UX Writing - Principal User Journey
Content and UX design for a marketplace app.
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As a student with UX Writing Hub’s Academy, the premier and final project was creating a fictional digital product using the content-first approach and provide several UX writing deliverables.
Overview
Life’s Lemons is an e-commerce marketplace and sharing app that aims to reduce surplus food waste and connect people to all things local.
See the full project brief and copy rationale here: Life's Lemons Copy Docs
Scope
Aside from just coming up with a fictional product, I was tasked with completing this project in three comprehensive phases:
UX Research (3 weeks)
Content-First Design (4 weeks)
Testing + Optimization (2 weeks)
Due to the nature of this large project, collaborating with external participants during each phase of the project’s lifecycle helped to guide the project through to completion.
My role: UX Writer
Stakeholders: UX writing mentor, UX Writing Hub, me (as this is my product)
Deliverables
UX research (plan and final report)
Card sorting product features
Mini content style guide
User journey map
Several product screens (journey+ more), +1 iteration
User testing and findings
Timeline: 9 weeks total
Tools used: Figma, Miro, Airtable, Notion, Google Docs
Initially, starting a project from scratch seemed daunting. Yet, it was also very exciting because I had the freedom to design something from the ground up, which allowed this project to have endless room for interpretation, flexibility, and creativity.
Thinking big picture, I had so many questions:
What type of digital product would I create?
What research would be needed?
What would the principal user journey be?
How would I test the copy?
But first things first.
Hypothesis
Creating an app solely on sharing surplus homegrown produce or home-baked or other goods was limiting. By nestling that “sharing” part in a marketplace app, it would be more relevant and palatable for general consumers.
Challenges
Not having prior experience designing product screens for an entire user journey. Yet, I knew it would be a fun challenge. To overcome this personal challenge, I put to use the knowledge I learned in the course, reached out to colleagues, asked questions, and made decisions based on research and testing.
Problem
My grandparents’ orchard often had surplus produce (lemons, oranges, and avocados) that went to waste because we didn’t have an easy or obvious way to share them. But “people with surplus backyard produce” would be too narrow of a niche for a marketplace app.
So, by focusing on the “sharing with neighbors” and “community” aspects of this, the app would aim to get people to share more, waste less, and connect people to buy and sell locally made or sourced goods.
UX Research
Part I
For this research phase, I used a variety of UX research methods to help me better understand the needs and goals of the end user and thoroughly develop an understanding of the market/industry I’m writing for.
The final research findings in the slideshow below contain the most important information. For a more in-depth look at my work, please use the links provided.
Include market research and competitor analysis key takeaways below.
Deliverables
Research Findings (in slideshow below)
Market Research, Competitor Analysis (AirTable)
Determining Target Audience + Users
Conversation Mining (AirTable)
Waste & Sharing Survey (PDF)
User Interviews
User Persona (PDF)
UX Research: Key Takeaways
Conversation Mining
Buyers, sellers, and sharers all want a marketplace that is easy to use and straightforward.
This audience rates customer service as very important and doesn’t want to be just another ticket number.
Users want to be reassured about safety for food sharing and free item pick-up arrangements.
Ensure that rules for sellers are fair to buyers. Many upset buyers want sellers to be held accountable for not shipping items or have the app look into preventing scams or fraud.
Sellers want a fair fee structure that works for their business.
Competitor Analysis
TooGood2Go: collects excess food from restaurants and offers it at a discount for its member
Imperfect Foods: a subscription service that delivers fresh/seasonal produce and pantry staples made imperfectly and not good enough to sell in grocery stores. Eye-catching, friendly, and fun design.
Olio: a sharing app that started with food but later included household items.
GumTree: Australia's free marketplace to buy things locally (for Aussies). Find cars, furniture, electronics, jobs, real estate & more for sale across Australia.
Sprouts: a supermarket chain that focuses on local growers and small sellers, playing up the idea of small-town life and community in a clever and engaging way on their website.
Content-First Design
Part II
Before drafting copy, I needed to perform card sorting to determine what features the app would have. I also needed to map the principal user journey of a new Life’s Lemons user to help design the conversation. Using the pain points and other data gathered in the research phase, I was then able to start writing.
To keep things short, I’ve only included the user journey map and first iteration user flow screens below.
Deliverables
Card sorting product features
Mini content style guide
User journey map
1st iteration screens of the principal user journey
Life’s Lemons: User Journey Map
Life’s Lemons: Product Screens
Testing & Optimization
Part III
Before drafting a word of copy, I needed to perform card sorting to determine what features the app would have. I also needed to map the principal user journey of a new Life’s Lemons user to help design the conversation. Using the pain points and other data gathered in the research phase, I was then able to start writing.
To keep things short, I’ve only included the user journey map and first iteration user flow screens below.
Deliverables
2nd iteration of screens
Perform user testing
Analyze findings to determine how to best organize the onboarding flow
Life’s Lemons: User Testing
Process
Analyze research -> Card sorting to select app features -> Mini-Content Style Guide -> User Journey -> Ideate and write drafts -> Play with layout and content design -> Design mockups -> Submit deliverables to mentor
Approach
After product research and conversation mining, I created user journey map to gauge user feelings and related insights to highlight their desires and pain points to help improve the onboarding messaging by being relevant, engaging, and timely.
I redesigned the entire onboarding flow in an approachable and friendly tone that creates a sense of community and prioritizes user engagement by using progressive onboarding techniques that display important and relevant information necessary for both the user and the company.