Pop-in, 2024
End to end mobile app for Pop-In: Your Pocket-Sized Networking Pal
Pop-in, 2024
End to end mobile app for Pop-In: Your Pocket-Sized Networking Pal
Pop-in, 2024
End to end mobile app for Pop-In: Your Pocket-Sized Networking Pal
My Role
User Research
Conceptualization
Design
Usability Testing
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Gemini
Zoom
Whimsical
Google Survey
Duration
4-5 Weeks
(MVP Sprint)
Screens
20 screens
Introduction
Welcome to Popin, an end-to-end mobile app designed to revolutionize networking. This case study details the agile development of Popin's Minimum Viable Product (MVP), focusing on key challenges and user-centered solutions within a rapid 4-5 week timeline.
Introduction
Welcome to Popin, an end-to-end mobile app designed to revolutionize networking. This case study details the agile development of Popin's Minimum Viable Product (MVP), focusing on key challenges and user-centered solutions within a rapid 4-5 week timeline.
Introduction
Welcome to Popin, an end-to-end mobile app designed to revolutionize networking. This case study details the agile development of Popin's Minimum Viable Product (MVP), focusing on key challenges and user-centered solutions within a rapid 4-5 week timeline.
Background
Understanding the Networking Challenge
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Background
Understanding the Networking Challenge
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Background
Understanding the Networking Challenge
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Defining the Problem
Why traditional networking falls short
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Defining the Problem
Why traditional networking falls short
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Defining the Problem
Why traditional networking falls short
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Difficulty in finding individuals with shared interests and professional goals.
“Identifying Relevant Connections”
“breaking the ice”
Challenges in initiating conversations and building rapport with strangers.
“Inefficient Follow-Up”
Difficulty in maintaining connections and following up with potential contacts.
Difficulty in finding individuals with shared interests and professional goals.
“Identifying Relevant Connections”
“breaking the ice”
Challenges in initiating conversations and building rapport with strangers.
“Inefficient Follow-Up”
Difficulty in maintaining connections and following up with potential contacts.
Difficulty in finding individuals with shared interests and professional goals.
“Identifying Relevant Connections”
“breaking the ice”
Challenges in initiating conversations and building rapport with strangers.
“Inefficient Follow-Up”
Difficulty in maintaining connections and following up with potential contacts.
User Research
Findings from User Interviews
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
User Research
Findings from User Interviews
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
User Research
Findings from User Interviews
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Key Findings
Inefficient Follow-Up: Maintaining connections and following up with new contacts can be time-consuming and inefficient. Without proper tools and strategies, relationships may fade quickly.
Privacy Concerns: Sharing personal information with strangers can be a concern for many individuals. This can hinder the ability to build trust and establish meaningful connections.
Overwhelming Crowds:
Large-scale events can be overwhelming, with crowds that make it difficult to identify and connect with relevant individuals. This can lead to superficial interactions and wasted time.
Lack of Personalization: Traditional networking events often lack personalization, making it challenging to find connections that align with specific interests and goals.
Key Findings
Inefficient Follow-Up: Maintaining connections and following up with new contacts can be time-consuming and inefficient. Without proper tools and strategies, relationships may fade quickly.
Privacy Concerns: Sharing personal information with strangers can be a concern for many individuals. This can hinder the ability to build trust and establish meaningful connections.
Overwhelming Crowds:
Large-scale events can be overwhelming, with crowds that make it difficult to identify and connect with relevant individuals. This can lead to superficial interactions and wasted time.
Lack of Personalization: Traditional networking events often lack personalization, making it challenging to find connections that align with specific interests and goals.
Key Findings
Inefficient Follow-Up: Maintaining connections and following up with new contacts can be time-consuming and inefficient. Without proper tools and strategies, relationships may fade quickly.
Privacy Concerns: Sharing personal information with strangers can be a concern for many individuals. This can hinder the ability to build trust and establish meaningful connections.
Overwhelming Crowds:
Large-scale events can be overwhelming, with crowds that make it difficult to identify and connect with relevant individuals. This can lead to superficial interactions and wasted time.
Lack of Personalization: Traditional networking events often lack personalization, making it challenging to find connections that align with specific interests and goals.
Competitive Analysis
Learning from Existing Platforms
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Competitive Analysis
Learning from Existing Platforms
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Competitive Analysis
Learning from Existing Platforms
Smaller, intimate events like industry meetups or workshops can still present challenges for attendees looking to build meaningful connections. Traditional networking methods, while effective in smaller settings, may not always facilitate efficient and personalized interactions.
