Aurelius
Tools & Methods: Competitive Audit, Journey Mapping, Wireframing, Prototyping, Sketch, Axure, Kano Analysis
Overview
Aurelius contacted us about adding a new "Collections" feature to their current platform. This would enable customers to use the existing tools for synthesizing data and create a presentation for that data within the same system.
Through the research process, I was able to determine creating a presentation without "Collections" had many steps and multiple platforms, which would likely be time consuming and stressful for users. I chose to design specifically for easing that stress by keeping the task flow intuitive, while offering features users had come to expect in other platforms.
Working Within Constraints
We were given a development time budget of 80 - 160 hours. The estimated budget time for my proposed features was 120 hours, well within the budget. The wireframes I sent to the client highlighting those features are featured to the right:
View an interactive prototype of the customization feature
Research and Development Process
I began by running a competitive audit of other data synthesis platforms. Looking at the features available from competitors allowed me to better understand the role “Collections” can play in the current environment.
Next I put together a journey map to better understand how a user may find out about and utilize Aurelius and also identify some pain points they may experience. That can be viewed here:
Some Key pain points identified
Exporting data and deciding on an additional presentation tool may be time consuming and stressful.
This process could pose a major hinderance to collaboration in a group setting.
The necessity of using multiple platforms to complete a project may convince users to choose options at a lower price point than Aurelius, reducing the number of potential users beyond the free trial period.
After gaining a better understanding of the market place and user needs, it was time to start brainstorming some features. I wanted to make sure the new features were easy to use and streamlined within the task flow, in order to address some of the above pain points. Within the design group we all created a number of features and had a team evaluation. We were able to collaborate on and cross-pollinate some of our ideas this way, which ultimately lead to stronger designs. We also presented these to Joseph from Aurelius, who helped us scope them in terms of development time.
Next the group selected some ideas for a closer look and conducted a Kano Analysis with 5 users. Through this we were able to determine the value these features had to users.
Lastly, I decided on some core features and created wireframes in Sketch to show a task flow and potential functionality.
Conclusion
Building an intuitive collections tool that contains easy input options, tools for customization, and easy sharing capabilities, should facilitate Aurelius’s goals for the collections tool to be met. Ultimately creating a platform that allows users to synthesize and present research in an intuitive and efficient way.