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Overview

Kidzout is a supportive community for parents to discover and book activities and classes for children aged 3-12 in their local area. With Kidzout, parents can access local reviews and in-app messaging to connect with nearby groups, share their experiences, and enhance their children's development together.
Role
Concept Development, Research, Prototyping, User testing, Product Design
Tools
Figma, Principle
Timeline
April 2022, 2 months
Keywords
Research, Ideation, Personas, User Flow, Information Architecture, Wireframe, Prototype, Visual Design, Usability Test

Understand the Problem

Problem Statement
Many parents of younger children are struggling to find a community to share and discuss about local activities for kids, events, after school classes, camps and school choices etc. Most of them getting these kinds of information through their friends or searching online. It’s pretty frustrating to spend hours searching family adventures and activities.
Proposed Solutions
Create an engaging, multifunctional, and accessible platform that allows parents to discover the local activities and places for kids that best fit their family’s schedule. Build a local social network of parents, so they can have a community to share and discuss about it.
mockup 1

Competitor Analysis

There’re very limited products focusing on parents and kids’ needs like this. The competitors I found are KidPass, Happyly and Pearachute Kids. I conducted the SWOT analysis on their UX/UI, content, design and performance quality, which helped me find inspirations and opportunities for my project.
What makes them stand out
1
Detailed filters options such as distance, time, age groups, categories, prices and reviews etc.
2
Easily book or cancel an activity.
3
Rewards to encourage users submitting new events to the app.
4
Personalized activity plans.
5
A community for parents to share activity experiences and discuss parenting topics.
6
Maps to show distance and direction.

User Research

Key Findings
  • Most of the parents would do any child’s favorite activities.
  • High-income children are almost twice as likely to have participated in non-school learning and activities.
Target Audience
Parents of 3-12 y/o children, aged between 28-45 years old, who are well-educated with upper-middle income to high income, and care about children’s learning development.
statistics

Persona

Profile 1

Andrew Rowland

Father to 2 sons Leo & Marc
Age 34, software engineer
I love to spend my weekend with my sons doing family-friendly activities like hiking, going to playground, visiting museum etc.
About

Andrew enjoys spending time with his family, but he is having troubles to find kids-friendly activities around the neighborhood.

Frustrations
  • Spent hours on finding the right activity for his sons on every weekend.
  • Hard to keep tracking of new activities that are coming to the town.
Goals
  • Looking to enjoy more time with family rather than planning.
  • Would like to get notifications on upcoming activities nearby.
  • To find activities that are educational and meeting his kids’ developmental needs.
Profile 2

Beth Miller

Auntie to Sophia 3 y/o
Age 31, fashion designer
My niece is the joy of my life. I enjoy spending time with her and watching her grow. It also makes me feel good to help my sister out.
About

Beth loves her niece and enjoys helping her sister out by babysitting Sophia. She wants to find educational and fun activities that near Sophia’s home.

Frustrations
  • Doesn’t know what’s the most popular places and things to do with kids.
  • Hard to compare kid’s activities or off-school classes online.
Goals
  • To get inspired and discover trending kids activities.
  • Looking for activities that are budget-friendly and convenient.
  • Easy to book and cancel online.
Profile 3

Abbie Gills

Mom to daughter Emma 7 y/o
Age 39, teacher
I love finding other strong moms in my neighborhood who share the same values and look out for one another.
About

Abbie is a school teacher who cares about her daughter’s education. She signed up many off-school classes like piano, ballet, painting for Emma to explore for her real interests.

Frustrations
  • Always misses kid’s events due to her busy schedule.
  • It’s difficult to find quality activities for kids. She would like to compare these classes/events, but there’s no reviews online.
Goals
  • Tracking different classes and events in one place.
  • To share activities with friends and family.
  • To find local mom communities.

Ideation

Point-of-View Statements
As a working mother, I aim to connect with fellow strong moms in my community who uphold similar values and encounter similar parenting obstacles.
As a parent of young children, I want to easily find and book local kids' activities so that I can provide enriching experiences for my family.
As a parent seeking quality activities for my children, I rely on the app to access local reviews and recommendations, ensuring the experiences meet my family's needs.
Challenges Refined
HMW support parents and care givers in effectively scheduling and coordinating their children's events to fit within their busy lifestyles and schedules?
HMW streamline the process of finding activities and classes that match the interests and developmental stage of each child?
HMW design a user-friendly interface that encourages active participation and engagement within a parent community, enhancing the overall user experience?

