The client, a leading event management platform, sought to expand into the mobile space based on user feedback indicating a high demand for a more mobile-friendly solution.
Our design approach began with a comprehensive UX audit to evaluate the current user experience and identify key pain points for both event organizers and volunteers. The goal was to enhance usability and improve engagement, making the platform accessible and efficient on mobile devices.
Audit
Experience and Usability Audit
To ensure we created a solution that met the needs of both users and the business, we conducted a thorough audit and research phase, which included:
- Heuristic Evaluation: A systematic review of the existing interface to identify usability flaws.
- User Interviews: Engaging directly with users to uncover challenges and gather feedback on current pain points.
- Google Analytics Review: Analyzing user behavior and drop-off points to identify areas for improvement.
- SurveyMonkey User Surveys: Collecting quantitative data on user satisfaction and needs.
- Eye Tracking and Click Tracking: Using heatmaps and analytics to pinpoint areas of confusion and high drop-off rates.
Research
Research Insights
Key Findings
- Mobile-First Usage: Over 80% of users accessed the platform via mobile, highlighting the urgent need for a mobile-optimized solution.
- Usability Issues: A significant number of users were unable to complete tasks like creating profiles due to interface problems, directly affecting user engagement and retention.
- High Drop-Off Rates: Analytics revealed key friction points in the ticket purchasing and check-in flows that contributed to a high user drop-off rate, which were tracked and analyzed to inform design improvements.
Project Goals
- Enhance Mobile Experience: Streamline the mobile experience for organization admins, enabling them to monitor events and volunteer engagements effectively on the go.
- Ticketing Solution: Develop a solution for ticket scanning at event entry, ensuring a smooth, efficient check-in process.
Building on our research insights, we identified the primary needs of our two key user groups: smaller organizations and larger organizations.
- Smaller Organizations: Needed a simple solution that acted as a list of all ticket purchasers, allowing for manual look-up and easy access to essential attendee data.
- Larger Organizations: Required a fast, secure, and efficient way to check-in large groups of individuals, ensuring smooth event operations.
To address these needs, we designed a flexible ticket scanning flow that accommodated both user types. This feature allowed real-time syncing across multiple devices, ensuring that multiple check-ins could be performed simultaneously without any lag or discrepancies.
Solution
Automating Time Cards: Reducing User and Admin Pain Points
A common pain point uncovered during user research was the time tracking process, which was cumbersome for both volunteers and administrators. Volunteers often forgot to log their hours, and admins struggled to manage and verify time entries. The manual process led to frustration and inefficiencies.
To address this, we introduced automated geo-zone clock-in and clock-out prompts, which allowed volunteers to clock in automatically based on their location. This feature ensured more accurate time tracking and saved volunteers and administrators time by reducing manual inputs.
Benefits:
- Precise Timekeeping: Automated prompts for clocking in and out helped eliminate errors and saved time for volunteers.
- Improved Scheduling: By syncing time tracking data directly with volunteer schedules, we provided admins with real-time visibility into volunteer hours.
Solution
Managing Volunteer Schedules and Hour Tracking
We identified another critical user challenge in the volunteer scheduling system. The current system required admins to manually review time entries on a desktop, and any adjustments had to be made after the volunteer had completed their shift. This caused delays and added unnecessary complexity.
To solve this, we developed real-time scheduling and time tracking features that allowed admins to:
- Review and adjust schedules on-the-fly from any device.
- Sync the app directly with users’ preferred calendar apps, eliminating the need for duplicate entry and simplifying schedule management for both admins and volunteers.
Results:
- Reduced Friction: Simplified workflows allowed for smoother time tracking and schedule management.
- Increased Efficiency: The ability to make real-time adjustments and sync with external calendars streamlined operations, saving time for both users and admins.
Result
The redesign significantly improved the mobile experience, leading to measurable improvements in user engagement
- Increased Volunteer Sign-Ups: A more intuitive onboarding process led to higher volunteer registration and participation.
- Faster Check-In: The new ticket scanning flow reduced wait times at event entrances, improving the overall attendee experience.
- Improved Time Tracking: Automated time card tracking reduced manual errors and streamlined administrative tasks.
By focusing on user feedback and leveraging agile, iterative design, we created a mobile-first solution that addressed the unique needs of both event organizers and volunteers. The redesigned platform not only increased engagement but also reduced operational friction, enabling a seamless event experience from ticket purchase to check-in and volunteer hour management.
