In 2014, I was asked to redesign an existing Family Locator Mobile App.

My Roles:
UX Researcher and Lead Interaction Designer

The Unmet needs:
Parent’s anxiety when they can’t locate their children and do not know why. We need experiences that allow parents to always see their child’s location and device status at a glance.

User-Centered Discovery Process

Focus on the user's experiences, especially the emotional ones

To build empathy with users, I observed user's behaviors and drew conclusions about what people wanted and needed. Existing app was designed without user inputs. Therefore, I conducted Heuristic, Competitive Analysis, and Usability (Task) Analysis to provide comprehensive usability views of this product.

The Ethnographic Study was conducted to get a deeper insight into the parent and child’s needs for sharing location and to stay in touch.

Heuristic AnalysisI reviewed the existing product and compared the findings against Usability Principles. — **Heuristic Analysis**

I reviewed the existing product and compared the findings against Usability Principles.

Competitive AnalysisI reviewed 6 different direct competitor apps and evaluated the user experience based on the usability measurements. — **Competitive Analysis**

I reviewed 6 different direct competitor apps and evaluated the user experience based on the usability measurements.

Hybrid Ethnographic Study and Remote Video InterviewsUsing affinity diagrams method, I grouped the common behavior patterns among participants. The goal was to find relationships or themes in the research data and to uncover hidden meaning in the be… — **Hybrid Ethnographic Study and Remote Video Interviews**

Using affinity diagrams method, I grouped the common behavior patterns among participants. The goal was to find relationships or themes in the research data and to uncover hidden meaning in the behavior that was observed.

Persona Creation Map

Persona is...

• Descriptive profile that reflects a range of behaviors and attitudes
• Based on quantitative and qualitative data
• Aspirational tool for thinking through end - to - end scenarios
• Customer-connect tool to know the target user

Persona is not...

• A representation of the “average” user or middle of a curve
• Quantitative measurements of market size
• Adequate data for feature prioritization decisions

Two People, One PersonaTwo people, One persona provides a glimpse of relationships and everyday coordination of family life; a tool for thinking about scenarios, goals and motivation differences. We also observed the social circles from these p… — **Two People, One Persona**
Two people, One persona provides a glimpse of relationships and everyday coordination of family life; a tool for thinking about scenarios, goals and motivation differences. We also observed the social circles from these personas. The goal is to understand how they communicate with each other; who will be the immediate person to be contacted in the case of emergency.

A Day In The LifeThis is a type of ethnographic research in which a user is followed and observed by the researcher throughout a typical day. The researcher is able to observe moments that are so routine to the user as to be unremarkable, or even en… — **A Day In The Life**
This is a type of ethnographic research in which a user is followed and observed by the researcher throughout a typical day. The researcher is able to observe moments that are so routine to the user as to be unremarkable, or even entirely unnoticed by the user. I found that even though the mom and teen are in the same space, they hardly talk with each other. They use the phone to text and communicate.

Raw Data + Context = Insights

The Insights exercises are the most fun part of the final discovery process. We analyzed our findings and tried to answer the "why" questions. We combined what we knew about parents and kids with what we knew about ourselves. Below are the results of gathering all the data from the various research above. We came out with several challenges that we needed to tackle for design problem.

Insights StatementHere are some insight examples from our findings. We created a series of insight statements. These insights are backed with evidences we found throughout our research process. — **Insights Statement**
Here are some insight examples from our findings. We created a series of insight statements. These insights are backed with evidences we found throughout our research process.

The Ideation

"Design is always about synthesis—synthesis of market needs, technology trends, and business needs."
~ Jon Kolko

We brainstormed with the team based on what we learned from our observations and experiences. Our goal was to come up with a lot of ideas as a team.

We used INSIGHTS COMBINATION method to brainstorm.

Brainstorming - Insights CombinationThis method was built upon insights that I gathered with ethnographic research, combination with current patterns or trends. This led directly to a design idea: a new, creative concept. The whole team (Engine… — **Brainstorming - Insights Combination**
This method was built upon *insights* that I gathered with ethnographic research, combination with current patterns or trends. This led directly to a design idea: a new, creative concept. The whole team (Engineers, Product Managers, UX) divided into groups and did the exercises together. The team voted for the best concepts.

Here are the primary use cases that came out from the brainstorming:

1) Parent wants to receive notifications when child does not arrive at an expected destination.

2) Kid waiting to be picked up wants to know how long it will take for parent to arrive.

3) Kid sends a check-in when they arrive at friends houses so parents don't have to call to find out where they are.

4) Panic scenario: Driver runs out of gas or has flat tire on highway - can send a help request from app to all family members via text, email and phone call with location info and each individual who gets the message can see how long (in hours/minutes) it would take them to arrive at the location of the stranded driver.

5) Parent can add a curfew time per child to the app. If the kid is not home yet, the app would alert them when they would have to leave to get home before curfew.

The Vision

what is it?
A family focused app that provides a simple way to stay connected with loved ones throughout the day.

who is this app for?
Parents and kids

what are some guiding principles?
People First
Connected
Secured
Don’t be creepy

what is the goal of this feature?
Build a best in class experience that provides a meaningful, robust, reliable and fun toolset for enabling families to stay connected throughout their busy day.

To achieve this goal, the next generation app must be:
Responsive
Accurate
Engaging
Fun
High Quality
Unique
Grows with you

High Level Map

Design Scenarios

Defining wireframes flow and navigation based on scenarios. The flows consist of screens with all the onscreen controls required to make the product functional.