Strengths: Massive user base, strong search, and focus on professional development.
Weaknesses: Can be overwhelming for casual networking.
Opportunities: Expand to include more casual networking features.
EVENTBRITE
Strengths: Large database of events, easy event discovery.
Weaknesses: Limited networking features.
Opportunities: Enhance networking capabilities, integrate with professional platforms.
MEETUP
Strengths: Strong community focus, in-person interactions.
Weaknesses: Limited professional networking features.
Opportunities: Expand features to support professional networking, improve event discovery.
Strengths: Massive user base, strong search, and focus on professional development.
Weaknesses: Can be overwhelming for casual networking.
Opportunities: Expand to include more casual networking features.
EVENTBRITE
Strengths: Large database of events, easy event discovery.
Weaknesses: Limited networking features.
Opportunities: Enhance networking capabilities, integrate with professional platforms.
MEETUP
Strengths: Strong community focus, in-person interactions.
Weaknesses: Limited professional networking features.
Opportunities: Expand features to support professional networking, improve event discovery.
Strengths: Massive user base, strong search, and focus on professional development.
Weaknesses: Can be overwhelming for casual networking.
Opportunities: Expand to include more casual networking features.
EVENTBRITE
Strengths: Large database of events, easy event discovery.
Weaknesses: Limited networking features.
Opportunities: Enhance networking capabilities, integrate with professional platforms.
MEETUP
Strengths: Strong community focus, in-person interactions.
Weaknesses: Limited professional networking features.
Opportunities: Expand features to support professional networking, improve event discovery.
Meet Our User
Alex: A tech-savvy engineer
For PopIn's MVP, developed within a tight 4-5 week timeframe, Alex was the clear choice for our single user persona due to his direct alignment with the app's core value proposition.
As a marketing manager struggling with traditional networking, Alex's need for a personalized app allowed us to focus intently on solving a specific, critical problem. This singular focus enabled ruthless feature prioritization, ensured efficient resource allocation, and facilitated rapid iteration through clear, actionable feedback. Ultimately, prioritizing Alex allowed us to build a lean, impactful MVP that validated Popin's core concept, providing a strong foundation for future growth.
Meet Our User
Alex: A tech-savvy engineer
For PopIn's MVP, developed within a tight 4-5 week timeframe, Alex was the clear choice for our single user persona due to his direct alignment with the app's core value proposition.
As a marketing manager struggling with traditional networking, Alex's need for a personalized app allowed us to focus intently on solving a specific, critical problem. This singular focus enabled ruthless feature prioritization, ensured efficient resource allocation, and facilitated rapid iteration through clear, actionable feedback. Ultimately, prioritizing Alex allowed us to build a lean, impactful MVP that validated Popin's core concept, providing a strong foundation for future growth.
Redefining the Problem
“How might we create an engaging networking app that allows Alex to efficiently connect with like-minded individuals and discover relevant opportunities without it being overwhelming?”
Redefining the Problem
“How might we create an engaging networking app that allows Alex to efficiently connect with like-minded individuals and discover relevant opportunities without it being overwhelming?”
Redefining the Problem
“How might we create an engaging networking app that allows Alex to efficiently connect with like-minded individuals and discover relevant opportunities without it being overwhelming?”
FEATURE ROADMAP
Key functionalities for PopIn
Profile Builder and Recommendations: Users can create detailed profiles and receive tailored recommendations based on their interests and goals.
Cross-Platform Integration: Seamlessly syncs with other apps like LinkedIn, Google Calendar, and WhatsApp for easy event management.
Social Features: Follow friends, comment on posts, and participate in icebreaker activities to foster community and engagement.
Check-ins and Profile Matching: Make the networking experience engaging with check-ins and profile matching to motivate users and help them make better connections.
Smart Recommendations: Leverage AI to suggest relevant events and connections, saving time and effort.
These key functionalities were prioritized to ensure PopIn's MVP immediately addressed Alex's central networking frustrations. Our focus was on empowering him to effortlessly discover highly relevant opportunities, seamlessly integrate with his existing tools, and easily forge meaningful, engaging connections.
By concentrating on features that deliver immediate personalized value and enhance efficiency, we aimed to prove Popin's core utility and create a truly indispensable "pocket-sized networking pal" from its initial launch.
