THE CHALLENGE
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Eliminate the need to switch between apps to set reminder during a WhatsApp conversation.
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Design a cohesive interface without interrupting existing WhatsApp UI while keeping functionality as the focus.
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Making the feature discoverable to WhatsApp users.
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Provide a seamless & linear path for setting reminder for people at different time zones.
An attempt to include reminder feature for WhatsApp.
One fine day, I told my friend about the concept of having a reminder feature for WhatsApp, and guess what! It started as a project when both of us found the thought quite interesting (yaaay💃🏻).
Wait, but how did i get the idea?!
Few months ago, my best friends moved abroad for pursuing their higher studies. And often during the chats or calls on WhatsApp, we used to tell each other to remind us of one thing or the other, ( like it could be their part-time shifts on a random day or may be an online movie night). And we'd have to use a reminder app to set the reminders, which didn't work very well because we were in various regions of the world and on different time zones. And what could be better than your loved ones reminding you? That's how it all started.
In this case study, I'll walk you through the whole process, from planning to decision-making. Join me on this voyage of learning and problem-solving!
INTRODUCTION
Role
Independent Project
UX Research and Design
UI Design
Duration
Dec 2022
Methods & Tools
Practices
Conceptualization, Wireframing,
Usability test, Figma
UX & UI Design, Prototyping
Empathize, Define, Ideate , Prototype, Test
KICKOFF
In this project, a goal-directed human centric design approach was taken which proved to be highly beneficial in my design efforts. I found qualitative research methods to be the most useful for this project, consisting of most importantly persona hypothesis construction. I started out by asking myself some initial key questions.
Studying and understanding users helped me bridge the gap between the requirements and what user needs and overcome any preconceptions or biases I had. Being a WhatsApp user and coming up with the concept, I could consider myself as a user but that won't do justice to my human centred design approach. So I interviewed a few WhatsApp users to obtain their thoughts, on including reminder feature for the app, which evidently reinforced my confidence in moving forward with the idea.
1. Empathizing with users
PERSONAS
Creating user personas assisted me in representing the characteristics and goals of a broad set of users, which helped me draw insights.
“ WhatsApp simplifies life! Why not make things a little easier? ”
Hazel is a designer who lives in India and is engaged to his best friend who lives in New York. Despite the fact that they are in a long-distance relationship, they are able to communicate via WhatsApp. She wants a WhatsApp feature that would allow her to remind her partner, who lives in separate time zones, about significant dates and schedules leading up to their wedding without switching between the apps during their communication through WhatsApp. She thinks it would be very useful for everyone.
Hazel Mary | 27 yr
Designer
“I like to set reminders directly in WhatsApp rather than switching apps to set reminder for the things discussed in WhatsApp ”
Aron is a 20-year-old BSc Microbiology student from India. As a microbiology student, his course syllabus requires him to complete several projects, assignments, lab reports, and records. And the most of the time, his professors would post a message in their class group about their submissions, and he would have to copy and paste the submission dates and make reminders in a reminder app. He needs a way to set reminders within WhatsApp so that he doesn't have to rely on a reminder app to schedule items mentioned in WhatsApp.
Aron Paul Ajai | 20 yr,
Student
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Hazel is a designer who requires a WhatsApp add-on feature to create reminders between talks that can remind both parties since she doesn't want to switch between apps during the discussion.
After sketching out some paper wireframes and thinking through the existing flow, I examined what was necessary, unnecessary, and where improvements might be made. I spent a significant amount of time on this phase to ensure that the underlying UX was complete before going on to the visuals.
2. Defining and starting the design
GETTING INTO THE IDEATION PROCESS
PAPER WIREFRAMING & CONCEPTUALISATION
After generating the prototype, I tested it with few iOS users to get their feedbacks and iterate on the designs which was constructed. And the feedbacks I had increased my adrenaline rush and making this project close to my heart. The page for setting time underwent a few modifications based on the feedbacks.
3. Prototyping and testing
QUOTES DIRECTLY FROM USERS :
Followed by the usability study and understanding the users approach with the feature, I managed to overcome the following challenges during the designing.
4. Refining the design
Before
The first screen you see as a CineBite user. By tapping on the screen, you begin your journey by Login or Sign up to the site.
After
Here the user will navigate from home screen to food ordering where the first step is to choose the location and theatre. After that date, screen, movie name and delivery methods are chosen.
VIEW CART
ADDING FOOD TO CART
When food items are chosen, they are put to the cart, and a pop-up displays, with the option to 'Proceed to Pay' leading directly to the checkout page.
If users don't want to directly go to the payment page, they can navigate to cart by clicking on cart icon on the navigation bar before proceeding to payment page and can confirm the order list.
Takeways
I hope I designed an experience that works well for most users.This was my first time using the goal-directed design process, and I can certainly see it being useful in future projects. The experience of designing the feature has been both challenging and gratifying. The main issue was obvious from the beginning : adding the proposed function without disrupting the existing user flow and visual design. I understood the needs of the users through conversations and finally, I faced the challenge of creating a useful feature both from the user experience perspective and the visual perspective.
What are the next steps?
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Generate WhatsApp reminder feature for android versions
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Usability test of the prototype with users
Thank you!
Looking for a designer who puts heart into their work? I would love hearing from you!
# 1 CHALLENGE : ELIMINATING SWITCHING BETWEEN APPS
The major and most significant challenge was to incorporate the reminder feature to WhatsApp without disrupting the existing flows. There were two options. I resolved the issue by using the long press function in the iOS mobile version of WhatsApp, which displays a range of drop-downs and emoji reactions when you long press on a message. I included the reminder option within the drop-down so that the major flows are not disturbed.
The second option was to invoke the reminder function by swiping right, which might have caused confusion because the right swipe in iOS WhatsApp now takes you to the message information that has to be altered. Also, within Instagram, the right swipe on a message is used for message reply, which may have raised the odds of accidentally calling reminders at least for some users.
" How do I incorporate the reminder feature without disturbing the existing layout and user flows?"
" To which existing user flow should I add the feature?"
" How do I represent the reminders?"
" How do I solve for people at two different time zones? "
" How do I make the feature discoverable to WhatsApp users?"
PREPARING THE JOURNEY
I began by brainstorming ways to incorporate the WhatsApp reminder function for iOS app by modifying current navigations and user touch interfaces. This aided me in understanding how I may include the functionality into the app without disrupting current user flow, as well as allowing me to see navigation through user goals.
# 2 CHALLENGE : COHESIVE INTERFACE
Another issue was to incorporate the reminder function into the app without significantly altering the existing UI. This was achieved by placing the reminder icon next to the filter icon on the main page, allowing users to view all of the scheduled reminders at once.
# 3 CHALLENGE : DISCOVERABILITY
I used the current WhatsApp feature of displaying updates in WhatsApp status to make the new feature discoverable to users. And, since majority of WhatsApp users are already aware of the message delete option, the reminder function would be easily accessible, as it is made available in the same drop down menu in iOS.
# 4 CHALLENGE : SETTING REMINDER FOR PEOPLE AT DIFFERENT TIME ZONES
To avoid uncertainty, the challenge of setting reminders for people in different time zones was addressed by enabling users to specify time zones when scheduling the reminder.
I made a storyboard to describe my user's interaction with the new functionality. This is an excellent tool for determining how the add-on function will be utilised in a bigger context. It's a quick and cheap method to record, react to, and explore the app in real life.
BIG PICTURE STORY BOARD
