When a client contacts us and tells us the problem they need to solve, we put all our efforts into finding out what is going wrong and why.

In this case, it was a mobile application designed to offer a security service to people who felt the need to take care of themselves because they felt insecure and vulnerable in certain life circumstances.

The biggest problem of this app was acquisition, engagement, and consequently, the lack of monetization.

All the team's efforts generated an app with a series of technically advanced functionalities but without a clear value proposition and an identified target user.

To solve these problems, the process we followed in elmeunebot was to detect who was really its "early adopter", taking into account the technical capacity of the app and its need for monetization.

To do this, we resorted to the Jobs-to-be-done methodology, used for innovation processes, which tries to identify what the user's main task is, without taking into account any specific solution, simply discovering what their "job" is and what needs they have on the way to achieve it.

How was the process of trying to find a solution?

The research and design teams of elmeunebot are involved, together with marketing and product professionals of this security app, in the realization of multiple activities:

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1. Alignment workshop: defining the scope for user research

We prepared a working session in which we redefined what was the main task that the user wanted to accomplish, who the user was as an "early adopter" and what needs he/she had.

After this session, it was agreed that the main user, which until then had been multiple and varied, was narrowed down to people who want to take care of their loved ones. On this basis, we began the research stage that would allow us to validate the hypotheses launched.

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2. Recruitment of "early adopters" with Screening

We designed a survey to collect data from people who met the conditions of that "early adopter" so that we could collect data from people who would later be interviewed to talk about their loved ones.‍

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3. User interviews and solution validation

We conducted 6 interviews with users consisting of two parts:

• 1º part: to know what was the task to be performed (care of loved ones), why, and how they were doing it.
• 2ª part: Validation of possible solutions. They were invited to download two apps: one from a competitor and the security app we were working with. In this way, the interviewees could see: what they offered, what the onboarding experience was, whether it met their needs and whether they would pay for it.

After the interviews, we validated that the proposal of the app we were working for was not clear, included many functionalities that were not understood and did not directly satisfy the task of caring for loved ones.

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4. Ideation workshop

With the conclusions of the interviews, we prepared a work session that consisted of devising a functionality that could be integrated with the existing functionalities of the app but satisfying the specific need of the detected "early adopter": people who need to take care of their loved ones.

Taking into account all the insights obtained from the interviews and creating the profile of this "person", we defined a flow that would improve the experience of this "early adopter".

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5. Wireframe design and UI

From the design team we prepared, from the conclusions of the workshops and interviews, the wireframes of the "core" functionality: location of loved ones with tasks assigned to each member, for the care of the members of a circle of trust (family, friends, etc.).

What were the benefits obtained from this research phase and the redefinition of the target?

• We validated that the change in the "early adopter", which we had proposed in the first workshop with the client, was correct. Those who were willing to pay for the care service were the caregivers, not the people being cared for.
• We found that the caregivers had needs for geolocation control but also for tasks related to their routines.
• We found that the app, as a solution, seemed interesting, but it was confusing for users, who did not really understand what the main functionality was.
• We found that caregivers were more interested in creating a circle of care with their loved ones, rather than exercising individual control.

Nevertheless, these findings generated a great challenge: to integrate the new solution designed with the rest of the app. Being focused on self-care people and not aiming to redesign the entire platform, we had to reorganize and simplify the approach to be in harmony with the existing functionalities of the application.

After overcoming this major obstacle, the main results of our work were:

• A change of direction in the focus of the product. The app goes from being focused on its functionalities to being an app that responds to the needs of the newly identified target: caregivers of loved ones.
• A variation on the core "alert button" functionality. It will remain in the background since it is a functionality that will not ensure recurrence and engagement, due to its very nature: people (fortunately) do not have alert situations every day or every week.
• A simplification in the app proposal: New design for the home screen with the functionality of geolocation of loved ones and tracking of their daily tasks with the possibility of automatic update.

What were the results of working as an in-house team?

After the work was done, the client tells us that their experience has been positive, as we have helped them to focus on a functionality, taking into account that it satisfies an identified and validated user, as well as guiding them on how to organize and prioritize the functionalities they previously offered. It has been a very satisfying experience for us to identify, validate and redesign the experience for this security app to find its market-fit.

From now on, our client will be able to measure, track the results of these changes and continue to propose iterations for the benefit of the product, adapted to its target user.

At elmeunebot working as an "in-house" team allows us to always establish a relationship of trust with the client and collaborate with all departments as a team to achieve common goals.

If you think you would like to see how we do it and what we can offer you to better understand and define your user, feel free to write us at hola@elmeunebot.es.