Exit Oasis
Tools & Methods: User Interviews, Card Sort, Usability Testing, Competitive Audit, Wireframing, Prototyping, Sketch, InVision
Overview
We were given the opportunity to work with entrepreneur Mike Finger on his project Exit Oasis. Exit Oasis is a concept for a web platform that provides information to small business owners about the value and process of making their business sellable. The primary value of the site is to provide a well curated source of self-generated and third party articles on the subject. Mike viewed the current Exit Oasis site as a placeholder for his concept and wanted our help in creating an entirely new web platform.
You can view a walkthrough of the new platform here.
Initial Research
We began the process by interviewing several small business owners. The main goal was to gather enough information to put together personas of potential users. Additionally, we wanted to gain insight as to what kind of content users were looking for. To get this information we conducted rapid prototype testing of lo-fidelity prototypes of mock content. We displayed the content to users and asked them to explain how it made them feel. This was an effective way of obtaining qualitative data from our users. We also ran a card sort with a number of users, asking them to rank potential features by importance. Through this we gathered quantitive data on what users valued in a website.
What We Learned
From our research, it was determined that business owners find real value in concise and well curated content they can relate to.
We were also able to determine some additional user content preferences:
• Users preferred brief and digestible information, including: short well-produced videos, one paragraph overviews, and bulleted information
• They wanted this information to come from a trustworthy source, backed by credentials
• They also wanted information that felt personalized and pertained to their specific needs
Personas and Wireframing
We were able to develop two personas, Novice Ned and Bullet-Point Betty. Ned was a newer business owner and wasn't sure what he was looking for. His search for information needed to be structured and guided. Betty was a much more experienced business owner and needed to be able to quickly locate desired information.
With these personas in mind we began brainstorming content strategy. The big questions were:
• How do we present information that works for both of these users?
• How can we provide context, while keeping information concise and brief?
• What can we do to let users know that this information is credible?
This brainstorming process started as lo-fidelity sketches and quickly progressed into highly detailed wireframes. These wireframes ultimately became our first interactive prototype of the website. One of the major features created during this process was the "learn" and "plan" segments of the site. The "learn" section was geared towards our novice persona, allowing them to gain a base of fundamental knowledge. "Plan" was designed for our experienced persona, allowing them to identify where they were in the process and learn what they need to know. Additionally, we developed an about section that provided credibility by including client testimonials and brief biography on Mike.
Usability Testing
Once we created an interactive prototype, we began usability tests with several users. This allowed us to get a feel for our features in context. What did they like? What didn't they like? Was anything confusing?
Through this testing we were able to gain some valuable information. The core features of the site were desirable but not all of the information was presented in a way that was easy to understand. With this in mind we went back in and designed our final round of content revisions.
The New Exit Oasis Platform
The new Exit Oasis platform was developed with the intention of accentuating the value of Mike's content in a way that directly meets the needs of the users. It's concise, informative, credible and easy to navigate. Here are the main pages of content:
Click here to view an interactive walkthrough of this content.
Conclusion
Through our extensive research and design, we were able to develop a platform that:
• Presents curated and concise information
• Speaks to the needs of users
• Establishes credibility with users as a viable source of information