app Tutorial.
Facing roadblocks head-on and finding new directions.
Overcoming Challenges
When Data Falls Short, Expertise Leads the Way
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Navigating Inconclusive Data: In cases where data was inconclusive, I collaborated with the team to reassess designs and incorporate alternative solutions proposed by the client.
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Balancing Client and User Needs: By conducting background research and analyzing proposed solutions through a pros and cons framework, I ensured the decisions prioritized the target users’ best interests.
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Supporting Design Decisions: Clear documentation, effective communication, and compelling visual presentations were used to align recommendations with the client’s expectations while maintaining a user-centric approach.
Stepping Up to Challenging Roles for the Team and Project
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Managing Split Responsibilities: During one sprint, the team was divided into two smaller groups to handle design and research tasks concurrently, creating a challenge in balancing resources among five members. I stepped into the role of a 'floater,' assisting both teams to ensure progress.
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Facilitating Communication: Since designs relied on research being completed first, I maintained clear communication between the groups, focusing on research initially and coordinating with designers to align efforts.
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Ensuring Timely Delivery: By actively supporting both teams and offering assistance wherever needed, I helped maintain momentum and meet the tight deadline. Personal Growth: While managing multiple tasks independently was demanding, it honed my ability to multitask, adapt, and keep teams aligned under pressure.
WISE Reflection
How the project helped me grow as a UX professional?
What I learned
Working within an Agile Workflow:
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First exposure to Agile practices: This project marked my introduction to an iterative workflow, where each sprint required balancing planning, execution, and adaptability.
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Tackling challenges in a fast-paced environment: Working on multiple features simultaneously demanded prioritization and clear communication with stakeholders to ensure progress without sacrificing quality.
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End-to-end product exposure: The process involved hands-on experience with every stage—ideation, prototyping, user testing, and delivery—teaching me how to refine solutions within tight timeframes while maintaining a user-centric approach.
Project Manager Role
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Developed strong organizational and leadership skills: Successfully managed logistics, schedules, and task delegation for the team, ensuring smooth collaboration and timely delivery. Coordinated sprints, set realistic goals, and maintained clear communication channels to keep the team aligned and productive.
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Facilitated problem-solving and decision-making: Addressed roadblocks by identifying solutions and reassigning resources as needed, ensuring project momentum was maintained.
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Discovered key strengths: Realized my ability to manage complex workflows and team dynamics, which I now consider a critical strength I bring to collaborative environments.