flaim is a startup social messaging app built with data privacy in mind. They had launched on the App Store and Play Store but needed a design and user experience overhaul.
Before the UX/UI team, only developers had input on the app, so there were many issues to address. The biggest challenge with this project was working with stakeholders and helping them understand the value of research and testing.
When working in a startup, there are always tight deadlines to present concepts to investors. This in itself was a challenge as stakeholders wanted to prioritise new designs as opposed to research.
Our starting point was to make visual changes to create a slick, modern interface and improve usability while also creating the visuals needed for pitches. Issues addressed included:
flaim was geared for instant messaging and calls, but stakeholders looked to transform the app into an integrated social media platform that would rival the likes of Facebook and Instagram.
During this concept creation phase, we had difficulty with the stakeholders seeing the value of a research first approach. Their main goal was to present something tangible to investors in the form of high fidelity mockups.
Stakeholders had a general list of what needed to be included in the new Channels concept. We held ideation workshops to strategise how the new features could incorporate into the app.
These workshops consisted of card sorting, rapid wireframing, and journey mapping to see how these ideas would work.
From the workshops, we had an understanding of the required features and had theories for possible solutions. Next, we drew wireframes and then moved onto high fidelity mockups with prototypes on Invision. Finally, we tested the prototypes via UserBrain to gain unbiased feedback from our target audience and provide insights for stakeholders to share with investors.
The UserBrain feedback allowed us to improve how features were integrated into the app. One significant change was the structure of the channel feed. Users remarked that it was difficult to distinguish the information (comments, likes, sharing etc.) that belonged to each post once stacked. The solution was to alter the design to clarify where one post stopped and the next started by moving text directly underneath the name (see below).
Stakeholders put the channels segment on hold while the development team concentrated on app stability. Without the push of designs for investors, we could begin researching the features and developing personas for one of our primary launch markets, Nigeria.
We used online surveys and scholarly papers to gain insight into everyday life for Nigerians. The next step was to organise remote interviews with our target audience in Nigeria. Areas used to establish personas and validate company hypotheses’ included: Nigerian literacy levels, smartphone and social media usage and their daily life activities.
Some key points we discovered from the research included:
The biggest challenge in this project was getting stakeholders on board and realise the importance of research to validate ideas. They were known to implement ideas based on thoughts rather than facts, and it was a positive step to see them ask for research first.
The most critical learnings came from the research conducted through online surveys with the Nigerian target audience, and this will need to be built upon through the following stages. In-person interviews will help engage users to find out how we can shape the product that helps solve some of their problems in their daily lives.
It was essential to push for research first, and now that stakeholders have seen the value in this, flaim will be able to progress even more rapidly than before.
