moveAbroad

The Problem:

When adults consider relocating internationally they have to search multiple websites to find information.

The Solution:

moveAbroad is a mobile app where people moving internationally can access necessary documents, local resources and cultural information about a new country — all in one place.

Team Members:

Stephanie Shahbazi - UX/UI Designer

Jason Andrews - UX/UI Designer

June Muthee - UX/UI Designer

Tools:

Figma, Miro, InVision, Trello, Visual Studio Code, Github, Google Suite

In this project, we interviewed 8 potential users and distributed a short survey via social media for additional insight. Our primary goal was to understand the needs of users who are moving internationally.

We received 34 survey responses and discovered: 

→ 70% of respondents said their top concern when moving to a new country is making sure they have the correct documents and visas

→ Most respondents said the most important information to have when moving to a different country is cost of living, cultural differences, laws and social norms, crime/safety

Afterwards, we organized our research in an Affinity Diagram categorizing similar insights in order to visualize and synthesize our data.

During user interviews, we learned that individuals who moved internationally were most concerned with learning about cultural/social rules, laws and crime rates instead of what forms and documents were needed as per our original hypothesis.

When adults consider relocating internationally they have to search multiple websites to find information. We noticed people moving abroad need to know about local customs and cost of living prior to their move. How might we develop a platform to help adults find all the necessary information and resources needed to move to a different country?

From there, we were able to create a User Persona based on our research and brainstormed potential scenarios in the form of Storyboarding to visualize the user’s journey through using the moveAbroad app to complete her goal.

Next, we mapped out which features the app should have utilizing the Feature Priority Matrix.

Some of the main features the moveAbroad app will focus on are:

→ Salary conversion

→ Banking information

→ Cost of living differences

→ Culture Advice

→ Crime & Safety

Then, we sketched our initial thoughts and worked through our User Flow, which continued to evolve after several rounds of usability tests. For the results page, we originally thought a grid view would work visually, but to save time for coding purposes, we opted for a more simple list approach.

Through the first round of testing, we discovered:

→ The user should create their username and password in the onboarding process. Not on the Sign Up / Sign In page.

→ The Results page should have a sticky footer with ‘back’ and ‘profile’ page links.

From there, we created lo-fidelity wireframes, tested and then adjusted our mid-fidelity prototype to reflect the feedback from our usability tests. Testing revealed:

→ User is confused by the order of sign up and sign in. 

Solution: Flip them to group the sign in with its input fields.

→ Users are confused by the page being called Home. 

Solution: We could call it “search” instead.

→ Thin dark blue text is hard to read on the light blue background and orange CTA button seems destructive. Solution: Lighten background or bold thinner fonts, change color of CTA button

Next, we created a comprehensive Style Guide, updated the UI to reflect our previous usability tests and coded our hi-fidelity prototype in Visual Studio Code and published it on Github.