The Problem
The 2013 conference app was clunky and not intuitive. The presenters needed a way to communicate quickly with the attendees, and the attendees wanted to network online as well as off.
Persona 1
Conference Leader
I want to be able to communicate important conference alerts to my attendees.”
Goals
- Send messages en masse or individually.
- Share photos with attendees.
- Get conference feedback.
Persona 2
Attendee
I want to check the conference schedule and send messages to other attendees.”
Goals
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Find conference schedule for each day.
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Arrange dinner with a group of attendees.
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Share conference photos with entire group.
Persona 3
Speaker
I want attendees to evaluate my session as well as send messages to them about any room changes.”
Goals
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Notify attendees that my session changed location.
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Get feedback on how to make my session better.
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Network with other attendees.
Sketches
Prototype built in Axure.
Final Product
After many design iterations ranging from boring and dull to much too corporate (pictured at the top), the final you see here was chosen.
The final site was created in a WordPress 3.0/Buddypress 2.0 environment with a custom WordPress theme.
Feedback
After seeing the app in action, we noticed that very few attendees used the messaging feature. The photosharing option the client decided on wasn’t as simple as it could have been. The site was built into an existing WordPress site which ended up being a nightmare to maintain.
Next year? A stand-alone site. No more reinventing the wheel for photo sharing. Better evaluation features.
My Role: project lead, questioning the client, idea/brainstorm generation, planning/scheduling, background research, analysis, wireframing, design, template build, support