kinkofa’s kinnect App

What is kinkofa? kinkofa is the only digital family history platform aimed at reconnecting Black families while uncovering and preserving family history. Then kinnect comes in…

But first Who? What? Why?

Black Family Reunions date back to the Emancipation, when formerly enslaved people sought to reconnect with separated family members.

Black family reunions focus on reconnecting with roots, strengthening ties, and celebrating traditions, with a growing emphasis on involving the younger generation in planning and preserving them.

Problem:

Participation in Black family reunions is dwindling, particularly with the younger generation. As the older generation steps back from planning these events, the younger generation is not taking over the planning tradition. This poses a big problem for culture preservation. Whether it is because planning events is too overwhelming or younger generations simply don’t have the interest, the goal of kinnect is to make planning easier and more efficient.

Solution:

The Kinnect app will get younger generations to participate in family reunion planning and help Kinkofa attain additional subscribers to sign up for Kinkofa’s other offerings.  

Project Overview

My Role:

UX Researcher, UX Designer UI Designer

Timeline:

4 weeks

Tools:

Figma, Maze, Google Docs/Sheets, & Zoom

Project Manager, UX Designers

Peers:

Product & User Research

The goal of the research was to understand how other event planning platforms manage larger events, with the additional challenge of tailoring this process specifically to the needs of Black family reunions.

For our Comparators, I decided to look at Zola, Meta and Paperless Post. Yes, they can be considered competitors, however, I thought that these three platforms provided better insight on how users can tag each other on albums and store details for large events.

For Competitors, I looked at EventCreate, eventbrite, and Reunacy to get insight into how users can efficiently organize logistics, guest lists and other miscellaneous tasks for large events.

Competitor & Comparator Analysis

Interviews were conducted with event planners to delve deeper into the pain points of planning large events. I also interviewed a handful of users who preferred to attend events to understand what would convince them to go to large events. So, what was learned about event planners?

Key takeaways on planners:

  • Receptive to feedback and ideas 

  • Thoughtful about guest experiences

  • Strategic about orchestrating all the logistics of event planning

  • Love to delegate tasks

  • Use multiple tools for planning and event details 

  • Find themselves begging for volunteers

Interviews

Based on user pain points and what is known about event planners, we can see that a typical planning journey is overwhelming and stressful.

A Planner’s Journey Map

How can kinnect be a better experience?

  • Details of events, contacts and family memorabilia in one place

  • Easy for planners to assign tasks to volunteers recruited for family reunion planning

  • Fun and easy way for family reunions to be seen by all attendees

  • Engage younger volunteers

  • Make the planning experience an inclusive and collaborative platform that allows family members of all ages to easily contribute ideas and suggestions

User Testing

Our team conducted two rounds of remote, moderated usability testing on event planners.

What were we testing?

  • Ease of use on adding new members to the platform

  • Assigning tasks to members

  • Ease of use sharing photos of the event

  • Assess if the app can be used with all ages with different tech proficiences

Testing Results

60%

Of users were able to add new members to the event planning from the home page with no hesitation.

User Quote: “I love how the information is all in one place”

100%

Of users were able to assign tasks easily to other event planning members.

User Quote: “Goodbye Google docs!”

100%

Found sharing photos to be intuitive and a familiar process to other social media pps..

User Quote: “I like this. It’s similar to a lot of other social media apps”

Final Solution

After researching a planner’s behaviors, studying event planning platforms and completing two rounds of testing, it all ended with an MVP for kinnect.

Although 60% of users were able to add new members to the planning committee, we still had the other 40% experiencing confusion.

Users found the 'edit' label confusing as a (CTA) and felt there were too many steps involved in completing a simple task. In the second round of testing, adding a '+' button next to committee members streamlined the process, making it quicker and easier for planners to add members to the planning committee

100% of users were able to complete the task of assigning work to a planning member but expressed that the verbiage was slightly ambiguous.

Users were not sure if the “Edit” button would let them create tasks. To eliminate any confusion, I changed the CTA from “Edit” to “Create Task”.

For access to the full prototype, please reach out via email.

How was the problem solved?

  • Planners are now able to get volunteers for the planning committee, particularly younger generations, because event details are more organized and are more accessible on mobile devices.

  • Planners are able to show non-planning members how much fun planning the event is, which will encourage more volunteers.

  • Kinnect will be a strong introduction for users who are new to the Kinkofa space, which will help gain more users for Kinkofa.