Mass Times helps Catholics find the times and locations of Masses and other worship services. They keep a crowdsourced database of parish info/schedules and are sustained by donations.
Problems
• Finding worship service times was time-consuming and difficult
• The accuracy of parish info was not trustworthy
• Users couldn't get a sense of the qualities of a parish before visiting
• The UI seemed unappealing and confusing at times
Solutions
• Additional options for filtering/sorting
• Channels for adding/updating parish information were made prominent and simple
• Tag-review system and photos in parish info pages
• Visual/UI design for currentness, clarity, and legibility
My Roles
Survey, Interviews, Wireframing, UI Design, Logo Design, Prototyping
Research
I set out to validate my assumptions that the process of searching/sorting through results was lacking and that parish information was often dated/inaccurate.
Original sites
Survey
A survey was sent out to gather information about site usage, users's experiences, and opinions.
Users...
Interviews and Affinity Diagram
I set out to learn the contexts and situations in which the site and its alternatives are used. Another focus was gathering pain points in the search process on-site and off-site.
The survey and interview results were collected into a single affinity diagram.
Pain points pertaining to Mass Times
• Lack of sorting/filtering options
• Results were hard to read and time-consuming to browse
• UI/visual design described as confusing, unpleasant, dated, or unfamiliar
• Info often missing/incorrect and users felt they had to verify accuracy
• Info often missing/incorrect and users felt they had to verify accuracy
• No indication of last update to info
Interviewees spent a lot of time describing what qualities they liked or didn't like in a Mass or parish. An unexpected set of pain points was uncovered.
General pain points
• Limited ways to get a better sense of what a parish was like
• Difficulty in finding parishes that match individual preferences
• Having a bad experience while visiting a parish
Persona and User Journeys
Two priorities emerged: the desire for specific qualities and convenience. These were translated into distinct personas with respective journey maps.
Quality-oriented Robert
Convenience-oriented Angela
Design
With user types in mind, I set out to optimize the site for convenience and to help users select a parish they would feel comfortable visiting.
Ideation
Significant features:
A Word on Reviews:
In line with user feedback, a review system employing preset tags* was developed. These made for a qualitative overview of a parish with a low abuse potential.
*Inspired by the Leafly website
Wireframes and Prototypes
Given user feedback, I wanted to test prototypes with the UI and visual design already developed.
User Testing
User tests mostly revealed flaws in the desktop design, though both sites suffered in a lack of contrast and legibility.
Final Prototypes
Notes on visual design
• Reflect a contemporary visual experience
• Logo, colors, and typography refreshed for currency
• Layout and visual hierarchy of results were modified for clarity and legibility
Final Thoughts
The design was shared with the Mass Times Trust and they are implemented aspects of it. If I had been able to test with a large number of users, I would do some card sorting in order to refine the review tags.