MAMMABEAR.COM
ROLE
UX design
PRODUCT
The challenge was to create a babysitting website that parents (and babysitters) could trust.
DISCOVERY
To understand what was required for the MVP, the competitor landscape was reviewed, the clients vision was explored, and research into user needs, behaviours and pain‐points was undertaken. The research revealed that key concerns for parents were trust in the carer and that they could verify reviews with other parents. Parents were not adverse to leaving their kids with strangers, they just wanted to get to know the sitters a little more. Babysitters also wanted to see families before committing to a job and to know exactly what was expected of them.
SOME ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE PROVEN WRONG:
Babysitters did the job casually and that it was not a career. Wrong.
Babysitters mostly did the job because they genuinely enjoyed being with children, most were studying in a child related field.
Parents would never use an anonymous site with strangers to look after their kids. Wrong.
They would consider it IF they could trust who they were getting.
Parents want the house cleaned, dinner cooked, kids bathed as well as the kids being looked after. Wrong. Parents consider caring for the child more important that housework.
Parents would prefer an older mother to look after their kids. Wrong.
A majority of people said a younger, more fun carer who would play with their kids was more important to them.
3 key segments were identified: babysitters/nannies looking for find work, carers looking to find a casual babysitter and carers looking to find a permanent nanny. 3 personas were then created, segmented by goal.
Babysitters did the job casually and that it was not a career. Wrong.
Babysitters mostly did the job because they genuinely enjoyed being with children, most were studying in a child related field.
Parents would never use an anonymous site with strangers to look after their kids. Wrong.
They would consider it IF they could trust who they were getting.
Parents want the house cleaned, dinner cooked, kids bathed as well as the kids being looked after. Wrong. Parents consider caring for the child more important that housework.
Parents would prefer an older mother to look after their kids. Wrong.
A majority of people said a younger, more fun carer who would play with their kids was more important to them.
3 key segments were identified: babysitters/nannies looking for find work, carers looking to find a casual babysitter and carers looking to find a permanent nanny. 3 personas were then created, segmented by goal.
DIRECTION
The 3 personas guided the design direction for the site. The structure of the site was developed by sketching and storyboarding,
with multiple options for the user interface and interactivity of the experience explored. To address one of the key pain points of trust identified during interviews and customer journeys, the site would feature video profiles for babysitters and parents on the homepage.
REFINEMENT
User testing was undertaken with participants that matched the personas. The first iteration of the prototype was tested with recommendations to test again after revisions were made with some key recommendations:
NAVIGATION:
Users had difficulty finding menu items that were not always visible in the navigation where they had to register or log in to access them, therefore it was recommended that navigation show all content for all personas.
CONTACT INFO:
Users were frustrated that they couldn’t contact their babysitter and all went to “My Bookings” to message them. Therefore it is recommended to make “My bookings” more of a hub and allow users to message, see their phone number, and review from this section.
PAYMENT:
“Pay by cash” was a popular option for this persona although it was added into the design at the request of the Babysitter persona,
this persona also enjoyed this option of payment. They were frustrated that it was after the credit card/ Paypal info as they expected it to be an option, therefore it is recommended to treat “pay by cash” with equal weighting as cash and Paypal.
REVIEWS:
Users were confused as to how to leave a review as the option wasn’t clear to them, therefore it is recommended to add another button option clearly titled “write a review” to ensure there is no ambiguity.