UX, CX and Ethical Innovation Case Study: A Dating App Prioritizing Women's Safety and Control

Assessment 4

DATA4900

UX, CX and Ethical Innovation Case Study

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Table of Figures

Introduction

This report will outline the design of a dating app, similar to Bumble Premium, that puts women's safety and control first, while also enhancing user and customer experiences and ethical considerations. The stages of the Design Thinking process to be covered in this report include problem discovery, the creation of personas, wireframe design, testing phases, and evaluation of the proposed innovation. In a persona-based approach, Charlotte is the heart of the design: an extremely busy, tech-savvy lady in search of a secure and more efficient approach to dating. Allowing users to be in control and their privacy maintained within the design of the app while embedding features into the app that appeal to their preferences, leads to a feasible and scalable product.

DISCOVER & DEFINE

Problem Statement

Traditional dating apps don't have a solution for the two main problems women face: safety and control during interactions online (Medium 2023). For women users, especially busy ones like Charlotte, the apps should make them feel strong and safe they must be in control of every interaction, with their privacy. The big problem this app will try to resolve is having women take the lead safely, without unsolicited or uncomfortable engagements.

Identification of Target Audiences

Using third-party data sources like Kaggle to create persona insights, the target user bases of women who fall between 25-35 years of age, are urban professionals, tech-savvy, and lead busy lifestyles (Kaggle 2015). This is but one example of a persona, Charlotte, for users in search of a dating app that puts control, efficiency, and privacy first.

The below visualization shows the demographic results of the number of users who use this dating app based on the given scenario this bar chart shows that at the age of 25, there are a total number of 356 users currently use this dating app and in the age of charlotte there is only one member which charlotte. The basis of design for the persona was done using publicly available data about the usage of dating apps, their demographics, and user preferences, which helped in shaping some of the core functionalities of the app, including advanced filter options and secure messaging options (Kaggle 2015).

Figure 1: Demographic Visualization on Application

Data for Empathies Discovery Stages

It empathized with Charlotte's needs by analyzing data on the use of dating apps relating to pain points such as unsolicited messages, time wastage, and no privacy. This information is cadre into the Discovery phase, where identifications were made concerning the need for privacy settings, rematch capabilities, and match filtering options useful to Charlotte.

Figure 2: Dating App User personna

User Journey Mapping

Stages	Objectives	Needs	Feelings	Barriers
Discovery	Find a safe dating app.	Control over interactions and privacy.	Hopeful but cautious.	Trust issues because of previous bad experiences.
Onboarding	Setup Profile and preferences.	Easy and Fast setup with privacy control.	Satisfied with a seamless process.	Time constraints because of busy schedules.
Browsing Matches	Find out relevant matches with the help of filters.	Advanced filtering to save time.	Efficient in control.	Overcome the too many irrelevant matches.
Interacting with Match	Safely engaged in conversations.	Secure messaging options with privacy settings.	Confident and protected.	Concerned about data security and inappropriate users.
Rematch Features	Reconnect with expired matches.	Ability to reconnect missed opportunities.	Reassured and in control of engagements.	Missed connections due to unclear notifications.
Leaving Feedback	Provide feedback on the app experience.	A simple feedback system	Engaged and valued.	Lack of immediate responses from the app support.

DESIGN

Lo-fi Wireframe Design

This dating app drew a low-fidelity wireframe interface by using the Balsamiq tool for a better interface (Balsamiq 2024). This wireframe is all about intuitive design with an organized interface to suit Charlotte's busy schedule (Mockframe 2021). The Home Screen will contain advanced filtering features, possible matches listing, and finally, some means of secure communication. On the Messages Screen, users will be able to interact with their matches through an easy-to-use interface, while the Profile Screen sets parameters concerning updating user preferences and privacy settings.

• Home Screen: Shows potential matches, with easy access to filtering options and secure messaging.

• Messages Screen: A very minimalistic, clean layout where a user goes into Matches and gets notified that he/she has received a message.

• Profile Screen: Edit personal information and set privacy settings to make sure that Charlotte has full control over her profile and interactions.

Design Considerations

It is designed to be simple and easy to move through. Each of these screens is then wired together with the view of continuity and ease for Charlotte. Advanced filters will make sure that Charlotte can sort through the matches as fast as possible, and the rematch feature will enable her to reconnect with expired matches.

Figure 3: Wireframe User Interface or Dating App

TEST + ITERATE

Design Testing and Iteration

User testing has been collecting feedback through user surveys and focus groups since the testing period began. Test participants, including but not limited to personas like Charlotte, have been testing the app and providing feedback on what is not working well. The biggest pain point involved the cumbersome nature of the rematch feature. For instance, users found it difficult to locate and understand how to rematch the expired profiles. Given this, the interface was revised to make the rematch button more salient. Also, a tooltip was added to help guide them through it. Further iteration was about explaining what filtering would do. Some users felt that a few of the filter options that were presented at first were too detailed and confusing. This was then refined to show fewer filter categories on the home screen to have a cleaner, easier-to-use interface.

Improvement using Fast Iteration Loops

The application iteratively evolved from both design failures and fast iteration loops, as would have happened with user feedback. This makes sure the app stays focused on providing a seamless experience to users while keeping the focus on the needs of the target persona. It could fix usability issues quickly, not losing the big picture of the design objectives.

Evaluation: Feasibility and User-Centered Design

Feasibility of the Solution

The proposed dating app has a highly viable solution that can be implemented, since most of its development relies on very widespread technologies, like complex filtering algorithms and secure messaging systems. These parts are widely used in the latest applications and hence are inexpensive and easy to scale. The application is also designed in a way to allow further extension of the following features: improved security and AI-powered matchmaking, which can enable it to be scaled upon update.

Meeting End-User Needs

This successfully meets the needs of Charlotte and the average user from a UX perspective and CX standpoint. The application will keep its focus on user control, privacy, and simplicity thus, it will not deviate from her preference. A massive number of features, such as the advanced filtering system, secure ways to communicate, and even the rematch feature, will facilitate Charlotte feeling empowered, safe, and efficient in using the application.

Conclusion

The following report shows how the Design Thinking process enabled the development of a dating app, for which the safety and control of users are at the core. By centering on the needs of Charlotte and further iterating on feedback provided by the users, this app offers a highly feasible and scalable solution for enhancing user and customer experiences.

References

Balsamiq 2024, Quick and Easy Wireframing Tool, Balsamiq.com, retrieved 23 September 2024, <https://balsamiq.com/wireframes/>.

?Kaggle 2015, Lovoo v3 Dating App User Profiles and Statistics, Kaggle.com, retrieved 23 September 2024, <https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/thedevastator/lovoo-v3-dating-app-user-profiles-and-statistics>.

?Medium 2023, Dating Apps vs. Traditional Dating: Pros and Cons , Medium, Medium, retrieved 23 September 2024, <https://medium.com/@Hotdatingxx/dating-apps-vs-traditional-dating-pros-and-cons-ac241240891>.

?Mockframe 2021, What is Wireframe Testing, Mockframe, retrieved 23 September 2024, <https://mockframe.com/what-is-wireframe-testing>.

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