Overview
Chime into local conversations and find community wherever you go.
In order to enhance local engagement and foster a sense of community for individuals and businesses alike, Chime facilitates authentic connections by serving as a platform for users to easily share information, resources, and collaborate with others in a given vicinity. The goal of this product is to cultivate a new sense of belonging for individual users while redefining the way companies engage with and understand their consumers.
Role
UI/UX Design, User Research, Market Research
Tools
Figma, Miro, Photoshop
Team
Individual
Timeline
6 weeks
My Impact
Ideated, wireframed, and prototyped based on user interviews and usability testing. Developed pretotypes to evaluate usability and market demand. Established GTM strategy w/ competitive analysis.
Problem
Adjacent yet disconnected, individuals and businesses alike fail to engage in immediate local interactions, overlooking the benefits of in-person connections and genuine understanding of the community you’re in.
Challenge
How might we create an engaging and comfortable digital space that fosters immediate, local interactions among individuals and businesses to enhance community collaboration and mutual understanding?
Solution
Offer a real-time, localized communication platform that connects individuals in the same physical space to answer each other’s questions, polls, or spark conversations, facilitating the exchange of information and resources in an easy, fast paced manner.
01 User Research
Duration: 1 week
Tasks: 12 30-60 minute interviews, 3 POV’s, 15 HMW’s, challenge finalization
Problem Exploration
The chatter at a familiar coffee shop at home had been replaced by keyboard clicks, and as I sat alone in a brick room once filled with old friends, I began to question the meaning of in-person community in public spaces. Are digital interactions capable of replacing the sentimental moments of organic connections?
Needfinding
In order to truly grasp how a modern-day community views this disparity, I interviewed a wide variety of users who frequent public spaces — part-time employees, workers of diverse careers, and other students. I asked these user groups the same questions I had once asked myself:
How often do you engage with others in public spaces like coffee shops, and what usually prompts these interactions?
In what ways do you think digital interactions fall short of or surpass in-person connections within your local community?
Are there times when you’ve hesitated in reaching out to someone nearby? Why or why not?
Insights
The majority of my interviewees expressed discomfort or worry when reaching out to strangers, yet the reason was a surprise filled with insightful tensions, highlighted in separate pain points.
“I don't know when the appropriate time to talk a stranger is, and I'm scared of bothering them.”
Privacy vs. connection
How might we facilitate in-person connections between users while safeguarding their privacy and comfort?
“As a barista, I accidentally eavesdrop on so many conversations I've wanted to contribute to but I know I shouldn't.”
Desire to join vs. social norms
How might we create an environment where individuals can contribute to conversations without the boundaries of social norms?
“Starting a conversation is harder in person since there's no content you can go off of.”
Efficient vs. organic Interactions
How might we use the efficiency of digital interactions to promote in-person connections?
In-person interactions hinge on who takes the initiative first… What if we make that move for them?
These insights show that users are open to in-person connections, yet hesitate due to the fear of going against social norms. Corporations face a similar issue from a lack of local engagement between employers and consumers, where most interactions are held in formal settings, hindering a genuine sense of mutual understanding between both parties.
Combining the above HMW statements into one, we now have our product’s official challenge:
How might we create an engaging and comfortable digital space that fosters immediate, local interactions among individuals and businesses?
02 Ideation & User Testing
Duration: 2 weeks
Tasks: Solution ideation, 2 pretotypes, concept refinement
Solution ideation
I brainstormed multiple solutions in which both my target user groups, individuals and businesses, can benefit from.
After conducting 5 more interviews, this time focusing on businesses, I narrowed my brainstorming down to 3 different mediums for which the solution can operate on and analyzed their effectiveness, impact, feasibility, and novelty in the table below. The Location-Based Anonymous Forum came out on top.
However, solutions to user-centric problems aren’t always user-centric themselves.
The challenge I am attempting to answer emphasizes comfort for my users, and my solution rests upon that assumption. Am I building the right product? Are my assumptions about my users correct? Let’s test it.
Pretotyping
Working on a tight schedule, I designed pretotypes that measure market engagement and usability for no price and <30 minutes of work a day.
