Millie- A Social Giving App

Secondary Research

During my employment at Hult International Business School as an academic advisor, many students ask me about finding volunteering opportunities. While we provided multiple resources that allows them to contact the organization directly, it was not very efficient, and the students found the process extremely time-consuming. This prompted me to research available apps that allowed users to sign up for volunteer positions with a click of a button, but the search was unsuccessful. However, I found Millie, which allowed users to donate with a swipe. The app has already partnered with numerous organizations and adding a volunteering feature will benefit both users and stakeholders.

Since Millie’s target audience was already established, and it aligned with my provisional personas, I started to gather information about Millenials and their social giving habits. According to The Millennial Impact Report shared that “77% of millennials said they’re more likely to volunteer when they can use their specific skills or expertise to benefit a cause.”

I was able to identify and resonate with this statement from my grad school days and previous roles at higher ed institutions- as many students offer their skills to non-profit organizations to

- gain more knowledge - develop skill-sets - add experience to resume - network with like-minded individuals.

Provisional Personas

Based on the secondary research, I was able to develop provisional personas that are potential users of the volunteer feature.

Primary Research- Survey

I conducted a survey to understand millennials’ preferences in social giving and volunteering habits

Survey Findings:

The findings were a result of 20 participants between ages 24 & 40.

Persona

Based on the above research, I created a persona representative of Millie Volunteer Feature’s target user

Meet Layla, a 28-year-old grad student in Boston. She volunteers for different non-profit organizations to understand how it functions, and build a community that cares.

Project Goals & Feature Roadmap

Based on the data gathered in the empathize phase, I drafted goals for users and stakeholders of Millie App, to make volunteering and the sign-up journey as seamless and enjoyable as possible. After project goals are set, I’ve laid out a feature roadmap considering user needs and stakeholders’ priority and resources.

App Architecture

After setting up feature goals and setting up a roadmap, I mapped out the existing architecture to identify where the feature can be added. It made sense for me to add the “Volunteer” feature in the app’s navigation, and move the “Wallet” to the profile.

Exploratory Sketches and Mid Fidelity Wireframes

Using my research findings, app architecture, and task flows, I started sketching a few elements/components, as majority of the layout will follow the existing app layout. Once I decided on the visual direction of the layout, I digitized a low-fi version of wireframes based on sketches.

Visual Design

Millie already has an existing branding and visual design. Additionally, I designed buttons for “sign-up” and “see open positions”. I’ve integrated other existing icons and colors in this design, to make sure that the feature blends with the existing visuals.

Millie UI Kit

High-Fidelity Wireframes

Tasks

• Task 1: Find volunteer tab and search for organizations closer to your location

• Task 2: Filter by cause area of choice

• Task 3: Choose an organization and see open positions

• Task 4: Proceed to sign-up for a role

Usability Test

Using the prototype created, I conducted a usability test to ensure the feature make sense to users and see if various tasks related to the feature could be completed.

Revision

One of the feedbacks were to have the “contact the point person” from the organization for the position easily. I’ve added a tertiary button to contact the Event Lead in my final revision.