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Methods
User interview
Brainstorming
Wireframing
Information architecture
content & visual design Analysis
Prototyping
Usability testing
Tools and Software
Figma
My Role and Responsibilities
As the UX designer for this indiviudal project, I was responsible for all research and design tasks, re-designing the GroupMe app from conception to delivery.
Duration
10 weeks: March 2022 - May 2022)
Overview
This is my first UX design project as I took INFO 1998: Introduction to Digital Product Design course at Cornell University. The assignment was to enhance an existing mobile app using UX research and design processes.
For me, one of the things that became a new constant going into college was GroupMe. The app creates a space that joins users of various mobile platforms for casual conversation, making it the hotspot for college messaging activity. Each new semester, users flock to its platform to greet their classmates, ask questions, and keep tabs on upcoming important events. However, as group activity grows, pinpointing important messages within the constant influx of messages becomes increasingly difficult. This is a case study to investigate a people problem within the GroupMe app. Using the human-centered design process, I use Figma to create & execute thoughtful responses.
Problem
The app is great for inviting a large number of people into communities who self-identify as they enter, efficiently so that members need not play matching games with names and faces. But with many people, there are also many messages to keep up with; oftentimes, the notifications either come flooding in excited waves or are empty, having receded from the race.
Methods
User interview
Brainstorming
Wireframing
Information architecture
content & visual design Analysis
Prototyping
Usability testing
Tools and Software
Figma
My Role and Responsibilities
As the UX designer for this indiviudal project, I was responsible for all research and design tasks, re-designing the GroupMe app from conception to delivery.
Duration
10 weeks: March 2022 - May 2022)
Methods
User interview
Brainstorming
Wireframing
Information architecture
content & visual design Analysis
Prototyping
Usability testing
Tools and Software
Figma
My Role and Responsibilities
As the UX designer for this indiviudal project, I was responsible for all research and design tasks, re-designing the GroupMe app from conception to delivery.
Duration
10 weeks: March 2022 - May 2022)
User Interview
In order to investigate how users navigate messages on GroupMe, I interviewed 4 users to learn why they used the app, how they used it, and whether they found any struggles with it.
Interviewees
Evelyn
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College sophomore
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Active user of GroupMe
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Residential advisor, creates group chats to communicate information
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Group chat member, asks questions, looks for events
Anne
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College freshman
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Checks GroupMe frequently, less active user
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Follower, checks GroupMe for important announcements and relevant advice
Wei
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Company employee
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Never used GroupMe
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Uses Microsoft Teams in company for file sharing and collaboration; uses Wechat+QQ for connecting with family and friends
Jeffrey
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High school freshman
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Never used GroupMe
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Web Design Club president, sends announcements on Google Classroom, communicates with others on iMessage
Brainstorming
To tackle this problem, I created a user journey map and recruited two friends to brainstorm some opportunity spaces for improving accessibility to important messages on GroupMe.
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Low-Fidelity Wireframes
With the feasibility and impact analysis and help of additional user feedback, I made the decision to go with developing broadcasting, as consolidating announcements in a single, accessible space most directly addresses users' immediate reception of important information, while maintaining GroupMe's overall minimalist structure and casualness.
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Interaction Design
How does Broadcast address the people problem? By condensing meaningful messages into a single place within the group chat, they become easy to access without the tedious effort to scroll and search. This is also intuitive as it is similar to existing systems for storing certain types of messages on GroupMe – including Popular Messages, Polls, and Events. As a result, this leverages GroupMe’s casual nature to cultivate free-flowing discussion for any important messages in groups (e.g. assignment announcements for class group chats); alternatively, users have the choice of conveniently directly referencing all important messages in the appropriate tab.
Information Architecture
When it came to solidifying my decisions for understanding where Broadcasts fit within the information hierarchy, it was important to consider the primary purpose of the app itself. According to Microsoft, GroupMe is a “free group messaging app. It’s a simple way to stay in touch with friends and family.” GroupMe’s website states,“[i]t's like a private chat room for your small group. Have as many as you want, and it's always free. Now, you can coordinate with coworkers, organize a game night, and keep in touch with family all in the same place.” The app affords flexibility for organization and coordination, which has allowed it to attract a college student user base that uses it for finding important announcements and updates, but messaging remains the focus of the product itself.
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Thus, it was important that Broadcasts remain secondary relative to the display and content of the individual chats. The Information Architecture diagram above illustrates how I implement these into the design.
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Interview Questions
Role-based Questions 1
(If an owner of a group chat or has some leadership role:)
How effective and efficient is it to send, in particular important, messages on GroupMe? Experience of managing information on GroupMe?
How do you try to make sure that your audience is able to identify, in particular, important messages that you send in GroupMe?
As an owner/leader in the group chat do you use GroupMe for other purposes as well?
