TASKLY
Situation:
As part of a course assignment, I was given the challenge of designing a project management application named Taskly. I was the sole designer from the beginning to end of the project, my course mentor acted as the client.
Task:
To create an application that can compete with current project management leaders such as Basecamp and Asana.
Action:
Conducted exploratory research to understand the business space and users.
- Questionnaires
- Customer Interviews
- User Personas
- Competitive Analysis
- Content Audit
- Usability Testing
As a result, I learned that the primary problem users of project management applications want solved is the ability to have all aspects related to a team project available in one space/interface. My solution: Taskly’s MVP requires three main components: customizable interface, high-level overview, and the ability to create subtasks.
Results:
User-centred research directed the UX and visual design of Taskly. When tested for usability, was understood and enjoyed by users.
USER PERSONAS
The user personas were developed based on interviews with people who have experience using project management applications and online reviews of competitor sites.
Personas were helpful for evaluating ideas and features, developing appropriate content, and identifying appropriate language that caters to the target audience.
SITEMAP
The design of Taskly’s sitemap was informed by:
- Competitive analyses and content audits of competitor sites
- Publicly released questionnaire created with SurveyMonkey
- Interviews with users who have experience with project management applications, found with SurveyMonkey results
PAPER PROTOTYPES
Numerous design iterations were created for web and mobile interfaces to capture three main objectives of potential Taskly users: easy to use, customizable interface, and high-level overview of project components.
WIREFRAMES
I created a clickable prototype using UXPin to share with users of competitive project management applications. Creating each page of the Taskly site enabled me to work through multiple interactions between pages and identify the best names and placement for links and buttons.
USER TESTING
User testing my clickable prototype revealed that the placement of some UI elements were not arranged in ideal positions. To improve visibility and clarity, the following changes were made:
- Homepage was merged with elements on dashboard
- “Notifications” placement was swapped with the calendar on dashboard
- “Back to Project Dashboard was moved from the bottom to the top
- “Project Page” now called “Project Workspace”
VISUAL DESIGN
My user-centred research guided the direction of my visual design for Taskly. This flat UI design was chosen to embody the “simple” aesthetic potential users said they desired. The mustard yellow was chosen to contrast the navy blue and grey colours by calling attention to important buttons and notifications. The Arial font was picked for the crisp and “clean” effect it produced when compared to the syncopate font used to create the logo and selective buttons. Shadows were used with the “box” elements to add dimension to this flat UI design.
After I completed the visual design, I used VerifyApp to conduct A/B tests of various Taskly UI elements. According to the test results, users are more inclined to click on a “Start Free Trial” button and prefer navy-coloured primary buttons to mustard yellow.