Seyi Sola - Karbarter

Karbarter

A mobile application facilitating exchange of skills.

Tools
Figma | Miro | Google Forms | FigJam

Platform
Mobile Application

Role
User research | Interaction Design

Problem Context

Kabarter is a platform where you can trade your handy skills with or without cash, socialize and be part of a community, and get unlimited access to information and easier access to health care.

Highlight of the Problem

Limited access to handy skills

There is a gap between the demand for skills such as hairdressing, catering, Emceeing, tailoring etc. and the supply of said skills within the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community, causing integration into the UK economy to be slightly stalled.

Lack of access to community

The disconnect between people and their community causes a sense of exclusion. The BAME migrants entering the UK every year find it hard to properly settle in if they cannot find people to connect with who may understand their language or culture.

Limited access to Information

They say information is power but still, research shows many BAME individuals falling into avoidable issues due to a lack of information.

Design Process- Double Diamond

We used the Double Diamond Design process to develop an appropriate solution. The model consists of four stages: Discovery, Definition, Development and Delivery.

This process was not linear in any way. We went back and forth between these stages to fully understand what the problem is how we could solve it, and/or improve on the existing solution.

Discovery - Surveys and questionnaires

We conducted surveys amongst the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities) to get data concerning their needs. These included the scarce services they needed, their nationality, trading preferences etc.

Interviews

The survey was supported with quantitative research through interviews. We spoke with a diverse range of individuals within the BAME community. This helped us unearth deeper problems that were not obvious by the survey. We were able to make psychographic segmentation using the results from the interviews.

Define - Design Opportunities

We reviewed the data we gathered from the interviews, themed them into related groups then gleaned some insights. These insights we then rephrased into a Design Opportunity statement in the form of ‘How Might We’. Finally, the HMW were filtered using a chart of Desirability against feasibility. The most viable ones are characteristically located at the top right of the chart. Some the the Design Opportunity statements include:

Design Requirements User Flow

From the Design opportunities, we identified the design requirements needed to ensure that the solution was precise. We held ourselves accountable by referring back to the data learned in the research phase. These requirements were used as guides in the next phase- Brainstorming.

Features:

Rating System
Escrow System
Service Verification
Marketplace
Chatroom
Skill Valuation
Rating System
Search Filter

Develop - User Flow

We reviewed the data we gathered from the interviews, themed them into related groups then gleaned some insights. These insights we then rephrased into a Design Opportunity statement in the form of ‘How Might We’. Finally, the HMW were filtered using a chart of Desirability against feasibility. The most viable ones are characteristically located at the top right of the chart. Some the the Design Opportunity statements include:

Mid Fidelity Prototype

Using the User Flow Chart developed we were able to develop a wireframe/midfidelity prototype that demonstrated the features of the product.

Prototype Testing with Users

The high-fidelity prototype was tested with over 10 users, to get an unbiased impression of the look and experience.