1A. User Research – Summary

1A / 1B / 1C / 1D

I used BeOwner data on how to start a business to develop interview questions, which were then used to conduct user interviews. Most interview participants reported that they have complex filings and problems when starting a business.

However, the research feedback made it clear that users will be open and willing to work with an organization that wants to help them to start a business and continue a successful business.

> See UX Research Study Plan

1B. Personas

1A / 1B / 1C / 1D

Problem statement:
‍Christina is a working engineer who needs help registering a business process and other assistance related, and because she’s swamped, she wants to have all support in one place

Problem statement:
‍Dennis is a digital strategist with a plan to start a business, but he needs help on the legal side of the business creation that will let him concentrate on perfecting his business plan.

> Meet Our Users – Personas

1C. Competitive Audit

1A / 1B / 1C / 1D

To understand the competition and to determine the key opportunities that BeOwner can have above the competition, I performed a Competitive Audit.

Auditing a few competitors’ tools and products provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with the BeOwner app.

> See The Full Competitive Audit

1D. Ideation – Crazy Eights

1A / 1B / 1C / 1D

I did a quick ideation exercise to come up with ideas for addressing gaps identified in the competitive audit. My focus was explicitly offering solutions to start a business and adjacent services all in one place.

> See the Crazy Eight Exercise

2A. Digital Wireframes

2A / 2B / 2C

After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial design for the BeOwner app. These designs deliver personalized guidance to users who need help starting a business.

> See The Digital Wireframes

2B. Low-Fidelity Prototype

2A / 2B / 2C

To prepare for usability testing, I created a low-fidelity prototype that connected the user flow of viewing how a business can be legally registered or transferred to be a BeOwner organization.

> View Low-Fidelity Prototype

2C. Usability Study – Parameters

2A / 2B / 2C

I conducted a usability study, and the findings from the study helped guide the design from wireframes to mockups. These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:

PARAMETERS
Study type: Unmoderated usability study
‍Location: Canada, remote
‍Participants: 5 participants
‍Length: 30-60 minutes

FINDINGS:
Solution for a new business: People want easy access to solutions to help them start a successful business.
‍Register a business: People had difficulty going through the legal process of registering a company.
‍Transfer a business: People preferred clear indications of the solutions offered and clear messages about the benefits BeOwner offers.

> See The Affinity Diagram

3A. Mockups

3A / 3B / 3C

Based on the insights from usability studies, I applied the design changes, like providing a clearly defined area for the main call-to-action. For example, I added white space, brought colour, and highlighted the four main categories BeOwner covers.

Additionally, I perfected the sign-in process, taking out unnecessary steps and making fields and options more visible and apparent. Finally, I created the main navigation where I added a Home Page and a Your Account Page that let users access the main important features in the navigation.

3B. High-Fidelity Prototype

3A / 3B / 3C

The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.

> View High-Fidelity Prototype

3C. Accessibility – Considerations

3A / 3B / 3C

First Consideration
Clear labels for interactive elements that screen readers can read.

Second Consideration
The initial focus of the home screen on personalized recommendations helps define the primary task or action for the user.

4A. Information Architecture

4A / 4B

Site Map for Responsive Website
With the app designs completed, I started work on designing the responsive website. I used the BeOwner sitemap to guide the organizational structure of each screen’s design to ensure a cohesive and consistent experience across devices.

4A. Information Architecture

4A / 4B

Mobile • Tablet • Desktop
The designs for screen size variation included mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized the designs to fit the specific user needs of each device and screen size.

> View Site Map

5A. Takeaways & Next Step

5A

TAKEAWAYS
Impact: Users shared that BeOwner has trustable applications that help start a business successfully. One quote from peer feedback was that “the BeOwner app helps me in the business registration process, and I can concentrate on perfecting and refining my business idea.”

What I learned: I learned that even though the problem I was trying to solve was big, diligently going through each step of the design process and aligning with specific user needs helping me come up with feasible and valuable solutions.

NEXT STEPS
1. Conduct research on how successful the app is in reaching the goal of helping people to start their businesses.
2. Add more educational resources for users to learn how to start, fund and create a business idea. In addition, offering mentoring advice brings extra confidence.
3. Emphasize on provide robust solutions, connections and encouragement to users for successfully using BeOwner solutions.

> View Site Map