Initial Data Analysis:
- Identify a popular CRM and conduct a QA analysis.
- Is it easy to complete basic tasks? How many steps/swipes/clicks does it take to complete the task on a desktop computer? What about on a phone?
- I used Hub Spot as the CRM that I conducted a QA analysis on. It took me a few steps to find the reset password. Generally, with most apps I have found it difficult to navigate to find the place to reset the password.
- Are there any issues that make the app difficult to use? Can you imagine a person who might find aspects of the app inaccessible?
- I feel that the main group of people who would find it difficult to navigate would be the older generations, but that seems to be a side effect of not growing up with this kind of technology. It can be difficult to understand the icons.
- Is it easy to complete basic tasks? How many steps/swipes/clicks does it take to complete the task on a desktop computer? What about on a phone?
- Identify a target demographic and list requirements. This can be a club, your family, friends, classmates, any group that can be described with specific characteristics, such as age, interests, location, ailments, social/economic challenges, etc.
- The target demographic for my app would be people who are in long-distance relationships. This can include anyone but I would expect an age range from 18-25 years old.
- Identify at least one useability, accessibility, and/or a technical issue you will address in your design. This should come from your QA analysis.
- My main usability issue as to how to find the place to reset the password. During my QA analysis of the Hub Spot, I felt frustrated because I could not find it for a long time. It was under security and then I even needed to scroll down. Since portions of the webpage stayed in place during the scrolling process, it did not click with me that I even needed to scroll.
- Identify at least one new feature you will integrate in your design.
- My new feature includes the location of your contacts, the forums, and pinned messages. Pinned messages include specific forum messages or personal messages that the user would want to highlight. I also believe my concept for a CRM is also fairly unique.
Post Project Questions:
- What did you learn? I learned a lot from this project. I learned how difficult it is to make something, especially when uninspired. I learned to allow myself to take time and think about possible solutions. Most of my ideas came to me while I was walking. I also learned how to utilize different effects and shadows to polish the final look of my app. Before I added a shadow it looked tacky but afterward, I felt more confident in how it looked.
- What was easy? The easiest section to design was messaging. I have seen a plethora of different messaging apps and many of them are already well designed. I implemented many ideas that felt natural for me, making it the easiest.
- What was challenging? The sorting system was one of the more challenging concepts for me. My CRM is in its nature different since it is all about long-distance relationships. Because of this, it uses different groups as the main way of sorting individuals. I found it difficult to conceptualize the most straightforward sorting system for the groups I felt were most important for my CRM.
- How could your submission be improved? I really liked using components but I do not think I used them to the best of my ability. As I was working on the final touches I needed to move something that was on each frame but I did not make a component and I needed to change each frame. I also feel that with more time I would add more features to the app, especially in the menu section of it. Right now there is only a reset password feature, but with more time I would add more to the different sections of security.
- How could I improve the assignment for the next class? Like the previous question, I would add more features. I would also probably use Maze again to do some more testing to see what else I could change.
- How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? One idea that I will definitely apply is to start early. I slowly worked through ideas over the course of three weeks. Some nights were definitely longer than others but I did not feel overwhelmed closer to the deadline. I would also definitely use the component aspect of Figma. It was so nice to only need to fix one thing, and then everything else would change as well. It saved so much time and a lot of hair-pulling.
- How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you? The video that most inspired me was the Netflix movie The Social Dilemma. I wanted my CRM to be more specific for the user, with no companies for which the information is being used for. It is for the users and only the users.
- Comments:
- I have a few personal comments on my work. First of all, I would utilize version saving. I did not do it because I just counted on the autosave. The problem that occurred for me is that I changed the messaging logo but I can not show how I changed it because I did not save the earlier versions of it.
- Also, I did use AB testing at the beginning of the project. However, this was before I knew of Maze. So I just asked my friends in person. I do not have a report on it. For the most part, I used it for the color scheme. The original colors were purple and pink or green and pink. All but one of my friends chose pink and green so I continued with that.