ONE BOX
( DEDICATED MOBILE APPLICATION DESIGN )
One-Box Project Vision
One-box is a dedicated mobile application, designed to simplify the lives of residents of one-builders in Gurgaon by allowing the residents to schedule the visitors in advance and it also simplify the work load of security personnel of one-box condominium by providing digital way of verifying visitors data and digital signature . This app primarily aim to fix the gap in between society residents and the visitors.
Project Goals
- Identify the problems an user facing while scheduling a visitors.
- The challenges a security personnel facing while verifying the visitors data and signature.
- Providing user an option to scheduling a visitors in advance.
- Providing digital mode of data verification and digital signature mode for visitors.
The Challenges
- Providing easy and quick date picking facility from the calendar for scheduling the visit.
- providing easiest way to verify the data of visitors by security personnel.
- Providing digital signature facility for visitors for quick verification.
- Notification option for residents when any of the visitors arrived or verified by the security personnel.
Kickoff
Before starting the project, i have asked myself few questions for better understanding of the entire project,
- Who is the user?
- What are the users want and needs from my platform?
- What are the user’s capabilities, skills and available technology?
- What features would make the user’s experience easier & better?
- How large is the scope of one-box application among the one-builder society?
- What will be my role during the entire project?
My Responsibilities
As a lead UX designer at One-box application design project i have more responsibilities towards the entire project but some of them are stated below,
- Conducting the user research.
- Interviewing the participants.
- Creating both paper and digital wireframe.
- Creating prototype.
- Conducting usability studies.
- Finalizing the design.
- Iterating the design.
- Handing over the project to developer team.
Research Summary
- For this project, we were looking to understand and report on user’s mental modes while they got again and again call from one-builder’s security personal while any visitors made a visit. In this particular research summary, i give an overall impression of the interview and draw parallels from other sessions.
I was sent these out before a team synthesis sessions so colleagues can understand the themes and highlights but come to their conclusions on the next steps.
- Date – 10/05/2022
- Desktop/Mobile – Mobile
- persona – Akash
- Duration – 20 – 30 minutes each
- Place – Remote
- Relevant squads mentioned – Searching,Scheduling & Visiting.
- Can you please tell me about your professional background?
- How often did you staying in this society?
- Why did you want an application for one-builders?
- How many times per week, you call on any visitors to your house?
- Why did you need scheduling any visitors in advance?
- How did you feel if security personnel call you again and again during visitor’s verification process?
- Please rate the usability design process.
- Do you want to give any suggestion?
- How long did you serve in this society?
- How is your duty hours during verifying visitors data and signature?
- How did you feel for current verification facility(paper and pen verification)?
- How did you feel if verification mode turn digitally?
- Please rate the usability design process.
- Do you want to give any suggestion?
Problem and Goal statement
Statement of concern including of problem and goal statement for One-box application design. After researching the user with possible research questions and creating persona, now its time to identify the user problems that need to be solved as a UX designer. I have created the problem statement for both the persona as they represented the large group of users.
- Problem statement for persona 1 – “Aman is a php developer who needs an option to schedule visitor in advance and getting message notification instead of call, when any visitors has been arrived because he can do his work freely without any call disturbance.”
- Problem statement for persona 2 – “Akash is a security guard who needs an option to verifying the visitors data digitally because he can save his time and workload.”
Competitive Analysis
Prioritization Plotting
Process flow of Application Screen
Ideation Principle
After completion of problem and goal statement now its time to put the problem into initial phase of design, by various techniques. Primarily i have used pen and paper to draw the possible solutions to user’s problem.
- The first technique i was used is the big picture analysis, where i was put the overall possible solutions into a mobile frame, which means all the screen flow were represented accordingly from scheduling a visitor to getting the verification notification.
- The second technique i was used is the closeup principle, where the in depth details of every features was placed accordingly with details of option for scheduling, date picking, entry of data of visitors, sending notification to security department, verifying the visitors data, entry of digital signature and notification after any visitors have successfully verified.
- The third principle i was used is the crazy 8 principle, where the most valuable top 8 screen according to main priority was placed starting from scheduling a visitors to getting verification notification.
- Pen and paper is the primary tool for design the idea, which can print the idea into mobile first design.
- Here I sued mobile-first design principles to create paper wire frame with constant layouts and grid value in order to get correct alignment among the elements.
- By using mobile centered design i was created more than 20 screen for particular problem.
- From there I was sorted them according to the user priority which must solve the problem of user.
Digital Wireframe
Final Mockups
Prototype
Challenges I was faced & the way to overcome it
Challenge - 1
Providing easy and quick way to picking date
- As this application lead user by scheduling the visitors in advance on a single click option from calendar. So it was a big challenge for me to add simple calendar with current date, month and year.
- I have added the swipe facility to calendar so that user can swipe and then pick any date as per their needs.
Challenge - 2
On-board One-box with digital data verification
- One-box application is fully digitized, hence after scheduling a visitor, it’s time to verifying the user data with a digital signature facility so that visitor’s can verified quickly and easily.
- I have added five data input field to match the resident’s input data correspondingly with an option to entry of digital signature.
Challenge - 3
Providing notification to resident & security
- There must be a notification facility to both the resident’s and security personnel.
- One notification will be send to security personnel when residents scheduling a visit.
