Amy Freid
Auufa: Designing a One Stop Shop Marketplace
Desktop Website | B2B & B2C SaaS
Overview
Auufa is a startup founded by two experienced architects with a vision to drive change in an industry that has been functioning very traditionally, despite society's technological advancements. While the individual tools used have advanced immensely, there is no innovation in regards to combining the core use cases for these tools in one.
Auufa is a crossfunctional professional platform where designers (architects, interior designers, etc.) and manufacturers connect to promote innovation and efficiency on projects through the consolidation of the product discovery and planning process.
Team & Roles
Amy Freid | UX Design & Research
Christina Tai | UX Design & Research
Peter Ku | UX Design & Research
Methods & Tools
User Interviews using Otter
Research synthesis using Affinity Mapping
Feature prioritization using a MoSCoW map
Competitive Analysis
Usability testing using a Sketch prototype
Understanding the Problem
Who We Interviewed
To understand the problem space, we interviewed 10 architects of varying levels. We also interviewed 1 manufacturer to gain supplemental insights. Our goal was to understand how architects interact with manufacturers and discover trends in the product discovery process.
Synthesizing Insights
We used Affinity Mapping to synthesize the interview findings, develop a persona, and illustrate their journey. Our first round of mapping left us with inconclusive insights, which led us to another focused round of mapping.
The biggest trends we discovered helped us define our target user's behaviors, needs, and pain points.
Empathizing With the Target User
Rafaela's Product & Manufacturer Discovery Journey
Visualizing Rafaela's journey was not only necessary for the design team to visualize her pain points, but for Auufa's stakeholders to empathize with her enough to see the value in the proposed solution.
What is the Problem?
Rafaela needs a way to easily discover different products and reliable manufacturers because she finds herself constantly relying on the same manufacturers she’s worked with on past projects, which limits the novelty of her work.
Defining the Solution
Feature Prioritization on a MoSCoW Map to Define the MVP
Feature-Based Competitive Analysis
Designing the Solution
Our team created an intuitive marketplace experience where Rafaela can browse through products and manufacturers as well as post a Request For Proposals detailing her project’s needs that manufacturers can respond to with Proposals.
Final Prototype
Validating the Solution
We conducted user testing with 3 potential users in the target demographic to validate our solution and understand next steps
Understanding Next Steps