I will use two pretotypes to 1) evaluate usability and 2) scope out market potential, testing the following assumptions:
Individuals are more inclined to interact with strangers in public if given an engaging and comfortable medium/prompt.
Businesses are interested in fostering community within their spaces and will actively engage with customers given the platform.
Insights
Pretotype #1: One-night stand
Test: Market demand for an app to interact with strangers through a comfortable and engaging medium.
Process: 7 students living in the same dorm, all strangers to one another, are put in a group chat for 5 days. A different prompt would be issued at the beginning of each day. At the end of all 5 days, the group chat will be closed.
XYZ Hypothesis: At least 70% of students will express interest in prolonging the existence of the group chat after the 5 days are over. ✅ PASSED
Qualitative Assessment:
Strong connections made between students who were once strangers
Anonymity added excitement and confidence
Lack of commitment eased stress from typical new interactions
Varying levels of engagement between students, representing different user types of the product
Quantitative Metrics:
Participation Rate — 6/7 students texted every day
Continuation Interest Rate — 7/7 students wanted to reopen the chat
Avg. # of texts per day — ~60 total texts sent daily
# of in-person meetups — 2 b/t 4 students
Concept Refinement:
Users don’t want full anonymity after getting closer to one another → add an option for anonymity that can be turned off
Prompts played a key role in engagement → add conversation categories or tags
Users sent private messages to one another → implement a private messaging feature
Pretotype #2: Provincial
Test: Usability in terms of functionality and ease of use for business employees to engage with consumers.
Process: 4 bobaristas were tasked with writing down any announcements they’d share with consumers throughout the day for 5 days straight. The notes are relayed to customers on campus, and then returned everyday with their responses to simulate business consumer engagement.
XYZ Hypothesis: At least 75% of the boba shop employees will write at least 5 announcements down daily. ✅ PASSED
Qualitative Assessment:
Wide range of announcements from slippery floors to input on seasonal drinks
Fast and easy for employees with busy schedules
No other alternatives to communicating with consumers — novel idea
Quantitative Metrics:
Participation Rate — all 4 wrote daily announcements
Avg. # of announcements per day — ~3
# of employees that achieved XYZ hypothesis — 4
Concept Refinement:
Employee announcements should be distinguished from consumer messages → add a separate channel for business announcements
Employees sought input from consumers → implement poll features and display consumer insights for businesses
Employees seek casual engagement with consumers → allow employees to reply to regular posts in feed
After validating my assumptions, I can now commence with my product solution — Chime, a localized communication platform that connects individuals in the same physical space.
Users can answer each other’s questions, polls, or chime into local conversations, facilitating information exchange in an easy, fast paced, and comfortable manner.
03 Design Iterations
Duration: 2 weeks
Tasks: Wireframing, user flows, lo-fi to med-fi prototyping, usability testing
Task flows
In order to test our product’s efficiency in fulfilling our value proposition in a limited timeframe, Chime’s MVP focuses on the following 3 tasks:
Simple task: Join a local community and browse the feed.
Moderate task: Interact with other users in your local community by engaging with posts.
Complex task: Register a location and create your own local community.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
Medium-Fidelity Prototype
Usability testing
For my usability testing process, I added onto the above sketches and turned them into a paper prototype that users can physically tap on. By acting as a “computer”, I would flip through the printed cards to represent changing screens. The testing took place in a cafe where I randomly selected 5 participants to test on. The process included asking the participants to complete the above 3 tasks through vocal cues, thinking aloud to examine their thought processes, and a debrief on the end on functionality and features.
