Designer + Researcher
August – December 2022
Figma + Adobe CC
Summary
Challenge
Dobermann is a personal safety app that helps users feel safer leaving their homes. Bad situations can arise at anytime, and Dobermann serves as a safety measure that builds confidence.
People vulnerable to harm need a resource that minimizes their concerns because they feel unsafe when they are alone or without a witness. The app must be efficient and easy to use since users freeze up when threatened.
Background
This research study is to support the development of personal safety tools and learn how to help users feel more secure when going out.
Research Plan
Goals
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Discover when users feel the most susceptible to harm.
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Discover what helps users feel more safe.
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Discover habits users have to keep themselves safe or escape plans users have.
Methodology
Six 1:1 interviews over Zoom or the phone — depending on the availability of the participant. Each interview will last 30 minutes.
Participant Screening
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Age range: 18-40
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Those who feel vulnerable to harm
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Have been in a dangerous situation in the past 3 years
Sample Questions
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Tell me about a time you felt unsafe.
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In what ways do you wish you responded differently to this situation?
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Are there specific scenarios where you feel susceptible to harm? What are they?
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Describe everyday habits you have developed to protect yourself.
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Describe what makes you feel safe while you’re out.
"The pressure got to me and I wasn't thinking clearly... I was panicking."
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"I feel so flustered in the moment, I don't know how to react quickly."
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"When someone else knows what's going on I feel a sense of security."
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"I feel the most concerned walking home at night."
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"I always keep my location on for family and friends."
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"Whenever I go somewhere, I text someone to tell them where I'm going and who I'm meeting."
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"I like having people around that can be witnesses if something happens."
User Interviews
Affinity Mapping
Relevant Findings
01 Freeze
Many people have a "freeze" response to bad situations. During moments of panic, they have a hard time thinking clearly and have slow thought processes — their mind goes blank and they do not know what to do.
02 Having a Witness
Knowing someone can act as a witness provides a sense security. Users feel most vulnerable when they are alone or when it is dark.
03 Communication
People like to keep family and friends in-the-know of what they are doing. They tend to share their location with others or let someone know where they are headed.
How Might We
How might we help users who can’t think clearly during a bad situation?
How might we increase the user’s confidence when they are by themselves?
How might we integrate typical safety habits into our solution?
Problem Statement
People vulnerable to harm need a resource that minimizes their concerns because they feel unsafe when they are alone or without a witness.
User Flow
The initial user flow is shown below which features a homepage containing a friends tab and a map tab. Within the friends tab, users can add, search, and edit friends; and users can view friends' locations, update their status, and utilize the emergency buttons in the map tab. Through the design process, I realized the map worked better as the homepage with tabs for friends and user status — this design change is reflected in the mid-fidelity wireframes below.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Interactive Prototype
User Feedback
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All caps made readability difficult
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Suggested an info page should be present
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The alternating layout made it difficult for users to jump back and forth between layouts
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The back button is more intuitive in the upper left corner
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On the My Status page, the ability to change status should be more emphasized
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The images looked strange on the Change Status page
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It was not intuitive that you drag the emergency buttons up
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The I'm Home Safe button needed to be easier to see on the Emergency Buttons pages
Design Changes
In order to cater to my users, I made all necessary changes based on the user feedback from user testing. For instance, I...
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Changed the all cap text to sentence case​
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Created an info page that can be found on the homepage
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Changed the alternating layout to one consistent layout
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Moved the back button to the top left corner of the screen
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Decreased the size of the home icon and increased the Change Status button on the My Status page
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Removed the images on the Change Status page
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Added text that explains how to interact with the emergency buttons
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Added underlines to free standing buttons in order to clarify they are interactive
Conclusion
Seeing the design slowly come to life is always my favorite part when completing a UI/UX project. So much thought and time goes into every step of the process — including the research.
Although this is not my first UI/UX project, I learned so much after 16 weeks. For instance, vertical spacing in 8px increments is industry standard, CTA's should be at least 44px wide (or tall), alternating layouts are aesthetically pleasing but not UX friendly, all caps are not easily readable, etc.
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I am proud of how far this project has come and look forward to utilizing my new skills in future UI/UX projects.
Future Plans
I would consider integrating a navigation feature into my map if I had more time and resources. Based on my research, users feel vulnerable to harm when they are unfamiliar with their environment. I would like users to have the ability to save locations in the app and navigate to these locations — or their friends' locations — if necessary.