All inclusive event management
My role
Research
Ideation
Sketching
Prototyping
Visual design
User testing
Team
Daivik Chauhan(me)
Christopher Valdez
Austin Coon
Nikhil Shinde
Tools
Miro board
Figma
Zoom
Duration
8 Months
What is the problem?
Creating an event planning application with intuitive interfaces, venue selection, messaging, and secure payments requires balancing customisation without overwhelming users. Collaboration with venue owners and integration with payment gateways are key challenges.
This project was done in collaboration with GravityDrive, located in Launch, Fishers, Indiana. GravityDrive is an experience design consulting company based in Fishers, Indiana.
What is the solution?
Streamline the event planning process through the implementation of a comprehensive event customization feature.
Create an open communication channel for all parties involved in the event process.
Consolidate the payment process for all aspects of the event
Discovery Phase
Research
Competitive analysis
We performed competitive analysis with 7 products used to plan and manage events.
The competitor analysis was done using Harvey balls technique.
Discovery Phase
Research
Literature Review
We studied how using technology with event marketing strategies makes marketing events more effective and easier to manage. We looked at why, who, when, where, and what aspects to understand how it works.
Discovery Phase
Research
Field research and interviews
Visited 5 Event Spaces in ZionsVille, West and Downtown Indianapolis.
We interviewed 2 venue owners and 3 event managers.
Discovery Phase
What did we find?
Field visit and interview insights
180% of the venues visited currently use Excel sheets to keep track of upcoming events. There is a need for a streamlined digital booking system.
The event organisers have shown great interest in a system that could help them manage the directory of venue resources.
80% of participants showed interest in a system that could communicate budget constraints and budget increases when the event is customised.
The venues lacked specific analytical tools. Implementation of analytical tools can provide valuable insights for promoting events.
Defining Phase
Understanding our user and their problems.
User Persona were created for both venue owner and the organiser
Defining Phase
Design goals
Streamline the event planning process through the implementation of a comprehensive event customization feature.
01.
Create an open communication channel for all parties involved in the event process.
02.
Consolidate the payment process for all aspects of the event.
03.
Defining Phase
Information architecture
We created the information architecture to decide where each feature of the app will be located and how the user interface will flow.
Defining Phase
Let’s decide the colour and mood of the application
Text
#1E1E1E
Base
#F8F8F8
Accent 1
#C9E3AC
Primary
#535FFF
Accent 2
#F49D37
Defining Phase
Let’s decide the typography
Development Phase
The low fidelity design / Ideation
During our ideation sessions, we engaged in rigorous prototyping, continually refining our designs through in-team reviews and client feedback. By iterating multiple times, we ensured our concepts closely aligned with user needs.
Development Phase
High fidelity designs
Dashboard - A place to have an overview of upcoming events, analytics, schedule and tasks
Communication - A place to access various events, their respected groups, individual messages and a channel repository
Tasks - A place too access tasks and assign task to people
Events - A place to access information about all the events that are going on
Finances - A place to access income and payment information
Contacts - A place to store client and contact information
Task 1. The user is asked to identify the most important task and complete it.
Task 2. The user is asked to create a high-priority task and assign it to a co-worker.
Task 3(A). Find the message with the request.
Task 3(B). Make the change requested.
Task 3(C). Let them know that the change was done.
Evaluation Phase
User testing - testing done before designing the final screens
Usability testing involved Internal reviews, think-aloud-sessions (5 participants and 35 min to 1 hour) and Pre and post think-aloud-session interviews.
Think-aloud-session tasks
Evaluation Phase
Quantitative data - Insights
100%
Of participants were able to partially complete Task 1. They were able to locate the task and understand what they needed to do, but could not make the connection to the associated event.
40%
Of participants failed Tasks 3 and 3B. They struggled to locate the 'Messages' icon, the correct chat, and the connection between the chat and the event they needed to change.
80%
Of participants were able to complete or partially complete Task 2. They could easily locate and create tasks, but struggled with assigning 'priority' and relating the task to an event.
100%
Of participants failed Tasks 3 and 3B. They struggled to locate the 'Messages' icon, the correct chat, and the connection between the chat and the event they needed to change.
Evaluation Phase
Navigation
Confusion between messages and contacts.
Qualitative data - Insights
Event association
Need more association between events and involved people.
Universal search
Search Fields in various places and searching using various keywords.
Information Overload
Messaging section was overloaded with information.
Evaluation Phase
What did people like?
All-inclusive
The users enjoyed that the system was a one stop solution for all their needs including Messaging, Event tracking, Customisation plus other options.
Smaller learning curve
The users found it Less complex than other similar applications.
Intuitive UI
User Friendly UI, easier to remember.
Customisation options
The users enjoyed that the system had customisation options like Decor, Food and DJ.
Retrospection Phase
Outcome of the project
Created a high fidelity prototype that helps event managers plan, organise and manage staff in a any type of event.
Reflection
The project provided valuable insights into the event management industry. Visiting venues and engaging with organizers and owners allowed me to understand their operations and observe their challenges firsthand, offering an excellent learning opportunity.
Future recommendations
Fixing
Issues with messaging, event relations and others.
More testing
Testing on the new prototype with latest changes.
The system has been successfully tested with event organizers with over a decade of experience and by venue owners.
Engaging in rigorous and iterative design was an excellent learning experience. By continuously designing and incorporating client feedback over several months, we developed a highly effective system.
Onboarding
Creating efficient and quick Onboarding for venues.
There is a clear need for an all-inclusive event management system that seamlessly supports both organizers and venue owners.
I realized the importance of thorough research, which allowed me to delve deeply into the problems within event management and develop a system that effectively addresses these issues.
Staff Section
Creating a Staff Section for Staff Management.