Insights
Usability Goals & Key Measurements:
Intuitive Navigation: Measured by number of misclicks
Task 1 (2 misclicks), Task 2 (1 misclick), Task 3 (0 misclicks)
Efficiency: Measured by amount of time to complete a task
Task 1 (54 seconds✅), Task 2 (1:24 minutes✅), Task 3 (47 seconds✅)
User Satisfaction: Measured by potential usage scale (low, medium, high)
All 5 users voted high eagerness to use in regards to each feature in the app
Changes to Design:
Home screen is not fit for scalability → remove rings and floating profile pics and replace with map of location instead to accommodate for increased users in rings and fit the aesthetic of embracing a community at a physical location
Feed page is cluttered due to filter’s drop down menu → switch to hashtags to allow for ease of use, less clutter, and clearly labeled content
Navigation bar is not necessary in feed page, post button should be clearly highlighted to fit the app’s goal of ease and quickness of use → remove navigation bar and replace with a larger “plus” symbol to post new content
04 Product Decisions and Market Strategy
Duration: 1 week
Tasks: Product decisions, GTM strategy, expansion & pricing plan, competitive analysis
Product Decisions
The major product decisions I made from design to launch are highlighted below along with the rationale. My biggest concern? Transforming Chime into a viable tool for businesses, fit with the value proposition.
#1: Data and Privacy
How do we handle anonymity while leveraging the need for moderation and community safety?
💡Decision:
Implemented a tiered anonymity system that allows users to choose their level of anonymity for each post while still providing the platform with enough information to maintain safety and community standards.
Rationale: This approach respects user privacy and preference for anonymity, but also gives the platform the ability to hold users accountable, thus safeguarding the community against abuse.
#2: User Safety and Content Management
How do we determine the type of content allowed and the processes for content review as the product expands its user base?
💡Decision:
Establish protocols for user verification (phone # verification, CAPTCHA challenges).
Regularly review and update security practices in light of new threats and ensuring compliance with industry standards like ISO/IEC 27001.
Rationale: These verification systems don’t compromise user privacy and maintains the inclusive nature of Chimezones, in which anyone in the proximity can join.
#3: Business Engagement Model
What should be included in our business analytics tools to increase business engagement?
💡Decision:
Enable businesses to generate custom reports based on specific data points they are interested in, such as engagement levels, popular topics, or demographic breakdowns.
Ensure that Chime’s business analytics can integrate smoothly with businesses’ existing CRM or data systems.
Rationale: This approach enhances business customer understanding for targeted marketing strategies, aiding informed business decisions with data-driven insights.
Chime becomes not just a tool for conversation and connection, but a strategic asset for businesses.
This last decision of providing unique local insights gives Chime a competitive edge over other communication platforms.
Competitive Analysis
A SWOT analysis and market analysis matrix shows Chime’s benefits over competitors lies in its hyperlocal community focus and business integration methods.
Market Strategies
My Go-to-Market strategy aims to acquire initial users and establish a market presence, with promotions to SMB in the area and focusing the initial launch on metropolitan areas with tech-savvy populations. I will utilize targeted social media campaigns to raise awareness and drive app downloads, focusing on the unique value proposition of hyperlocal connectivity.
Chime’s pricing adopts a freemium model where the basic app is free for consumers, with premium features available for power users or businesses. Tiered subscription plans will be used for businesses based on the size of their Chimezone and the depth of analytics required.
Chime’s B2B and B2C growth strategies aims to drive mutual growth with cross-promotion opportunities, enabling businesses on Chime to offer exclusive deals to users to encourage B2C users to frequent B2B Chimezones. The below strategies focus on Chime’s plans for each segment separately.
Product Vision
Our vision is to foster a vibrant, interactive community where individuals can connect, share, and engage with their local surroundings in real-time, wherever they go. Chime will become an essential tool for bridging online interactions with real-world community involvement, empowering businesses and consumers alike to create meaningful connections.
Through Chime, local communities will thrive, businesses will harness the power of proximity, and all users will find a sense of belonging and a shared purpose, right where they live, work, and play.
Final Reflections
On Product Development…
Balancing features with simplicity was a key challenge. I learned to prioritize functionality that directly contributed to our vision of local engagement over superfluous additions.
Design with scalability in mind. User groups and size will evolve, and design should accommodate for that.
On Market Strategy…
A collaborative economy and mutual growth for B2B and B2C segments can be prosperous.
Shared economic opportunities can be created by facilitating B2B and B2C interactions, such as joint events or local initiatives, or by encouraging B2C users to frequent B2B chimezones.