Process: Here’s how it was done

Empathize: Research

Before jumping to any design decisions, I listed the research objectives, questions, and assumptions. Then I started to do a competitive analysis, examining the strengths and weaknesses of other young adult ministry websites focusing on its direct competitor SFC SoCal West. And lastly, to deeply understand the users, I did a 1-on-1 interview with 4 participants.

Research Objectives

• We want to discover what non-SFC members would like to see on the website. 

• Find out the features to be improved on the direct competitor (SFC West)

• Uncover people’s experiences in joining the community to know their needs, goals, and frustrations

Research Questions

• Why do young adults seek a catholic community?

• How can we make them sign up easily, inquire, and get in touch with us?

• How can we make the events more discoverable and how do they expect to find out about events?  

• How can we make it look welcoming and fun?

• What information and content would users love to see?

Assumptions

• People would like to know what the community is about

• People would like to know how to join and what it is like to be in the community

• People want to see the upcoming and past events

• People have a misconception that Singles For Christ is a catholic dating organization

• People are joining because: 

  • They want to gain new friends and connections

  • Wanted to have a stronger faith

  • They want a support system

  • It is an opportunity to serve through their talents

  • They are looking for their significant someone

Competitive Analysis

The direct competitor’s website, SFC SoCal West is informational, direct, and authentic. It shows who and what SFC SoCal West is about. It can be improved by organizing the contents better in a seamless and delightful flow, making it more aesthetically pleasing, removing/editing things that are not up to date, and the pages no one will manage.

How Might We…

• How might we clean this up? Can we merge other pages to make it more simple?

• How might we make this aesthetically pleasing?

• How might we show this in an organized and smoother flow?

1-on-1 Interview and Empathy Map

An Interview Guide was created to help with the user interview process.

I broke down the key statements of the participants and sorted them out to help me identify the main goals, needs, and frustrations of the users.

Summary of Findings

• 3/4 participants are looking forward to the worship activity

• 4/4 participants expressed their likeness to music

• 2/3 SFC members think that songs with lyrics, chords, ppt, and video are nice to have

• 2/4 participants downloaded some apps for daily bible verses and readings

• 2/4 participants watch videos for different topics like faith stories, healing, forgiveness, etc.

• 1/4 participants downloaded an app for spiritual music

• All SFC members get the info events through the Viber app

• All SFC members are looking forward to the conferences

Here’s what the participants were saying

Define

Persona

To capture the user needs and requirements, I created this persona based on the research findings. This is a good reference to keep the user in mind.

Feature Roadmap

After evaluating the direct competitor’s website and after doing the one-on-one interviews, I listed the features and prioritized it based on the users’ needs.

Prototype & Testing

Using the wireframes, I used Figma’s prototyping tools to make a functioning mockup for users to interact during usability testing. 

I recruited 4 participants to test the new website. I conducted a moderated testing via zoom, wherein they shared their screens with me as they completed the tasks given. Each participant was given three scenarios and tasks and a short interview to get more feedback. I did an A/B test on two homepage designs to see which one makes more impact on the users. After the testing, I transcribed and summarized what the participants were saying and looked into common patterns and difficulties. The testing helped which screens need iterations and improvements.

Test objectives

1. Observe how the users would navigate the website and see if there are any pain points

2. Observe which section is the most exciting and helpful to SFC and non-SFC members  

3. Determine if the information presented is sufficient or if there are things users want to see more

4. Determine how the overall aesthetics affect the user experience

Wins

• Participants said that it’s straightforward.

• They find it simple, resourceful, and neat.

• "Overall, the functionality of the website is something that a ministry could use, or would use." - Participant

• "The pictures give me, oh, this looks really fun you know that's something that I want to get myself involved in, so it's like kind of encouraging me, or like motivating me, maybe I should give this a try." - Participant

Summary of points to consider

• Change the CTA button on the homepage to "Contact Us." 

  • 3 participants want to inquire by calling and sending an email.

• Combine designs A and B.

• Use a hero image instead of the scattered image.

  • All participants mentioned that they like the top section for design A better.

  • 2/4 participants said they like design A because they don't have to scroll and see right away what SFC is all about.

  • 1 participant said that design A is an upgraded version of design B

• Expose the testimonials

  • Only 1 participant was able to observe the testimonials because it's hidden.

• Add a location on the FAQ section.

  • 2 out of 4 participants are looking for the area/location on the join us page

Complete Usability Testing Results

Iterations

After summarizing the usability results, I updated and added some screens to improve the design.

The changes made are the ones that have a high impact with low effort.

• CTA button was changed from "join" to "contact us"

• Added location on the FAQ

• Exposed the testimonials

• Combined design A and B

• Added a Spotify button to link on each song