Juicebox Hero
Austin TX Based Website Marketplace for Childcare
JuiceBox Hero (JBH) was created to simplify the process of finding childcare for working parents. JBH was founded in 2017 by Austin native, Laurie Felker Jones. As part of my last group project for General Assembly’s UX Design Immersion program, I along with two other fellows UX Designers were assigned JBH as our project company.
When we first met with Laurie (Founder) and Breck Baig (Head of Operations) they were in the process of transforming the JBH website from an information website to a subscription-based pricing model.
The Challenge
- On initial review of original JBH website, Home page did appear scrollable
- There were no visible incentives to sign-up or to buy premium subscription
- Lack of information & images on provider's page did not instill trust
My Role
My role as Lead UX Researcher was to help guide the JBH UX team with the Initial Research Phase, which focused on establishing a benchmark to understand how much of the previously gathered by JBH's user feedback had been incorporated in current site iteration. The second phase of research was to validate most frequent search path done by users, to investigate value in services as perceived by to increase the conversation rate from simple account creation to a monthly user subscription. Lastly, identify any gaps to turn these into opportunities for the company.
Steps taken to the development of a solution were the following:
- Synthesized all previously gathered JBH's user feedback by organizing an affinity map session to establish a benchmark of how much of user input had been incorporated to the existing website.
- Conducted usability testing of existing website to have a better understanding of user flow and identify existing pain points.
- Updated user personas, to be more representative of JBH's users.
- Constructed a journey map for both user personas, where pain points were identified but also demonstrated how to mitigate these.
- Prepared, conducted and documented usability testing findings for prototype to include: Creation of test plan, formulating interview guide, and conducting user interviews.
- Identified areas of opportunities for the company to offer as premium services, thus creating a pathway to facilitate an incentive for the user to go from account creation to monthly subscriber.
Baseline Study
To begin our project the UX Design Team looked at all the data and information previously gathered by JuiceBox Hero. Some of the preexisting artifacts included user interviews, usability testing of first website version and wireframes.
We read through all the information and began making individual post-its to account for insights, thoughts, and quotes and we used these to carry out an affinity mapping session.
Affinity Mapping (Previous Interviews)
We synthesized all the data by creating an affinity map to see emerging themes. We used this information as a benchmark to understand how much of the user feedback had been incorporated in current site iteration.
Findings:
Identified Pain Points
- Account creation workflow did not align with user expectations or competitor sign-up.
- Fractured experience of providing compulsory information with no insight as to what the user inputs will inform.
- Filter mechanism was not functional which made users distrust the system.
- No Call To Action: no prompt to potential upgrade to more robust service offerings.
- Limited provider information, resulting in researching on external sites.
Emerging Themes
- Identified educational needs of users
- Identified goals of user for using website
- Noted target's feelings regarding brand
Usability Testing
We conducted usability testing of the website and gathered insights from test participants. This allowed us to construct a user journey mapping for website.
User Journey Mapping
Once we had insights from the usability testing, we created a user journey map of the site to identify pain points.
CURRENT CUSTOMER JOURNEY #1
- Status: 1st-time parents, changing providers
- Critical Issue: Wanted to leave the website when she had issues with the sign-up process, she disliked the notion of having to leave site in order to verify her sign up information.
CURRENT CUSTOMER JOURNEY #2
- Status: 2nd-time parents
- Critical Issue: Didn't see value / not enough Provider info to create an account and felt distrust for the product when she encountered filter application problems.
CURRENT CUSTOMER JOURNEY #3
- Status: Planning to have kids
- Critical issue: Overwhelmed by Provider description, feeling uneducated to make any decisions. Stated she would appreciate recommendations & reviews from other users of the site.
User Personas
Using all the information gathered in discovery research, we conceived two user personas representative of users of JuiceBox Hero, and I created a user profile for each.
First user profile is a first time parent that not only needs to find a child care provider but may need additional education on the process and some guidance a long the way.
The second user profile is a busy parent with a shorter time frame to find childcare, but knows what she is looking for in a provider and this is not her first time looking for childcare.
Competitive Analysis
I conducted competitive analysis among childcare provider website platforms currently on the market to identify current trends and for aesthetic inspiration. These include: Winnie, Care.com and Sittercity.com: Summary of the findings including strengths and weaknesses provided in the matrix below.
Heuristic Evaluation
A heuristic evaluation of JBH website was perform with a focus on function and design trends in comparison to market competitors.
Design Studio
The JBH UX Team participated on a design studio for the ideation phase by sketching out ideas for possible solutions taking into consideration all finding from discovery research and current market trends.
We identified features that worked best across the designs and assembled them into the most promising design that addressed user pain points.
Solution
With all this information we were able to create scope of project to focus on the following areas:
- Educate & engage all users
- Simplify account creation process
- Increase conversion from website visitor to monthly subscribers by presenting a value proposition to encourage premium subscription of services provided by the company.
Problem & Solution Statements
Problem Statement
User Persona 1: Wendy Salas
As a first-time mother, Wendy needs a way to find a childcare provider. She needs to understand the process of selecting a daycare, because she’s feeling overwhelmed and stressed by all the options. Wendy needs support & clear guidelines to help her feel confident in her decisions.
User Persona 2: Stephanie Tice
Stephanie needs a quick way to find childcare for her 2 kids because right now she is in the process of relocating to Austin and and is not familiar with the area.
