OVERVIEW

Meals for Humanity is a volunteer effort that holds volunteer events monthly at local community centers. 

As a volunteer at the organization and student in the Google UX Design Certification Course, I created this unsolicited volunteer sign up flow based on the second prompt of the course.

The organization currently has no website and utilizes Google Forms to manage volunteer sign ups. I explored alternative sign up options as the sole designer by designing a new user experience after researching users and competitors.

THE PRODUCT

A volunteer sign up flow on a mobile webpage which addresses specific user needs. 

REFLECTION 

This project required specific research and design decisions. When creating elements such as the filters, the footer, a stepper, or the login page, I had to keep going back to wireframing and researching best practices. 

I also looked into other industries, such as e-commerce websites, to help guide my design. I found collaborating with users to be quite helpful with this project- they provided useful feedback and suggestions along the way. A final usability study resulted in 100% task success rate (vs 80% for the first prototype).

USER INTERVIEWS + AFFINITY MAPPING

I interviewed 5 participants between the ages of 18-50. Some questions discussed were:

• What motivates you to sign up as a volunteer? Is there a particular cause or organization you're interested in?

• Think back on a time you signed up or completed a registration form to volunteer. Are there any specific steps, fields, or questions that didn't make sense?

• What information are current sign up platforms missing? What information is important to you as you sign up?

By focusing on questions about past experiences signing up for volunteer opportunities, I found 3 common pain points and other useful insights by affinity mapping relevant comments and needs.

PERSONA BUILDING

WIFREFRAMES

I chose to design for a mobile website, as it's most accessible and doesn't require users to download an app. I went with the progressive enhancement approach, so that I could design for the smallest screen and create the most basic version of the site.

USER INTERFACE 

NEXT STEPS

There is much more that can be explored, implemented, and tested as highlighted in the mockups above. Some next steps include: 

• Ideate the design for other use cases- How can the volunteer coordinator manage sign ups? What may the site look like from their end?

• Gamify the user experience to motivate users to sign up and boost engagement. Add encouraging visuals throughout the sign up process.

• Design a mobile app so that users may view shift information, such as instructions even when offline. Quick and offline access with ensure a user's confidence before they attend a volunteer shift.