Profile Builder and Recommendations: Users can create detailed profiles and receive tailored recommendations based on their interests and goals.
Cross-Platform Integration: Seamlessly syncs with other apps like LinkedIn, Google Calendar, and WhatsApp for easy event management.
Social Features: Follow friends, comment on posts, and participate in icebreaker activities to foster community and engagement.
Check-ins and Profile Matching: Make the networking experience engaging with check-ins and profile matching to motivate users and help them make better connections.
Smart Recommendations: Leverage AI to suggest relevant events and connections, saving time and effort.
These key functionalities were prioritized to ensure PopIn's MVP immediately addressed Alex's central networking frustrations. Our focus was on empowering him to effortlessly discover highly relevant opportunities, seamlessly integrate with his existing tools, and easily forge meaningful, engaging connections.
By concentrating on features that deliver immediate personalized value and enhance efficiency, we aimed to prove Popin's core utility and create a truly indispensable "pocket-sized networking pal" from its initial launch.
FEATURE ROADMAP
Key functionalities for PopIn
Profile Builder and Recommendations: Users can create detailed profiles and receive tailored recommendations based on their interests and goals.
Cross-Platform Integration: Seamlessly syncs with other apps like LinkedIn, Google Calendar, and WhatsApp for easy event management.
Social Features: Follow friends, comment on posts, and participate in icebreaker activities to foster community and engagement.
Check-ins and Profile Matching: Make the networking experience engaging with check-ins and profile matching to motivate users and help them make better connections.
Smart Recommendations: Leverage AI to suggest relevant events and connections, saving time and effort.
These key functionalities were prioritized to ensure PopIn's MVP immediately addressed Alex's central networking frustrations. Our focus was on empowering him to effortlessly discover highly relevant opportunities, seamlessly integrate with his existing tools, and easily forge meaningful, engaging connections.
By concentrating on features that deliver immediate personalized value and enhance efficiency, we aimed to prove Popin's core utility and create a truly indispensable "pocket-sized networking pal" from its initial launch.
Profile Builder and Recommendations: Users can create detailed profiles and receive tailored recommendations based on their interests and goals.
Cross-Platform Integration: Seamlessly syncs with other apps like LinkedIn, Google Calendar, and WhatsApp for easy event management.
Social Features: Follow friends, comment on posts, and participate in icebreaker activities to foster community and engagement.
Check-ins and Profile Matching: Make the networking experience engaging with check-ins and profile matching to motivate users and help them make better connections.
Smart Recommendations: Leverage AI to suggest relevant events and connections, saving time and effort.
These key functionalities were prioritized to ensure PopIn's MVP immediately addressed Alex's central networking frustrations. Our focus was on empowering him to effortlessly discover highly relevant opportunities, seamlessly integrate with his existing tools, and easily forge meaningful, engaging connections.
By concentrating on features that deliver immediate personalized value and enhance efficiency, we aimed to prove Popin's core utility and create a truly indispensable "pocket-sized networking pal" from its initial launch.
User Flow Scenarios
Mapping the user experience
Scenario:
Alex, eager to network with investors and startups, uses Popin to find relevant events. He discovers an "Investors & Startups Networking" event and explores the profiles of attendees who've RSVP'd. Seeing promising connections, Alex signs up and shares the event with friends.
Use Case:
This user flow illustrates how Popin helps users like Alex discover and engage with relevant networking events. By visualizing the steps, we can identify pain points and opportunities for improvement in the user experience.
User Flow Scenarios
Mapping the user experience
Scenario:
Alex, eager to network with investors and startups, uses Popin to find relevant events. He discovers an "Investors & Startups Networking" event and explores the profiles of attendees who've RSVP'd. Seeing promising connections, Alex signs up and shares the event with friends.
Use Case:
This user flow illustrates how Popin helps users like Alex discover and engage with relevant networking events. By visualizing the steps, we can identify pain points and opportunities for improvement in the user experience.
User Flow Scenarios
Mapping the user experience
Scenario:
Alex, eager to network with investors and startups, uses Popin to find relevant events. He discovers an "Investors & Startups Networking" event and explores the profiles of attendees who've RSVP'd. Seeing promising connections, Alex signs up and shares the event with friends.
Use Case:
This user flow illustrates how Popin helps users like Alex discover and engage with relevant networking events. By visualizing the steps, we can identify pain points and opportunities for improvement in the user experience.
