UPFLEX:
The Future of Remote Work Real Estate
Objective
Upflex is one of the few cloud platforms on the market that provides remote workers with flexible, pay-as-you-go, co-working options from a variety of spaces.
Challenge:
Going through a lean development cycle, the app's user base totaled under 100 users.
Consulting with their product owner, I volunteered my time to help imagine a more human-centric app re-design to accomplish two main things:
Drive user engagement and retention
Increase bookings among individual remote workers and entrepreneurs (they plant a tree for each booking)
I conducted the bulk of our research and my friend, Bryn, did the UI design.
We ran a 2-week sprint.
On your mark… get set… you know the rest.
Heuristic Evaluation
Let’s try this thing out
I used The Abby Method and its 10 UX principles to measure the usability of the interface, hopefully revealing some helpful insights.
I rated the platform highest on clarity, with most affordances and functions leaving little room for ambiguity. Overall it feels familiar and easy to grasp, learnable.
However after completing the registration flow, I was abruptly hit with a prompt to “Choose a Pass” from the $25 Day Pass or $299 Unlimited Monthly Pass. It felt a bit spammy and intrusive as I hadn’t even reached the home screen to see what facilities were available and I was already being asked to open my wallet. Controllability and credibility began to take a hit here for me.
Other moderate issues include accessibility and findability as key features like the ability to "favorite" a workspace are buried deeper in navigation hierarchy and not easily accessible. At the very least a curated list of recommended spaces should be available early on.
Overall, the main area for opportunity is with the app's lack of delight. The feedback in the experience gives little sense of character and the UI design might even benefit from a neumorphic approach.
Improving on this will be key for driving engagement and brand loyalty.
Now that we got a chance to evaluate Upflex, let's see what other folks thought.
Usability Testing
To get out of my own head & be more human-centered, I identified 6 people both familiar with mobile-booking products and using co-working spaces for usability testing of the current app.
A consistent theme with their first take was that the imagery and lack of branding on the initial screen didn't create a memorable impression or communicate brand value well.
0/6 users tested associated the opening image with co-working spaces, with one user commenting that it looked "like a dating app".
Nothing about this experience so far creates an atmosphere for premium engagement and retention.
Overall 5/6 users struggled with the interface when asked to both find a nearby space and select given amenities, which should surely affect conversion and retention.
There was confusion surrounding the numbers that annotated each co-working option on the map, as it wasn't clear that this spoke to desk availability.
The top navigation didn't organize information especially well for users. Regardless of which of the four top buttons were tapped, the same workspace and amenity options populated into secondary navigation.
And 0/6 users utilized the filter button oddly placed by the search bar.
Avg User Satisfaction Grade 3.58
Survey & Interviews
To find useful interview candidates, I created a quick screener survey for us to send to a diverse range of people in our networks.
The criteria for a qualified candidate were professionals that were:
Mobile-fluent
Had experience using co-working spaces
Results:
Nearly 30 respondents filled the survey
Eight users met my criteria
With my interviews, I formulated my questions to really understand two main topics:
What do remote workers value in their experience of using co-working spaces?
What defines a good mobile booking experience?
I used Affinity Mapping to distill the interview data into key insights
KEY INSIGHTS
It’s a Vibe
Amenities and community/ambiance are central parts of the co-working experience.
Long Game
Remote workers find it more convenient to have a long term contract/membership with a co-working space for cost-efficiency.
Flexibility
Remote workers don't use co-working spaces daily but need access to multiple locations when they do.
Show Me
Users find that online descriptions aren't always accurate and look to photos and/or human contact for credibility.
Persona Development
With these insights I created our persona, Jaime.
Jaime’s a remote consultant in need of multiple nearby office spaces from a trustworthy booking service.
She hates complicated booking processes that don't offer a human point of contact.
We reflected back on Jaime and her mental model throughout multiple points of our design process, including our problem statement.
Problem Statement
Remote workers like Jaime need an easy way to find and book flexible co-working options for a variety of work scenarios, from client meetings to individual workstations.
Considering her hectic schedule, how might we help Jaime confidently & seamlessly book the right co-working option from her phone while on the go?
Feature Prioritization
As we transitioned from the problem stage to begin “solutioning”, we made the effort to get our priorities straight.
We decided to implement features 1 through 8 factoring impact, time, and technical bandwidth.
Bryn now had all she needed to begin sketching and start her visual design process.
I provided continuous feedback as the voice of our user, Jaime.
Check Out Our Prototype!
Not too shabby for a couple recent food & beverage marketers turned design techies.
Changes to the interface’s information architecture should reduce confusion and provide simplicity, promoting increased engagement and retention.
Usability Testing 2.0
I conducted in-person usability tests with 6 new users. I gave them all the below 6 tasks to accomplish, including tasks I had given the previous cohort.
Sign up with email*
Contact Upflex Support*
You are looking to book a space for your team meeting. What would you do?
You are looking to book a space that has tea and coffee. What would you do?
Reserve a space
Re-reserve a past reservation*
Contact your supervisor for more credits*
Asterisk (*) denotes all 6 users were able to complete the task.
Avg User Satisfaction Grade 4.45
Takeaways & Next Steps
There are several changes or additions we would consider with more resources or if we were to further iterate on the Upflex app:
Micro-animations on buttons for feedback - This would increase controllability and delight, giving users increased confidence in the functionality of the app.
Push Notifications - These would remind users to check in and check out in a more direct way, giving Upflex more visibility into usage.
Ratings & Reviews of Office Spaces - This would gives users a better sense of the spaces and adds value to the app.
Nearby Subway Stops - A very handy feature for employees working in metropolitan areas or with specific transit needs.
QR Code for Check-In - Convenient for everyone to ensure quick accurate check-in.