User Research & App Redesign
Enabling family historians to gift life's most precious memories.
Overview
We defined VTC's target market and improved user satisfaction rate for that audience by 46%.
Our team worked with keepsake preservation startup Virtual Time Capsule to grow user adoption.
We found that users feel like they were running out of time to capture the lives and memories of their loved ones as they got older or age out of life stages, but they struggled to intentionally capture the everyday moments and were afraid of botching the topic with their loved ones.
We defined a target market for Virtual Time Capsule's team to focus on, designs for their MVP, and the foundation to scale it.
We gave their users a tool to guide them through the process of capturing the memories that they will treasure most and a vehicle to share those memories as a way to connect with their loved ones over their shared experiences, improving user satisfaction rate by 46%.
VTC's users don't know how to get value out of the product, leading to churn.
Founder Rob Glaser wanted to help others capture the memories he wished he had of his grandfather, but after launching the pilot version of the platform more than 90% of users dropped off within the first month.
Our research helped us figure out why:
VTC didn't align with users' existing behavior.
Surveys and user interviews showed that target users usually captured now and curated later and they often tried to capture a moment to share.
Users didn't understand how to use the site and didn't see the value.
Usability tests showed that the existing product wasn't resonating - when challenged to use it, our users were stumped.
Users didn't like the competitors, either, the process felt like homework.
While the market was aware of competitors, the completion rate for other products was low - they couldn't get their loved ones excited about them.
A product inspired by real user behavior.
Inspired by keepsake books and tools for wellness journaling, we took the most unique aspect of Virtual Time Capsule's product (scheduling memories to be sent ahead) and adapted it to better fit into the user's existing behavior and expectations, prioritizing connection and guidance.
"I want my kids to know my parents, even if they never get the chance to meet them."
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One of our potential users
Help them know what to capture.
To address user concerns about not knowing how to start, we created a framework to guide users through prompts customized to their goals.
Make it easy to collect memories.
Users can send prompts to their loved ones, making it easier to collaborate and create something that represents the whole family.
Incentivize them with connection.
By framing the capsule as a gift, we were able to give users a reason to get started.
A better framework with room for improvement.
During usability testing, the new designs saw a 46% increase in user satisfaction, but there were still some usability issues to work out.
More actionable prompts.
100% of users hesitated when clicking or missed the prompt cards entirely.
Adding explicit calls-to-action to add files and contributors made the process clearer and increased visibility for what options the user had access to from the capsule dashboard.
More context for Memory contributors.
I wanted to make it as easy as possible for users to contribute, especially to capsules they didn't create themselves.
This meant more descriptive buttons (with more streamlined user flows for adding content) and letting the user see examples - smoothing the friction of that first add.
The engagement VTC was looking for.
The new Capsule format for Virtual Time Capsule better aligned with user needs and existing behaviors and the new features like memory collaboration and prompts boosted user excitement and engagement, giving VTC a better first impression with new users and a new foot forward for existing ones.
More Engaged Users
Average user satisfaction increased by 46% with users reporting more ideas to leverage the platform and overall increased engagement.
A Cleaner, Easier to Use Platform