Initial Design Concepts
Low-Fidelity Sketches
The low-fidelity wireframes showcase key screens for Popin's user experience. They prioritize event discovery, engagement, and networking features with various categories, detailed event pages, attendee profiles, and personalized recommendations.
Initial Design Concepts
Low-Fidelity Sketches
The low-fidelity wireframes showcase key screens for Popin's user experience. They prioritize event discovery, engagement, and networking features with various categories, detailed event pages, attendee profiles, and personalized recommendations.
Initial Design Concepts
Low-Fidelity Sketches
The low-fidelity wireframes showcase key screens for Popin's user experience. They prioritize event discovery, engagement, and networking features with various categories, detailed event pages, attendee profiles, and personalized recommendations.
Defining the app's visual identity
PopIn Style Guide
The style guide for Popin prioritizes a clean and intuitive design. By using a minimal color palette and clear typography, we aim to reduce cognitive load. The addition of subtle visual elements like playful icons adds personality to the app without overwhelming the user. This approach aligns with our goal of making Pop-in a welcoming space for introverted individuals to connect and network.
Defining the app's visual identity
PopIn Style Guide
The style guide for Popin prioritizes a clean and intuitive design. By using a minimal color palette and clear typography, we aim to reduce cognitive load. The addition of subtle visual elements like playful icons adds personality to the app without overwhelming the user. This approach aligns with our goal of making Pop-in a welcoming space for introverted individuals to connect and network.
Defining the app's visual identity
PopIn Style Guide
The style guide for Popin prioritizes a clean and intuitive design. By using a minimal color palette and clear typography, we aim to reduce cognitive load. The addition of subtle visual elements like playful icons adds personality to the app without overwhelming the user. This approach aligns with our goal of making Pop-in a welcoming space for introverted individuals to connect and network.
Visualizing the app's structure
High-Fidelity Wireframes
The high-fidelity wireframes prioritized a clean, intuitive design with a card-based layout, minimal color palette, and playful icons, ensuring clarity and ease of use for the MVP's core functionalities.
The use of playful icons and social features like the "Heart" button adds a touch of personality and encourages interaction. These design choices aim to create a welcoming and inclusive platform for overwhelmed users, making it easier for them to navigate the app and connect with like-minded individuals.
Visualizing the app's structure
High-Fidelity Wireframes
The high-fidelity wireframes prioritized a clean, intuitive design with a card-based layout, minimal color palette, and playful icons, ensuring clarity and ease of use for the MVP's core functionalities.
The use of playful icons and social features like the "Heart" button adds a touch of personality and encourages interaction. These design choices aim to create a welcoming and inclusive platform for overwhelmed users, making it easier for them to navigate the app and connect with like-minded individuals.
Visualizing the app's structure
High-Fidelity Wireframes
The high-fidelity wireframes prioritized a clean, intuitive design with a card-based layout, minimal color palette, and playful icons, ensuring clarity and ease of use for the MVP's core functionalities.
The use of playful icons and social features like the "Heart" button adds a touch of personality and encourages interaction. These design choices aim to create a welcoming and inclusive platform for overwhelmed users, making it easier for them to navigate the app and connect with like-minded individuals.
Evaluating user experience
Usability Testing
A usability test was conducted to evaluate the user experience of the Pop-In app. Participants were tasked with discovering events, matching with other attendees, and checking into events.
Key Insights:
Event Discovery: Users found the event discovery process intuitive and easy to navigate. However, some users expressed a desire to see their personalized preferences that influenced the recommended events.
Profile Matching: The tag-based matching system was well-received, but the color scheme could be improved for better clarity.
Event Check-In: The check-in process was smooth and efficient.
Overall, the Pop-In app offers a positive user experience. By addressing minor issues like the color scheme and potentially simplifying the pricing information, the app can further enhance its usability. Additionally, providing more transparency into the personalization algorithm can improve user satisfaction.
Evaluating user experience
Usability Testing
A usability test was conducted to evaluate the user experience of the Pop-In app. Participants were tasked with discovering events, matching with other attendees, and checking into events.
Key Insights:
Event Discovery: Users found the event discovery process intuitive and easy to navigate. However, some users expressed a desire to see their personalized preferences that influenced the recommended events.
Profile Matching: The tag-based matching system was well-received, but the color scheme could be improved for better clarity.
Event Check-In: The check-in process was smooth and efficient.
