FormOlé Internship

Natania Rapelo

UX Researcher

UX Designer

Intern

Figma

Miro

Slack

During Summer 2022, I had the opportunity to work as a UX/UI Design Intern at FormOlé, a dynamic startup based in the Bay Area.

⏳ Timeline: April 2022 - September 2022

⚽️ FormOlé is committed to helping soccer enthusiasts improve their skills through an AI-powered mobile platform.

🤔 What am I working with?

FormOlé is in its early stages of development with a limited amount of resources.

Meaning that the company has a smaller user base and limited physical assets to scale its operations.

Another thing is that I was the only Designer on the team, so I recognized that I had a lot to learn and was pretty much starting from ground zero.

However, the beautiful thing was that I was excited to learn, ask questions, and roll up my sleeves and get to work!

👀 The Problem

FormOlé is a soccer skill training app that offers various challenges:

Beat That

See the Stars

Freestyle

While the app provides an excellent platform for users to improve their soccer skills, the user experience can be improved.

The Home Screen contains all the challenges in one place, with no clear organization or structure, which can be overwhelming for users.

👩🏻‍💻 My Role

As the only designer in the team, I took charge of the whole design journey.

From digging into user insights, brainstorming ideas, testing usability, to fine-tuning designs all with the goal of satisfying both users and business needs.

⭐️ My objective for this internship is to enhance the user experience of FormOlé's app by implementing filter buttons, thereby improving the app's organization and usability.

✨ The Outcome

Before & After Screens

Okay, so how did I get there?

🧪 Usability Testing

In contrast to formal usability testing, which follows predefined tasks and metrics, I embraced a more natural and casual approach by implementing guerilla usability testing.

User Testimonials 💬

Even though navigating through the challenges of working at a startup with a smaller user base can be challenging,

I embraced the opportunity to conduct informal usability testing, which provided me with a more flexible, accessible, and adaptable approach.

🔮 User Personas

To inform my design decisions, I seamlessly integrated user personas with the findings from the usability tests.

By leveraging user personas alongside the test results, I gained valuable insights into the specific needs, preferences, and pain points of different user groups.

This comprehensive approach allowed me to make design choices that align with the diverse user profiles, resulting in a more user-centered and impactful design solution.

Erika A. Persona

Sam E. Persona

How might we enhance the functionality and organization of the FormOlé app to provide a more streamlined and intuitive user experience?

🌌 User Journeys

To gain a deeper understanding of the user experience within the FormOlé app, I conducted user journeys focused specifically on the Beat That and See the Stars Challenges, which are the main challenges within the app.

Here are my takeaways:

Opportunities:

Pain points:

Erika A. User Journey

Sam E. User Journey

🔎 Heuristic Evaluation

Given the app's early stage, this evaluation served as a valuable method for identifying usability issues and potential enhancements.

By applying established usability principles and guidelines, I meticulously examined the app's interface, functionality, and overall user experience.

This evaluation allowed me to prioritize content and features such as:

App’s navigation

Design consistency

Accommodates different usage contexts

Heuristic Evaluation

After conducting the evaluation I realized...

That I may be overlooking hidden or complex usability problems.

That some usability issues may not be immediately apparent during a heuristic evaluation, especially if they involve complex interactions or occur in specific scenarios.

To mitigate this, I conducted a thorough evaluation by exploring various user flows, edge cases, and less frequently used features.

To get additional help, I involved my team and experts to help uncover hidden issues.

🌊 User Flows

By mapping out the steps that users would take to achieve their goals, I was able to identify pain points and areas of improvement in the design.

This helped me to make informed decisions on how to streamline the user experience and simplify the navigation.

BT & STS User Flow

⚙️ Low - Fidelity Wireframes

Drawing upon the insights gained from my UX research, I meticulously crafted wireframes that served as the foundation for developing the app's visual layout and user interface.

🤗In our project, my primary influence was on the low-fidelity wireframes. I was responsible for the initial design, and I also played a crucial role in the design-to-developer handoff, where I provided guidance for the creation of high-fidelity wireframes.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

📱High - Fi Wireframes

As the project concluded, here is what our team achieved.

Through a thorough consideration of user needs and preferences, we designed an engaging interface that facilitates effortless navigation and interaction. The improved organization of the app ensures intuitive structuring of information and features, empowering users to effortlessly access what they're looking for.

Hi-Fi Wireframes

📈 Results

During my internship, our team made significant strides by successfully implementing three major heuristics. Our team's weekly meetings and standups provided valuable opportunities for collaboration and feedback, and my team was consistently impressed by the final outcome of the design.

To validate our enhancements, I engaged the users I had interviewed at the project's inception. Their feedback was invaluable with a 90% increase in seamlessness and user satisfaction.

User Testimonials 💬

Throughout my internship, my biggest struggle was

⌛ Lack of user insights

As a new designer working at a growing startup, I do not have access to a large pool of users or previous research findings.

So, what did I do?

In such cases, I leveraged any available user feedback or conducted informal usability testing with a small group of users.

This still helped me provide additional insights into potential usability issues and helped me improved the overall user experience of the app

🌌 Reflecting on my experience

💪 It is okay to feel vulnerable

Being the only designer on the team was very nerve wracking and I felt lost multiple times. However, I learned that it is okay to ask questions and feel vulnerable. I had a great team that acknowledged the work I put in and they helped me grow as a designer. I learned how to become more vocal and express my rationale. Thanks to their guidance, I became more confident in my skills.

🗂️ Take initiative

During my UX internship, I took the initiative to be proactive and seize every opportunity to contribute and learn. I didn't just limit myself to the tasks assigned to me, I constantly sought out ways to improve myself.

I immersed myself in:

UX books and articles

Staying up to date with the latest trends

Practicing Figma which eventually became a regular part of my routine

By going beyond what was expected of me during my internship, I was able to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the table. It's been an incredible journey, and I am grateful for the opportunities that have come my way.

🤝 Collaboration

To ensure that the project objectives were aligned with the company's goals, I proactively communicated with my CEO to discuss project goals, clarify requirements and specifications, and confirm that my work was aligned with the larger vision.

The collaborative approach helped me:

To stay on track with the project objectives

Work effectively with stakeholders at all levels

Create a solution that not only met the project objectives, but also delivered tangible value to the organization

Gain a deeper understanding of user needs and business goals

🌎 Advocate for UX

Working at a startup provides you with an opportunity to influence and shape the UX culture. A key contribution I made was educating my team and stakeholders about the vital role of UX design. I emphasized the importance of wireframing, prototyping, and embracing iterative design practices. Through collaborative discussions I gradually established a greater appreciation for UX design within the company culture.

Overall, my efforts in educating and advocating for UX practices played a crucial role in elevating the company's UX maturity and instilling a deeper understanding of its impact on our product and user satisfaction.

💌 I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to grow and learn alongside an exceptionally supportive team.

Their guidance and encouragement have played a pivotal role in my personal and professional development.

I am grateful for the chance to contribute to our shared goals and for the continuous learning experiences that have humbly shaped my journey. Working in such a collaborative environment has been truly rewarding and has allowed me to flourish in my role.

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Posted Jun 10, 2023

I had the wonderful opportunity to work as a UX/UI Design Intern at Formolé, a dynamic startup based in the Bay Area. Timeline: April 2022 - September 2022

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