The Social Good Network

Project Overview

Everee is a cross-platform product that connects volunteers to organizations in need and to other like-minded volunteers that I created as part of my Google UX Design Certificate course. As the sole UX designer, I designed this project from inception to final design through research, ideation, and UX design principles.

Duration: 1 Month

Methods: Locate and review pre-existing volunteer options, interviews, wireframing, usability studies, affinity mapping, and prototyping

Tools: Figma

The Problem

Acts of kindness and a sense of community seem to be trending in the wrong direction in today's society. What is needed are easier avenues for people to find and assist local organizations in their community. There is not a central place that maintains information on non-profit organizations, provides event information, and allows volunteers to connect directly with the organizations and other volunteers.

The Solution

The meaning behind "Everee", is that EVERY hand, no matter how big or small, CAN make a difference in their community. Everee strives to bring the needs of local organizations to the forefront of local users, and to connect like-minded volunteers with one another - which promotes a collaborative, supportive community. Everee also provides an avenue for user to users to submit donations to organizations of their choice.

Design Process

Research

I communicated with potential users to understand their pain points regarding community service/volunteering and to discover if they had any existing resources to help them find new opportunities.

I then did a competitive analysis, but had trouble finding anything similar to this concept. Instead, I reviewed several well-known non-profit organizations to understand how they recruit and obtain volunteers for their various events.

Pain Points

Research

User Persona: Jeff

Jeff is a community-conscious student who needs to connect with like-minded individuals who are volunteering for given events - because sometimes he needs to ask if he can get a ride with another attending volunteer.

Goals

• Have an easy way to schedule recurring volunteer times.

• Connect and network with other volunteers.

Frustrations

• No way to connect with other volunteers before events.

• Doesn't have a vehicle and often needs rides from other attendees.

Age: 20

Education: Currently in school

Hometown: Miami, FL

Family: Single

Occupation: Student

Jeff is a university student who likes to volunteer weekly. Sometimes he has friends that join him, and sometimes he goes by himself. Jim does not own a car, so he relies on his friends with vehicles. Jim would like to easily find new volunteer/community service opportunities, and be able to see who else is signed up. Knowing who else is going and connecting with them, Jim can try to coordinate a ride if needed.

Goals

• An easy way to sign up for events and get more information about organizations.

• Easy way to explore new organizations/events in need of help.

Frustrations

• She doesn't know how to find more events/organizations that need help.

• She doesn't want to spend a lot of time searching the internet.

Ideate

I wanted to do a mobile-first approach, so I did crazy 8’s to brainstorm creative ideas for an app homepage. I then took my favorite pieces from each and created the final design for my first digital wireframe.

Mobile App

Prototype

Low-Fidelity Prototype

For users to truly get a feel for how this mobile app would function, it was important for me to ensure there were multiple paths a user could take - because not all users are going to follow the same path.

Prototype link is available further below with the revised low-fidelity prototype.

Test

Usability Study Research Questions

• Did you find the app's features and functionality useful and relevant to your needs as a volunteer?

• Was it easy to connect with other volunteers and organizations using the app?

• How easy was it for you to navigate the app and find the information needed?

• Was the design and layout of the app visually appealing?

Participants

5 participants that:

• Have prior experience with community service/volunteering.

• Have access to a smartphone or tablet with internet access.

• Are aged 18-66

Methadology

Length: 5-10 minutes

Location: United States, Remote

Type: Unmoderated Usability Study

Users were asked to follow a series of prompts and provide feedback in between some prompts.

Usability Study Results Affinity Map

Usability Study Findings

Users commented that the date picker did not allow users to adjust the calendar at all, and also mentioned that the set timeframes were limiting.

Users provided feedback that if they were unable to volunteer, that they still wanted an option to donate.

Insight: Users need flexibility and control when navigating a calendar.

Users expect to be able to fully adjust the calendar. Users also don't like pre-determined time windows, but instead, want the option to set what works for them.

Insight: Users want to options on how they can offer their help.

Action: I revised the calendar page to allow control of months and also implemented a slider bar to allow users control of their time availability.

Users also mentioned a desire for direct communication with an organization, in case they had questions about an event.

Action: I added "Donate Now" and copy on both the event page and the organization's profile page.

Insight: Users want the ability to message organizations directly.

Action: I added a messaging button and copy to alert the user to this capability.

Prototype

Low-Fidelity Prototype - Revised Based on Usability Study Findings

You can view and explore my Figma low-fidelity prototype here.

High-Fidelity Prototype

You can view and explore my Figma high-fidelity prototype here.

Ideate

I utilized my mobile app to sketch variations of a website homepage. I then picked the best features from any sketch and combined them to create my initial webpage design.

Responsive Website

Prototype

Low-Fidelity Prototype

Prototype link is available further below with the revised low-fidelity prototype.

Test

Usability Study Research Questions

• How easy was it to navigate the website, find an event, and register for the event?

• Did you find the website's features and functionality useful and relevant to your needs as a volunteer?

• Were there any parts of the website that were confusing, misleading, or frustrating to use?

• Were there any missing features or functionality that you would like to see added to the website?

Participants

5 participants that:

• Have prior experience with community service/volunteering.

• Have access to a smartphone or tablet with internet access.

• Are aged 18-66

Methadology

Length: 5-10 minutes

Location: United States, Remote

Type: Unmoderated Usability Study

Users were asked to follow a series of prompts and provide feedback in between some prompts.

Usability Study Results Affinity Map

Usability Study Findings

Users were unsure how the website populated events near them. They did not understand if they set a location in their profile, or if they needed to enter a location. They also did not know how to go to events they heard about offline.

Insight: Users need a search bar to go directly to an event or organization, or to look for events in another location.

Users may be looking to volunteer in different areas, and need to be able to adjust the results to match that location. Also, users may have heard of an event or organization offline and need the ability to go directly to that page.

Action: I added a search bar on the homepage, in which a user can enter a location, event, or organization. This gives them flexibility to either enter a location other than their profile location, or to easily go to an event or organization page directly.

Before Usability Study

After Usability Study

Before Usability Study

After Usability Study

Users expressed that sometimes they didn't have time constraints, or that they had recurring availability for a specific day of the week.

Insight: Users need more options that fit their availability.

Users will all have different availability, some have specific dates free and some will be free weekly. Users commented that they should be able to set a day of the week, and that they didn't want to be limited by the time slider.

Action: I added a day of the week option to select, as well as adding an "All Day" checkbox. This will allow users freedom in selecting availability that works for them, and ultimately showing them events in need that they can attend.

Prototype

Low-Fidelity Prototype - Revised Based on Usability Study Findings

You can view and explore my Figma low-fidelity prototype here.

High-Fidelity Prototype

You can view and explore my Figma high-fidelity prototype here.

Conclusion

This project was important to me due to my perception that our society needs more community involvement. We need to grow communities stronger, willing to do more good for one another. If this platform could influence one person to volunteer where they otherwise wouldn't, or if it could educate users on any lesser-known organizations, then it would be a valuable asset to our society.

Next Steps

The next step for this project would be to approach this problem from the organization’s perspective. I would begin the design process again with a different set of users in mind, to better understand their pain points further.

Additionally, further usability studies could be completed of my high-fidelity prototypes to ensure continued user success.