Overall, the Pop-In app offers a positive user experience. By addressing minor issues like the color scheme and potentially simplifying the pricing information, the app can further enhance its usability. Additionally, providing more transparency into the personalization algorithm can improve user satisfaction.
Evaluating user experience
Usability Testing
A usability test was conducted to evaluate the user experience of the Pop-In app. Participants were tasked with discovering events, matching with other attendees, and checking into events.
Key Insights:
Event Discovery: Users found the event discovery process intuitive and easy to navigate. However, some users expressed a desire to see their personalized preferences that influenced the recommended events.
Profile Matching: The tag-based matching system was well-received, but the color scheme could be improved for better clarity.
Event Check-In: The check-in process was smooth and efficient.
Overall, the Pop-In app offers a positive user experience. By addressing minor issues like the color scheme and potentially simplifying the pricing information, the app can further enhance its usability. Additionally, providing more transparency into the personalization algorithm can improve user satisfaction.
refining the Design
Design Revisions
Based on the testing insights, design revisions were made to make the design interface more intuitive and user friendly.
refining the Design
Design Revisions
Based on the testing insights, design revisions were made to make the design interface more intuitive and user friendly.
refining the Design
Design Revisions
Based on the testing insights, design revisions were made to make the design interface more intuitive and user friendly.
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Final touches
Final Prototype
The high-fidelity prototypes showcase Popin's approach to personalized event discovery, attendee matching, and connection building, empowering users to navigate networking events with ease and confidence.
Through the creation of these high-fidelity prototypes for Popin, I gained valuable insights into the intricacies of user interface design and the importance of iterative design.
Final touches
Final Prototype
The high-fidelity prototypes showcase Popin's approach to personalized event discovery, attendee matching, and connection building, empowering users to navigate networking events with ease and confidence.
Through the creation of these high-fidelity prototypes for Popin, I gained valuable insights into the intricacies of user interface design and the importance of iterative design.
Final touches
Final Prototype
The high-fidelity prototypes showcase Popin's approach to personalized event discovery, attendee matching, and connection building, empowering users to navigate networking events with ease and confidence.
Through the creation of these high-fidelity prototypes for Popin, I gained valuable insights into the intricacies of user interface design and the importance of iterative design.
The prototype showcases how Popin uses personalized recommendations to help users discover relevant events, fostering a more engaging and efficient networking experience.
The second prototype demonstrates how Popin leverages personalized matching to facilitate meaningful connections between attendees, enhancing the overall networking experience at events.
The third prototype showcases how Popin seamlessly integrates event check-in, attendee discovery, and connection features, enabling users to maximize their networking potential.
closing notes
Conclusion
Working with a Startup: This project highlighted the rapid pace of development, the need for flexibility, and the importance of user-centered design in a dynamic startup environment.
High-Fidelity Prototypes: The final prototypes demonstrate Popin's approach to personalized event discovery, attendee matching, and connection building, showcasing the MVP's core features designed to empower users.
Iterative Design & Revisions: Design revisions were continuously made based on testing insights to make the interface more intuitive, reflecting our agile approach to development.
The Popin app delivers a positive user experience, empowering users in networking through personalized recommendations, intuitive interfaces, and social integration. This MVP successfully validated our core hypotheses and established a strong foundation for future development.
closing notes
Conclusion
Through the design and development of the Popin app, we aimed to revolutionize the networking experience for our target audience. By focusing on personalized recommendations, intuitive user interfaces, and seamless social integration, we were able to create a platform that empowers users to connect with like-minded individuals and build meaningful relationships.
Working with a startup provided invaluable insights into the agile development process and the importance of iterative design. The rapid pace of development necessitated flexibility and a willingness to adapt to changing requirements. Additionally, the close collaboration with cross-functional teams fostered a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
Through this experience, I learned the importance of user-centered design and the value of conducting thorough user research to inform design decisions.
closing notes
Conclusion
Working with a Startup: This project highlighted the rapid pace of development, the need for flexibility, and the importance of user-centered design in a dynamic startup environment.
High-Fidelity Prototypes: The final prototypes demonstrate Popin's approach to personalized event discovery, attendee matching, and connection building, showcasing the MVP's core features designed to empower users.
Iterative Design & Revisions: Design revisions were continuously made based on testing insights to make the interface more intuitive, reflecting our agile approach to development.
The Popin app delivers a positive user experience, empowering users in networking through personalized recommendations, intuitive interfaces, and social integration. This MVP successfully validated our core hypotheses and established a strong foundation for future development.