Role-based Questions 2
(If a member of the group chat:)
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Are there certain types of content you look for when joining a GroupMe chat specifically? How do you normally find the information you’re looking for on GroupMe, be it club announcements, assignment questions, memes, etc.? (Optional: Can you, if possible, walk through how you go about doing so?)
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Do you send information in the group chat? If so, what kind(s)?
Context Questions
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First impression of GroupMe?
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What do you use GroupMe for?
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Why choose GroupMe?
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Are you an active user of GroupMe? (i.e. How often you use GroupMe, whether you send messages often, which features do you use most often)
Other Questions
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How do you feel about navigating messages in the current scheme of things?
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Have you ever switched from GroupMe to another messaging platform or vice versa? If so, what purpose did you use the original platform for, and why did you make the switch?
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Have any memorable experiences with GroupMe?
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What are other pros/cons that you would want to highlight about GroupMe?
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At the end of the day, do you think GroupMe is worth the download?
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Content & Visual Design Analysis
Of similar importance to information hierarchy was understanding GroupMe's personality, so that my feature aligned with its tone and got along with its existing features. A full analysis can be viewed here, but in sum, GroupMe is cheerful, humorous, and prompts user action to use its features.
I also created a UI Kit (below) by analyzing GroupMe’s app visual layout and components, which I used in order to maintain a consistent visual outlook and smooth interaction experience while implementing my feature within the existing ones.
Usability Testing
As the design was taking shape, I conducted a round of user testing to see if there were more concerns to be tackled.
Users explained that they valued different messages in different groups, and felt that "Broadcasts" was too limiting a term to encompass the nuance of messages they deemed important.
Users also expressed the potential for Broadcasts to be spammed or misused if treated like images, polls, and events, which would render it useless.
Pinned messages were now restricted to individuals assigned to owners and admin roles to keep them relevant and prevent spamming, but there is also the new flexibility to pin or unpin a previous message, whereas Broadcasts required the intent to send a specialized message with no options to change it. The pinning process, requiring users to hold and select "pin" or "unpin" from a menu, is less visible than creating Broadcasts, while further reducing spam.
Another new feature I added was located in the bulletin boards view, with the option for users to slide and select from a menu for liking a pinned message, viewing it alongside the original chat messages sent before/after it, viewing the number of views, and viewing the full message for easy interaction and comprehension of its context without the need to search for the message again within the original conversation.
Pinned messages were now restricted to individuals assigned to owners and admin roles to keep them relevant and prevent spamming, but there is also the new flexibility to pin or unpin a previous message, whereas Broadcasts required the intent to send a specialized message with no options to change it. The pinning process, requiring users to hold and select "pin" or "unpin" from a menu, is less visible than creating Broadcasts, while further reducing spam.
Another new feature I added was located in the bulletin boards view, with the option for users to slide and select from a menu for liking a pinned message, viewing it alongside the original chat messages sent before/after it, viewing the number of views, and viewing the full message for easy interaction and comprehension of its context without the need to search for the message again within the original conversation.
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Re-Design the Features
As it turned out, I had a couple of changes to make. Thus, I shifted the concept from “Broadcasts” to “Pins and Bulletin Boards.” The underlying concept remains the same; however, new term accommodates more flexibility for the interpretation of what constitutes an important message. Some new structural adjustments also give the added benefits of strengthening this concept of flexibility/convenience and respond to the concern of spamming.
Conclusion
The impact: Pins and boards enable users to customize messages they want to be alerted of from groups they care about.
While maintaining GroupMe's casual, conversational vibe, it enhances the organization and personalization of messages both groups and users define as important.
Takeaways
This was my first experience delving into the world of UX/UI, completing the design process of a UX project from start to end, and learning to use Figma, Notion, and Medium along the way. A key takeaway from this journey has been that identifying the key values of a platform and its users is central to designing a uniquely personal, compelling, and effective user experience.I extend gratitude to all of my peers, who helped me grow during this journey by providing valuable insights about design best practices, bouncing design inspiration, and sharing feedback to push myself to make the most of mindful, intentional design. I look forward to many more exciting UX opportunities ahead.
Key Findings
Users go to GroupMe for its convenience.
Users primarily use GroupMe to share/receive relevant help and updates.
Users like the overall minimal layout,and found it intuitive and casual.
Users appreciated features (e.g. popular messages) that enabled storage for future reference.
Users overwhelmed by the cluttered messaging screen.
Users were underwhelmed by GroupMe's narrower range of features for organization and message interaction.
Users emphasized their desire to find important notices more easily.
Through analyzing the collective responses, I found that a primary motivation for people in joining group chats was to keep an eye out for updates, and that the specific decision to host their group chats in GroupMe was influenced by its convenience and lightheartedness. Nevertheless, the task to navigate the mass influx of messages posed an intimidating struggle.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
When people are in a group chat, they want to be able to pay attention to and quickly react to messages they care about, but they can't because there is frequently information that is irrelevant to their interests and priorities, and it is inconvenient and overwhelming to seek for information that is relevant to their interests and priorities.