- Another notification will be send to residents when any visitors successfully verified by the security personnel.
What I have learned from this project?
I’ve been working as UX designer with more than 5 real projects with in 1.5 years. I still have quite a ways to go in term of skills and experience, but U try me best !! It was intimidating at first, so i hope that some of these pointers can help those of you starting out in a similar positions. The learning parameter are stated below,
- I don’t get too attached to my work
Have you ever spent a really long time getting a design just right? Then, after presenting to the client/your boss/ whomever, you’re left wondering what semblance of your original design is left?
Its fine, I promise.
My first idea for One-Box design is probably never going to look like the end result.in fact, it’s likely to be better because it’s been refined by another set of eyes. There will be many iterations behind the final draft of One-box that never see the light of day and I’m going to have to come to terms with letting them go.
- Learned to accept constructive criticism
Just as I could not get too attached to my work because it will be changing, i should be changing too. While I may never view teased bangs as being in fashion, there have been a lot of things I’ve made in the past that I thought were top-notch, only to come back and wonder why i even thought that was acceptable.
I would have never gotten to that point if someone didn’t tell me about One-Box, that my layout was odd or that color palette was clashing. Swallow your pride and accept the criticism with grace.
Besides, it creates a challenge to “wow” the particularly hard -to-please critic. I carefully considered what they’ve said, make some changes, come back strong the next round. And lastly, I don’t take things personally, otherwise i may waste time fretting over the fear of failure rather than facing the challenge.
- Don’t be afraid to challenge ideas
Now, while you should open to feedback, that isn’t to say that you should agree with everything. If you can explain your reasoning, your team will be more likely to see the usability behind something rather than just the aesthetics. however, if the other side can make a stronger argument, then treat them with the same respect and concede.
The nature of being on a team, especially members with design experience, is that you will have very different opinions coming from all sorts of the direction. you can not please everyone so don’t exhaust yourself doing so.
So what about the client? You can disagree with them,. but handle it delicately, which leads up to high fay.
- Goal is to tell the customer what they want, not what you want
You have to listen to what the user or visitors have to say. Even if you think your way is better, you’re going to pick your battles. Save it for something big or urgent, and make sure to explain why you believe it would be better for the client. You’re more likely to convince someone to agree with you if you can explain how the solution benefits them. The project, no matter how much you love it, wasn’t made for you. i t was made for the client.
Here in One-Box application design i listen to all the user and visitors and their advice for being iteration which tends me easy to understand their problem and a way to solve that problem. So go a step further, and try to anticipate the client’s needs before they even know it. you shouldn’t only be analyzing your users, but also your client!
- Technology is always changing. Just keep up with the basics
For every project I have worked on, I’ve had to download some new version of control manager or collaborative tool. And that this particular technology is the end all, be all.
And in a few months, something else will come along and will be the hot new thing. Don’t strain yourself to keep up with every new tools on the market; stick with two or three that you really like. Of course , be willing to learn on the job, but don’t freak out when you don’t know the XYZ program that ABC company is using. most programs are going to have similar functions that you already know, and you always have YouTube to figure out how to access those functions. Just find a tool set you feel comfortable using for brainstorming, wire-framing, high fidelity, prototyping and sharing. You don’t need a different tool for each of those either.
Personally, I like Figma at One-Box, which i use for both wire-framing and high fidelity designs. Figma has a neat collaboration features!! For prototyping. I’m still exploring around, but I like Adobe XD for quick linking and quick re design.
- Give yourself time to relax and figure out how to get out of a creative slump
I wish i had the ability to flip the creative switch ON/OFF at command, but sadly, I don’t. It comes and goes in waves, where I catch one for a every productive afternoon or I stare blankly at the screen wishing for some idea to epiphany itself in front of me.
Aside from just visiting sites like Dribble or Behance for inspiration, I also like to take some time to physically sketch. It’s a little sloppy, but allows me to quickly move from one idea to next. Sometimes, it’s a break from the computer screen that i need too.
Give yourself little breaks in-between work if you can: watch a quick video, listen to a podcast, read a sub-reddit, write a blog, etc. And while you’re working, identify and limit your personal distractions. For example, I can’t listen to music with lyrics in them because I’ll start focusing on them instead.
One-box design project seems really big and daunting, I break it down into smaller and manageable chunks. Its okay if I don’t finish everything at once, but i do have goal set for the day to accomplish!! It’ll keep me accountable and still move the project along even while it’s slow.
- It’s going to be a battle for that first release, but it’s so worth it !
It will be a very rewarding day when your project gets released to the public. Once it finally comes around, so you’ll have to be patient.
When in first got to One-Box design, I was put on a re-design project, which i worked on past. now, not all projects are like that of course, but when the main designs are finished, it’s sent to development team and that can sometimes take a while. plus, you’ll have to come back and patch up the things you missed (like creating the copy for an information section which, at the time, you thought “Ah, someone else will do that” – thanks, past-me!)
But, there will come a point where you get to show off your design to someone, whether it’s to your manager or your family member or the client and they are ecstatic with the results. And you’ll be so happy too that you’ll temporarily forget about all the hardships that went into making the design! not to sound too cliche, but if you’re in a design career, shouldn’t seeing others appreciate your work make you happy? You did that. you thought it up, designed it, re-designed it, and gave it that final dusting before handling over it off.
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