Solution Statement
We believe that by updating the current website to help users search for care, explain the search process, provide tools that help them narrow down the search and by offering clear information about the provider, we will create a feeling of trust for moms and ultimately generate confidence that they have made the best choice in the selection of their childcare provider. We will know this to be true when 25% more parents create accounts and find their providers through JuiceBox Hero.
Information Architecture & Sitemap
A sitemap was created, reflecting the information the two users personas would need in order to carry out their goals when using the website.
New User Flows
Proposed new user flows for a happy path for each user persona.
Journey Maps
With a better understanding of our user persona and their goals in using the JBH website, I created a journey map for each user. I took into consideration each pain point our user would encounter throughout their journey and offered a possible solution to compensate for each.
Wireframes
1st Iteration Wireframes
Homepage
Detailed Changes:
- 1) Our initial thought was to give the user a choice of two different paths, following current caregiver websites where the zip code option is most prominent. The other aimed for first-time parents that may need more guidance in the selection of a child caregiver.
- 2) The second area would be to show a progression of steps needed by the user to select a caregiver.
- 3) We also thought of an area where JBH can state why the user should use them vs. competitors.
- 4) We thought the testimonials were a great enhancement and should stay on the homepage, as well as the channels were JBH had been featured.
- 5) Lastly, we added a footer where we could include JBH's social media channels, a link to their About Us, blog, FAQ, and terms of service.
Account Page
Detailed Changes:
- 1) For this page, we thought it would be helpful to demonstrate the user where they are in the process of selecting a childcare provider.
- 2) Next, we thought having a section where the user can show their selected providers would be beneficial. As well as showing their saved searches which they could share with others involved in the selection process.
- 3) For the third section, we thought it would be useful for the user to be able to see their status in the application process for each provider they had applied to.
- 4) For their account information, we thought of having a place where they were able to list their locations searched by, these could be their home address or their work address. In this area, they too can see what were the search preferences they had used.
- 5) An area to add their children, but also information that would be important for the provider to know such as a child being potty trained or having certain allergies.
- 6) Lastly, having a section where they can view their scheduled events such a site visit.
Provider Page
Detailed Changes:
- 1) From our discovery research, it was determined that users wanted to see images of the provider's facilities to instill trust in selecting a provider. Based on this we thought it would be great to have an image carousel to demonstrate different areas of the facility, maybe play area or lunch area.
- 2) We also thought that having an area where parents could see that the provider had claimed their page would also help instill trust from and make the website seem more legitimate. JBH was wanting to have users rate and review the different facilities and we thought that demonstrating these ratings and access to reviews would help parents select a provider.
- 3) In what to expect area, we thought giving the parent a glance of the type of services offered by the childcare would be handy when selecting a provider based on their individual needs. This area would also act as a call to action, by offering premium services provided by JBH to make the selection process easier for the user.
- 4) Description area would be an area where the provider could include more history for their facility and highlight anything they would want parents to know.
- 5) The Curriculum would be an area where at a glance parents would get to see what type of activities their child could expect to do throughout their day in the facility.
- 6) Previously the location of provider was next to provider's information, but we thought location should be in a different area.
- 7) Lastly, JBH wanted to implement premium services and we thought this would be a great area to showcase these, such as a provider by provider comparison feature, and a price calculator that would tally up all the expenses the parent could expect to pay per provider.
Usability Testing
Conducted usability testing on 7 participants, 4 in person and 3 remote.
Usability Testing Goals: Goals of a usability test were to observe if test participants were able to accomplish the following:
- Validate the most popular path.
- Find a provider that matches all user needs.
- Find value in services and increase the conversion rate.
- Using the Rainbow Spreadsheet I documented metrics on task completion and jotted down usability testing observations and findings to determine prioritization of features for revised JBH website.
Findings
- 100% of test participants wanted to know the costs associated with each daycare provider, some stated that even a price range would be helpful as well. This finding would be an opportunity that could be fulfilled by the company's premium feature, Price Calculator, where the approximated costs (e.g. diapers, formula, daily meals and snacks) for the daycare could be seen by the user.
- 86% wanted to have a section where they could add notes on a particular childcare provider, especially if they wanted to share their find with another person. This finding could also be another opportunity for JBH's premium features offering.
- 71% of users preferred zip code as their main search feature, this aligned with market trends, as most notable childcare provider search sites made zip code search their most prominent search feature, and validated to us that JBH should do so as well.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Iterations were made to wireframes based on usability testing feedback. High-fidelity wireframes were created using the style guide created by our UI team lead and consistent with the JuiceBox Hero style guide.
Prototype
For Prototype demonstration, click on the link below
Outcome
Next Steps & Recommendations
- Offer a simple sign-on process such as using 3rd party credentials e.g, Facebook or Google password.
- Incorporate the quiz feature inside the website flow vs. using an outside quiz provider to provide sense of consistency to user.
- Make Provider's Pages more robust by including the provider in the process of owning their page, filling out their information and showcasing more images of their facility, more images instilled trust from users.
- Fix all the bugs that were causing filter errors, to make users confident that the search results were valid.
Insights & Lessons Learned
- Learned how to navigate conversations with stakeholders to help them understand how better user experience, based on user input and testing, would result in the best output, such as conversion from user visit to account creation and facilitating a pathway to an upgrade of services.
- I mediated between two thought camps on how best to proceed with the project, in the best interest of the project.