Referrd
User Experience
Referrd is an upcoming business focused web app designed to help professionals and entrepreneurs network, facilitate business referrals, and access resources to make the business process easier. The aim is to create an organized platform that facilitates connections, support, and useful tools, making it easier for users to succeed.
Key Takeaways
• Responsible for user research, questionnaires, brainstorming, structuring, wireframing and prototyping of the first wave of the Referrd project.
• Discovered user needs and pain points in relation to entrepreneurship and business
• Landed on an all-in-one approach to the product from user insights
• Developed information architecture and sitemap that lead to the successful structure of the wireframes and prototype
Why Referrd?
Entrepreneurship and business can be overwhelming with the challenge of making authentic connections, accessing essential resources, and keeping things organized. Despite organizations offering funding, education, and mentorship, many are unaware of where to find the necessary support and tools to succeed. I was brought on to the Referrd team to help understand the issues many professionals face and develop solutions to the business experience through user research and product wireframes.
Goals for Referrd?
Referrd seeks to provide users the ability to network, share, work, and find resources that have oftentimes been difficult to get on their own.
My Role
UX Designer / UX Researcher
Timeline
January 2023 - February 2023
Tools
Figma, Notion
Users & Their Needs
Foundational Research
In order to gain an understanding of the users and project, I conducted preliminary research. I examined comparable products such as LinkedIn, Upwork, Facebook, and Indeed, and identified their features that aligned with our desired objectives. Additionally, I utilized the five W's and H (who, what, when, where, why, and how) to understand Referrd's objectives and goals in greater depth.
User Questionnaires
After gaining familiarity with business focused apps and their solutions, our attention shifted towards the user. We identified entrepreneurs and business owners as our target audience for user research, as the app seeks to address the challenges faced by professional minded users. Our interview objectives centered around comprehending the obstacles associated with networking, referrals, and barriers, as well as collecting input on features, tools, and resources that would benefit our users.
According to user questionnaires and research, it became evident that users encountered difficulties dealing with the overwhelming nature of business operations. Users devoted a substantial amount of time to administrative and business-related tasks, such as managing legal requirements, documentation, contracts, marketing, planning, communication, collaborative work, job seeking, and finding suitable business partners. This took them away from their entrepreneurial focus using up their time and energy. Although there are numerous apps designed to address these needs, none of them cater to this problem in a user-friendly, all encompassing solution.
Key Pain Points
• Business Administration
• Legal Needs, Documents and Contracts
• Marketing
• Planning
• Organization
• Communication
• Shared Work
• Finding Work / Finding People To Work With
• Help
• Time
How Can We Help?
Brainstorming & Diagramming
We utilized the brainstorming technique "How might we's" to come up with nuanced solutions, in addition to defining Referrd's value proposition, to generate a roster of potential features. These were subsequently incorporated into an affinity diagram to better comprehend and specify the forthcoming features.
Key Features
First Wave Features
Profiles with resume, vouches, and project history for verification
Quick sharing of profiles for fast networking
Referral group chats for seamless introductions
Chat function with voice and video components, and project chats with groups
Project pages for collaborative work
Search bar to find other users
Future Features:
Resource hub for professional guidance, job board, ESO search function.
Customizable search function that suggests the best professional match for your business needs as well as showing users in your contacts that meet those needs.
How Will It Work?
Sitemap
In order to initiate the design process for Referrd, we created an initial information architecture that outlined the structure of the product. After reviewing our list of features, we determined that our main priority would be to develop the communication, projects, contacts, and profile sections, while temporarily assigning placeholders for the resources and job acquisition sections.
User Flows
After defining the information architecture and creating a sitemap, we proceeded to plan out the initial user flows for mockups and prototyping. These user flows gave us clear direction in how Referrd would be designed and function.
Wireframes
The purpose of creating the wireframe was to visualize the product's structure and assess the functionality, interactivity, and appearance of its key features. Following several rough sketches, we settled on a straightforward design that effectively integrates all-in-one capabilities, providing users with a comprehensive professional tool in one convenient location.
Prototype
After finalizing the wireframe design, we proceeded to develop a functional prototype to gain a better understanding of the product's workflows, potential bottlenecks, and advantages. This prototype will act as the initial user test, enabling us to receive feedback on the product's direction and make necessary adjustments to enhance its performance
Feel free to go through the live prototype to your right.
Conclusion
Working on Referrd was a fantastic opportunity that allowed me to take charge of the kickoff research and wireframing aspects of the project. Subsequently, I passed on the project to another designer who will leverage my research and groundwork to take it to launch. Through research, questionnaires, and diligent planning we got a better understanding of the needs of entrepreneurs and how we can help them. Overall, working on this project was an exciting experience, and I am eager to continue honing my design skills in the field of user experience.