WOMI
The Project
WOMI is a women's safety app that uses a rating and tracking feature to let women know which places are safe and which are not. This helps other women from the dangers of targeted violence. My team wanted to create a product women can trust and rely on while prioritizing protection and knowledge.
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The Challenge
We were presented with the challenge of figuring out how to make our featured catered towards women without making it feel too restrictive or cluttered, especially in emergencies. We had a unique situation because even though there were safety apps on the market, there were no apps that were catered towards women despite the fact that their primary user base was female.
The Process
Our team was composed of four UX/UI designers working within the Goal Directed Design framework. Goal Directed design is a design method that translates the purely technical nature of products into an experience that is understandable to the layman. The overall goal of Goal Directed Design is to create a product that works in a way someone would expect. As a designer, I was responsible for conducting research, synthesizing qualitative data, wireframes, mockups and a prototype.
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis gave us an insight into what features other platforms offer, and how they approach the user journey. We focused on the full process, from signing up and creating a profile to being awarded a job.
Interview Findings
For this project, our team interviewed four women and one man from different ages, backgrounds, and locations. We asked them a series of questions related to their opinions on personal safety, their habits regarding personal safety equipment, their prior experiences, and their usage of tracking apps.
Watching after friends:
Our interviewees had a moderate likelihood to use safety apps for their friends and safety apps in general.
Some anxiety going out alone:
Our candidates only had a few times were they felt like they were in danger, but still felt a moderate anxiety going out alone.
Likely to contact emergency services:
A majority of the people interviewed felt at least a little comfortable using emergency services. There were mixed opinions on police intervening.
Not many men use safety apps:
Our interviewees were open to using a safety app with a few regularly using apps themselves. However, a majority of our candidates didn't know any men that used them.
User Personas
Melly Simmons was created from the qualitative data in our findings as well as the stories we heard from our participants. I also created a journey map to summarize the typical night out for Melly in order to get a better idea of the requirements needed for our users to benefit from our app.
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Research: "I feel comfortable when I know what to expect.", "I want to go to well established venues and spots."
Experience: "Will I feel on edge as a younger woman?", "Should I bring pepper spray?", "I want my friends to know where I am.", "What if something bad happens?", "What if I get harassed?"
Reflect: "This event was better than I thought."
Share: "I want other women to know what to expect from this place."
Based on the qualitative data gathered from interviews and the objectives created for our model user, we created a list of requirements that are needed to ensure that our model user, Melly, benefits from it.
- She expects to see her friend's location if shared
- Expects to be able to alert friends and family in a fast and efficient way
- She expects to notify her contacts whenever she feels unsafe when alone
- Melly expects to be able to contact emergency services no matter where she is on the app.
Wireframes
Wireframes allow designers to plan out the flow of an application. In Goal Directed Design, there are key path scenarios and validation scenarios. Key path scenarios describe the paths that are necessary to take in order to complete an action. Validation paths are the paths that are either optional but still add to the experience or paths that are seldomly used. The pink arrows displayed are the key paths and the blue arrows are the validation paths.
I was really passionate about the Club Ratings page and I knew it was going to be a super important part of the app, so I took the initiative to design the look and function of the page. The idea of a Yelp like page appealed to me. I also wireframed and created the layout for the crime map, a map meant to alert users of local crime reports.
Prototype
I finalized the Ratings page and the Crime/Missing Persons page.
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Outcomes
High Remarks: Showing our work to fellow designers in the room at the same time proved invaluable. We got to gage their reaction to the app we made and it was highly positive overall.
Alert Button: Most discussions in the initial phase of the project focused around the alert button. Everybody in the room saw it as a useful addition to the app, but there were concerns with potential misuse.
Online Platform: Following a successful launch, we are taking a short breather and preparing to enter into Phase 2 of the project. We plan to add a messaging feature to the platform.
Measure and Iterate: We’re tracking bug reports and collecting support tickets and user feedback to inform the next phase of the project.