Creating a viable product for the stakeholder that is user focused & responsive design.
I spent a lot of time looking at local businesses in the Prince George's County area and surrounding communities since location is extremely important for this type of business.
I was able to gather participants for the survey through nextdoor (the social media app for neighbors), which was extremely helpful in both capturing strangers & people who would be interested in the upkeep of their property.
The interviews were a mix of guerrilla and of acquaintances. The former was conducted at the local public library until I was required to leave by a librarian for solicitation.
Users follow a specific pattern in finding a contractor: 1. They use word of mouth to secure a name. 2. Visit the business to establish its legitimacy of business. 3. They will visit third-party sites for confirmation of the business. 4. Make contact with business.
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From the research, I was able to create Shelia, who's interested in hiring a painter to spruce up her house after COVID. She is wary of hiring a contractor without any history, so she asked a neighbor for a recommendation. She would like transparency throughout the hiring process and have the contractor respect her and her property.
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Since I had the potential of making the website go live, I tried to work within the boundaries of the web publishing software I would use. I wanted to make sure that all of the issues I spotted from completing the usability heuristics on the current app was corrected. From research, having an original logo for the business which would set the company apart from other competitors since the majority of small businesses (in this area) employ a generic stock logo.
Similar to the surveys, it took two tests to get sufficient results. The first test utilized remote testing with Maze and had users complete tasks and answer prompts. However, the two users who attempted the test were not successful and the remote test was scrapped.
This could be that the test was run on the free option and had limited testing blocks or that the prompts were too vague for users. The second round of prototype testing was completed using interviews over video chat and this solicited more immediate feedback and a quick turnaround with layout issues.
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A new user is checking out the business through 'About Us' and the service provided of 'Interior Painting'.
The user will use a CTA (Call To Action) and complete a contact form for the business.
The prior two flows, on mobile, illustrating the responsive design of the app.
