Huddle
Having trouble making friends at college? Huddle is a social networking application that is designed to bring college students together through shared interests.
Research
We began conducting research to first find if there was an actual need for such an application. Upon validating this need, our team began looking into existing networking applications to identify competitive weaknesses.
User Persona Interview
Our team also conducted user persona interviews to get a better understanding of the needs and wants of the students. Students were asked a series of both related and unrelated questions to gain insight into what their day-to-day lives look like and how they view existing social media apps.
Participant 1: "I get to school between 10 am to 3 pm
Participant 2: "My classes are usually long and stressful"
Participant 3: "My extracurriculars are done outside of campus"
Participant 1: "I Love clean and simple designs, which are straightforward and easy to use"
Participant 2: "Personally, I Like apps with great structure and hierarchy. For example, Facebook"
Participant 3: "I find apps with minimal information convenient"
Participant 1: "I'm not really using any campus-based apps"
Participant 2: "I sometimes use the Quest app for school information"
Participant 3: "I use Learn for my courses, but nothing else really"
Key Findings
From the results of the interviews, we can identify a few key details that are relevant to the success of Huddle:
Students have a lack of interest and opportunities to engage with extracurriculars on campus
Apps that resonate with the students are simplistic, convenient, and easy to use
Campus-based apps are rarely used by the students and when they are, they're only used for academic purposes
With research findings in mind, we began wireframing and constructing the UI of Huddle.
Key Features
With simplicity in mind, we believe we created a platform that solves the lack of social interaction on campus. The key features include:
Matching: Connecting with students that have shared interests
Messaging: A further form of interaction and networking
Mapping: Events that allow students to make new connections
User Testing
To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Huddle prototype, our team conducted two sets of user tests, the first test contained an interviewer who would provide instructions while the student would navigate the interface. The second test was an observative one where students would follow instructions on sticky notes. Click below to view the user test script.
User Test #2
In the second user test, students would follow instructions placed on sticky notes in order to navigate through the application. They were provided no instructions to allow observers to identify any weaknesses in the design flow.
Key Findings
The top 3 recommendations for a successful app build of the Huddle prototype would be:
Ensure that the interface is very easy to follow and flows well. Social apps thrive on straightforwardness and simplicity.
Privacy and security are big concerns with social apps, this aspect would need a lot of investment to protect users and earn their trust.
The app needs to ensure that users who use that app are actually on there to meet new people and not tarnish the community.
