1 - Product Discovery

Brainstorming

Commencing the Connexall project, the initial phase focused on product discovery through intensive brainstorming sessions. Joining forces with the project owner, who was based in Canada, we engaged in regular Skype meetings to unravel the core ideas and intentions behind the project.

The outcome of these brainstorming sessions materialized into a visionary concept: a global top menu facilitating basic navigation, a profile area on the right suggesting apps based on user interactions, and a left-side list of apps. The central area, contingent on content, featured a special app notification feed atop a news/post feed on the landing/dashboard page.

This foundational brainstorming laid the groundwork for a platform divided into two sections: a base social platform and various applications. Despite the diverse content and user targets, the decision was made to share the same backend and maintain a consistent product structure.

2 - User Research

SWOT Analysis

Acknowledging the constraints of time and budget, the user research phase was strategically approached to align with the project's requirements. While extensive user research wasn't feasible, leveraging my background with an MBA, I advocated for a market research initiative accompanied by a SWOT analysis.

This decision aimed to grasp insights into the competitive landscape and potential stress points, leveraging available online resources. Despite the limited scope, this strategic move provided essential contextual information. In an ideal scenario with more time and resources, a more in-depth user target survey could have enriched our understanding of user preferences and enhanced the overall user experience.

3 - Sketching & Prototyping

Building the idea

With a clear vision from the product discovery phase, the next step involved transforming ideas into tangible concepts through sketching and prototyping. Initiating this creative phase, I began by sketching ideas on paper, presenting the best concepts to the development and management team using a collaborative whiteboard approach.

In essence, the concept focused around empowering users to construct their own apps effortlessly. This was achieved by enabling the activation of pre-made apps, customizable to individual preferences. Additionally, users could join apps customized by friends within the social network, fostering collaboration and community engagement.

To translate these concepts into tangible visuals and explore various design ideas, wireframes were created using tools like Photoshop and Ninjamock. As wireframes have limitations when it comes to user comprehension, an HTML/CSS prototype was developed. This not only facilitated internal team understanding but also served as a dynamic tool for showcasing the platform's functionality to the project owner and potential investors.

4 - User Testing

Validation and testing undone

Despite recognizing the pivotal role of user testing, constraints in time, budget, and confidentiality led to the omission of this critical step for the overarching project. However, it's noteworthy to mention that during the development of the smart home app, a sample of users was invited to participate in user testing. This involved providing them with a list of tasks and recording their interactions with the prototype. The insights gained from this process unveiled valuable stress points, contributing to an enhanced understanding of user needs.

Regrettably, this user testing initiative was confined to the development phase of the smart home app and wasn't extended throughout the broader project. Underestimating the importance of a comprehensive user testing strategy had unintended consequences, impacting not only the project's overall outcome but also hindering the identification and resolution of potential issues that user testing could have illuminated.

5 - Production and Development

From sketches and wireframes into high-fidelity

This pivotal stage marked the transition from conceptualization to tangible fruition, evolving the project from sketches and wireframes into high-fidelity mockups and prototypes. The collaboration intensified with the addition of a new designer to the team.

Choosing a color scheme reflective of Connexall's branding, we incorporated "Catalina Blue" as the main theme color, contrasting it with a lighter "Havelock Blue" and a vibrant "Mantis Green" for specific interactions like buttons.

Typography played a crucial role, and we opted for the "Lato" font family, employing a combination of regular for normal text and bold for titles and highlights.

The comprehensive mockups were meticulously crafted, culminating in the development of deliverable assets and the implementation of templates using Phalcon PHP and AngularJS, employing HTML and SASS. This phase not only solidified the visual identity but also laid the groundwork for the subsequent steps in the project.

6 - Quality Assurance

Importance of quality assurance and quality control

Quality assurance, a fundamental step in the development process, plays a dual role for both developers and product designers. While developers focus on code cleanliness and performance, quality assurance becomes an essential stage for product designers to conduct user testing and gather valuable feedback on usability.

Throughout the Connexall project, the importance of both user testing and quality assurance was acknowledged but often sidelined in various stages. This decision had a profound impact on the project's ultimate outcome.

In an ideal scenario, quality assurance would have served as an opportunity not only to ensure technical robustness but also to refine and enhance the user experience. The collaborative efforts of the development team and the product designer during this stage could have addressed potential issues, improved performance, and ultimately contributed to a more polished and user-friendly product.

Unfortunately, the oversight of this crucial step resulted in missed opportunities for refining the project and meeting user expectations more effectively.