PROJECT OVERVIEW
Meetup community members have expressed frustrations, both online and in user interviews, regarding low participant turnout and difficulties in forming real connections within group events. These issues highlight the need for a new feature to address these pain points and enhance the overall Meetup experience.
MY APPROACH
To tackle these problems, I took the following steps:
-
Designed and implemented a one-on-one meetup feature: This allows users to create personalized meetups, fostering deeper and more personal connections.
-
Redesigned user profiles: Simplified profiles to reduce overwhelming information and encourage users to share more about themselves.
-
Encouraged goal-sharing: Added features for users to share their goals for being part of the community, facilitating easier connections with like-minded members.
-
Focused on user engagement: Aimed to create a closer Meetup community where members can learn, grow, and hold each other accountable.
PROJECT GOALS
-
Foster more personal connections: Encourage deeper, one-on-one interactions between members to build stronger relationships within the Meetup community.
-
Encourage Users to Share More About Themselves: Redesign user profiles to prompt members to share their interests, hobbies, and goals, creating a more personalized and engaging experience.
-
Increase Participation Turnout at Events: By fostering more personal connections, members will feel more inclined to attend meetups with people they have bonded with and will hold each other accountable to attend events they RSVP to.
THE CHALLENGE
In redesigning user profiles and implementing this new Meetup feature, I anticipated I would encounter several challenges such as:
-
User Privacy Concerns: Redesigning profiles to include more personal information might raise privacy issues. Users may be hesitant to share more about themselves, fearing misuse of their data.
-
Community Dynamics: Changing the way meetups are organized might disrupt existing group dynamics, requiring careful management to ensure a positive transition.
-
Maintaining Inclusivity: While personalized meetups can enhance connections, there's a risk of creating cliques or excluding those who prefer group interactions.
MY ROLE
Sole UX/UI Designer
Sole UX Researcher
SKILLS
Product strategy
Branding
Wireframing
Site mapping
User Flows
User testing
Prototyping
RESEARCH METHODS
Market research
Secondary research
Quantitative research
Qualitative research
TIMELINE
6 weeks
TOOLS
Figma
RESEARCH
RESEARCH METHODS
-
Secondary Research: Conducted research through online user reviews and forums.
-
Competitor Analysis: Reviewed similar platforms to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
-
Interviews and Surveys: Conducted with potential users to understand their needs, pain points, and preferences.
-
User Persona: Created to represent key user group and guide the design process.
SECONDARY RESEARCH AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:
I conducted secondary research by reviewing online feedback and forums to understand the demographics, pain points, and opportunities for current Meetup users.
Meetup emerged as the leading platform for connecting people and organizing events based on personal interests. I also examined both direct and indirect competitors, such as Citysocializer, Facebook, Couchsurfing, and various dating apps, to compare features and gather inspiration. By testing and experimenting with these apps, including Meetup, on my phone, I gained insights into how each platform addresses similar challenges.
USER RESEARCH
I initially tried to reach out to Meetup users through direct messaging of the app, but Meetup flagged me as spam after a few attempts, blocking further messages. Posting in Meetup group comments was also ineffective due to a tight character limit, and my survey link received no responses. Attempts to gather participants through Reddit were denied, and a Quora post similarly yielded little engagement.
Recognizing the challenges, I broadened my target audience to include people using any social media platform to search for and attend group events, and I managed to find four participants through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, consisting of both current and former Meetup users. I conducted one-on-one interviews to gain deeper insights into their experiences, motivations, needs, and pain points.
Participants:
3 men
5 women
Ages 30-35
KEY INSIGHTS
WANT
-
More personalization
-
Enhanced communication
-
Greater turnouts
-
Sense of community
-
Meaningful engagement
-
Long term connections
NEED
-
Seamless user experience
-
Clarity on event details
-
Flexible event scheduling
-
Safety features
-
Enhanced communication
PAIN
-
RSVP accountability
-
Lack of integration
-
Event overlap
DEFINE
USER PERSONA
Persona Snapshot:
Valerie is a 30-year-old Sales Executive working for an international company based in San Diego. Her job requires frequent international travel where she gets to explore new cities and cultures. In San Diego, Valerie uses Meetup to attend professional networking events and connect with other professionals in her industry. When traveling abroad for work, she uses Meetup for socializing and getting to know the cities where she’s working. Valerie is a curious person with an interest in history and culture.
IDEATE
USER FLOW
Based on my user research and persona insights, I designed two key user flows:
-
Returning Meetup Member: This flow guides an existing member as they browse through the groups they've joined, search for events to attend, or create their own event.
-
New Meetup Member: This flow takes a new user through the signup process, including answering personal questions that enhance their profile. After completing their profile, they explore events, choose to attend one, or create their own.
SKETCHES
With a clearer vision of the information architecture, I adopted a lean approach by rapidly sketching multiple design ideas for quick prototyping and user feedback. I explored different ways of arranging the UI and functional elements in my sketches. I considered two options: having all the necessary information input on a single screen or dividing the input process into a multi-step form. I ultimately chose the multi-step form approach to create a more concise and user-friendly experience.
WIREFRAMES
DESIGN
USER-CENTRIC DESIGN DECISIONS
Introduction of New Feature:
-
Pop-up Notification: A pop-up on the home screen introduces users to the new feature upon their return to the app. It provides a brief overview and guides users to the feature by pointing to the corresponding navigation button.
-
Highlighted Navigation: The new feature is accessed via a bright pink button in the bottom navigation menu, drawing users' attention.
