The Problem

• In 2019, approximately 5.5% of employed people aged 20–64 years in the EU usually worked from home.
• The impact of the COVID-19 crisis more than doubled the share in 2020 to 12.3%.
• In 2021 there was a further increase in the share of people working from home that reached 13.5%.

The problem is that digital nomads struggle to:

• Find free public places to work from
• Meet other digital nomads

The Solution

The solution is a mobile application that allows digital nomads to:

• Find the perfect workspace based on their preferences
• Organize in-person meetings with other digital nomads

My Role & Contributions

User Researcher & UX Engineer

• Preparation of semi structured user interviews and observations sheets
• Finding participant, conducting user interviews and coding of the data collected
• Designing the user interactions, application interface and paper prototyping
• Developing the Hi-Fi prototype as an Android application
• Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected from the user testing

Context of use process

The process involved:

1. Preparation of a 24-question semi-structured interview with 9 participants recruited in Starbucks Madrid

2. Participant observation during 2 key tasks:

   • Finding workplace for the day

   • Contacting and meeting other digital nomads

3. Identification of 3 user profiles:

   • Student

   • Freelancer

   • Corporate Employee

4. Creation of task analysis and user flows based on observation data

5. Development of 4-step scenarios for each profile

6. Design of user journey maps addressing user frustrations and motivations

Low Fi prototype evaluation

The evaluation process included:

• Creation of 2 distinct paper prototypes:
  • Menu and form based interaction
  • Direct manipulation style
• Thinking aloud testing method with 15 participants
• Evaluation of:
  • Efficiency
  • Effectiveness
  • User satisfaction
• Metrics collected:
  • Task completion time
  • Number of clicks
  • Error rate
• SUS questionnaire for user satisfaction
• Comprehensive analysis of quantitative and observational data

Hi Fi prototype evaluation

The Hi-Fi prototype was developed using Android (as required by the course). The evaluation process included:

• Testing with 16 participants recruited at Starbucks Madrid
• Participants performed 2 key tasks
• Metrics collected:
  • Task completion time
  • Click count
  • Error rate
• User feedback gathered through:
  • System Usability Scale (SUS)
  • User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ)
  • Observational notes

Key Learnings

The project provided valuable insights in:

• Conducting a complete user-centered design process based on real user needs
• Using quantitative data to validate design decisions and compare results
• Implementing rapid prototyping methodology to:
  • Test multiple ideas quickly
  • Validate solutions efficiently
  • Iterate based on feedback

Results

The project achieved significant outcomes:

• User research validated the initial problem statement and confirmed the need for the proposed design solution
• The qualitative and quantitative data collected directly informed our user-centered design approach, ensuring alignment with user needs and expectations
• Two low-fidelity prototypes were systematically evaluated, allowing for:
  • Iterative refinement
  • Early user feedback
• A high-fidelity prototype was developed and extensively evaluated, demonstrating the design's:
  • Effectiveness
  • Readiness for implementation