User Flow 01

Profile 1
Andrew Rowland‍
Age 34
Father of 2 sons
User Story
As a busy Dad, I want to get personalized recommendations for my kids activities.
User Task
Create an account or log in the app, find the recommended activities on the home screen.
flow chart 1

User Flow 02

Profile 2
Beth Miller
Age 31
Auntie to a 3 y/o niece
User Story
As an aunt who often babysits my niece, I'm looking for budget-friendly kids' activities.
User Task
Use filters to refine the searching results and find the activities that matching her budget.
flow chart 2

User Flow 03

Profile 3
Beth Miller
Age 37
Mom of 7 y/o daughter
User Story
As a working mom, I want to connect with other strong moms in my neighborhood who share similar values.
User Task
Search for a local mom group in the community and join it.
flow chart 3

Wireframe

Using the site map structure as a guide, I initially sketched out the app's main features on paper. Then, I progressed by refining these sketches into mid-fidelity wireframes.
wireframe

Usability Testing

Conducted a moderated usability testing with 6 potential users to understand how they navigate and complete 3 tasks efficiently. Also to understand users’ experience while navigating through design prototype.
Link to the Prototype
Tasks Assigned
1.
Go through the on-boarding and signup process of this app.
2.
Start from the home screen, find an indoor play center for your kid.
3.
Find a local mama group and request to join it.
Key Findings
87%
participants successfully completed all the tasks.
30%
participants hesitated on the same task, but solved by themselves.
4.5
out of 5 ratings on the overall impressions of Kidzout.

Test Results

Task 1
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All participants found the onboarding process is easy to follow.
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Liked the indicators on the bottom to show how many screens they were expecting to navigate through.
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Could add questions like how many kids do they have and if the user is a Dad, Mom or caregiver.
Task 2
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Liked the visual design and layout, found all the content are well-organized.
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Nice to have distance and cost in the Filters, as they are key factors when selecting activities for kids.
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A few participants expected to find the results on the homepage.
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A few participants expected to type in the search bar to find the results.
Task 3
check icon
Visually pleasing would want to explore more.
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A few participants had troubles to find the entry of Groups page in the nav bar.
warning icon
One commented the flow on how to find groups list is not smooth and can be refined.
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One suggested to add labels to the nav bar.
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One would like to be able to share the activities to friends and family.

Takeaways

Problem Statement
// Enhance visibility by incorporating labels into the navigation bar.
// Improve the experience of discovering the parents' community by adding additional entry points on the home screen.
Future Enhancements
  • Revisit the flow of onboarding experience.
  • Enhance search functionality.
  • Expand on features like sharing, map view and reviews.

Solutions

ONBOARDING & CUSTOMIZATION

Recommending activities & classes based on your preferences

Our app begins with onboarding questions, guiding you to set up preferences and basic information. This helps us tailor a personalized and relevant product experience for everyone.

iphone mockup Feature introduction gif
iphone mockup Feature introduction gif
DISCOVER & SEARCH

Discover and book thousands of top-rated kids activities & places

Discover and book kids' activities, camps, classes, and local spots easily, from home or on the go. Our advanced filters streamline the search process, making it quick and simple for you to find precisely what you're looking for.

JOIN & Engage

Join local parents community and get supports

Kidzout provides an exclusive parent community where you can explore kid-friendly activities in your neighborhood. Additionally, you'll discover local groups for parenting discussions and support.

iphone mockup Feature introduction gif

Branding

All Screens

Conclusion

What I’ve Learned
Designing Kidzout has been a valuable journey of learning. Balancing diverse user needs into a cohesive product was challenging, but also being validated the significance of early user research. The more people I interviewed, the more product missions and design decisions became clear. Moreover, I learned the importance of usability testing in refining and improving user experience.
Moving Forward
Integrating feedback from testing will drive further enhancements, particularly focusing on improving the onboarding experience and expanding key functionalities such as search, sharing, map view, and reviews.
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