Multi-Step Form:
-
Simplified User Experience: The new feature uses a multi-step form with a progress bar to guide users through setting up their one-on-one meetups. Users input details such as when, where, what, how, and with whom they'd like to meet, maintaining control over their meetups. Users are also encouraged to be inclusive by broadening their invitation criteria.
User Profile Redesign:
-
Age Display: The age of the member is now displayed next to their name, promoting transparency and personalization.
-
Interest Selection: The number of interests displayed is limited to three, reducing cognitive load and making profiles easier to digest.
-
"About Me" Section: A new section allows users to describe themselves, providing a more personal and human touch to their profiles.
-
Relationship Status: Users have the option to display their relationship status, addressing concerns from users about unwanted advances.
-
"Here For" Section: Members can select their reasons for joining Meetup from categories like Friendship, Dating, Learning, and Networking, which are clickable links that help connect users with similar interests.
-
Social Media Integration: Users can link their social media profiles to provide more depth to their Meetup profiles while maintaining the option to keep this information private.
CURRENT USER PROFILE
REDESIGNED USER PROFILE
Encouraging Participation and Accountability:
-
One-on-One Meetups: The new "Meet" feature encourages members to connect on a personal level by inviting others for one-on-one meetups. This is aimed at fostering deeper connections and increasing accountability for attending group events.
-
Enhanced Profiles: By redesigning profiles to be more approachable and informative, users can feel more comfortable and integrated when attending events.
-
Event Overlap Prevention: Future plans include a feature to prevent users from RSVP'ing to overlapping events, ensuring better commitment and participation.
Safety Measures:
-
Share Meet Details: Users have the option to share their "Meet" details with a trusted contact.
-
Reporting System: A reporting feature allows users to flag inappropriate behavior or concerns with other members to Meetup.
TEST
USABILITY TEST PLAN
The new "Meet" feature added to the Meetup app was tested with four users (one male, three females, aged 30-37). The purpose of the testing was to observe user interpretations of the feature without prior explanation, relying on the onboarding pop-up, wording, user flow, and navigation to see if it matched with the feature's intent.
USABILITY TEST RESULTS
Concept Confusion:
-
Initial Impressions: Users often misinterpreted the feature as resembling a dating service, with one expressing particular discomfort. The feature’s one-on-one connection concept and imagery led to this misinterpretation.
-
Group Meetup Expectations: Some users expected the red "Meet" button to lead to a group meetup, confusing the one-on-one concept with the app's existing group event functions.
User Experience:
-
Navigation and Flow: Despite the confusion around the feature's concept, all users found the navigation and user flow to be seamless and smooth.
-
Feature Onboarding: The onboarding pop-up images and wording often led to incorrect assumptions about the feature's intent, including whether it was a dating service or involved professional services.
Suggestions for Improvement:
-
Clarify Purpose: Users suggested making the one-on-one nature of the feature clearer throughout the user flow to prevent misunderstandings.
-
Matching System: Several users recommended implementing a matching system based on shared interests, rather than open invitations.
-
Expanded Options: Consideration for a more inclusive gender selection and the ability to narrow the invite radius to prevent user overwhelm were also suggested.
ITERATIONS MADE
-
One quick iteration made during testing was changing the photos on the feature's onboarding pop-up. Initially, the pop-up displayed a male and female profile with arrows between them, suggesting a one-on-one connection. This led users to interpret the feature as being related to dating. To address this, the photos were updated to show two girls with arrows in between them. The two users tested with this new version did not mention dating, indicating a shift in perception.
REFLECTION
The "Meet" feature concept showed potential, especially for women seeking friendships. However, user testing revealed that the feature’s purpose needed clearer communication to avoid confusion and misinterpretation.
Changing the onboarding images from a male and female to two females helped shift the perception away from dating, emphasizing friendship instead. Users appreciated the one-on-one aspect but expressed a preference for an option to expand invitations to a group, highlighting the importance of Meetup’s community-driven focus.
The feedback I received from user testing sprouted the following possible iteration and pivot ideas for the feature:
The most popular iteration idea amongst users was introducing a matching feature for Meetup members with similar interests to encourage communication between the two members and allow them to arrange one-on-one meetings which could offer the option to open up to a small group hangout.
Another iteration could involve allowing users to send an invitation to any particular person on their own with the option to open it up to others who meet the chosen criteria, transforming it into a small group event.
Additionally, the "Meet" feature could be integrated into direct messaging, enabling members to set up one-on-one meetings within their private conversations and add them directly to their Meetup calendars.
A different way the feature could be pivoted would be to allow members to create invitations for professional workshops, classes, or experiences, where they can collect payments directly through the platform, adding to Meetup's revenue stream, could also drive engagement, providing value-driven experiences in smaller group settings.
Although my initial concept had flaws, it provided a springboard for exploring ideas that enhance personal connections and foster stronger community engagement on Meetup while maintaining the platform’s core identity centered on group activities.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND TESTING
Onboarding Pop-Up:
-
Redesign the layout to guide users more effectively after closing the pop-up.
-
Update visuals to avoid misinterpretation as a dating feature.
-
Revise wording for a clearer explanation of the feature’s purpose.
Navigation Enhancement:
-
Add a screen after tapping the red plus sign, asking if the user wants to create a group Meetup or a one-on-one Meet.
Form Clarity:
-
Adjust wording on screens to emphasize this is a one-on-one Meet invitation.
-
Modify the final form layout to differentiate it from the group Meetup form layout.
-
Reiterate in the final form that it’s for a one-on-one Meet to prevent confusion.
Multi-Step Form:
-
Keep the current multi-step form design, as users found it smooth and enjoyable.
Testing:
-
Test all changes along with potential feature iterations to ensure user needs are met and the overall experience is improved.
