Going with the Flow: User Flow Charts in Design
How can flow charts help in the design process? Flow charts have many benefits, including visual clarity, effective analysis, problem-solving and more. Flow charts can be used to help map out the path a user takes from when they open the app to when they leave.
Updated App IA
Building off of my last post, designing the IA for my township companion app, I updated the IA further in preparation for diving into the user flow charts.
Introducing, Penington Community
This app, named Pennington Community, will be created with the purpose of informing, building, and helping the community. Some of the primary functions of the app include news, events, community chats, and general information and questions. The app serves as a way to inform the residents and bring the community closer together through shared communication and also serves as a platform to raise awareness for events.
Target Audience
Pennington Main Street
The target audience for this app includes all residents or prospective residents of Pennington, NJ, especially those looking to stay connected and informed about the community in a convenient online format. The town and community is very close, hosting many events and opportunities for interaction and community building. The town has many Facebook groups and ways of communication with a wide range of residents.
A bit about the audience:
Town population: 2,585
1,031 households, 35% with children
Average household size is 2.45 and average family size is 3.04
Median age: 45.7 years
Population is 46.72% Male and 53.28% Female
Pennington Community app meets the needs and goals of the community by providing an all-in-one access to town news, events, chats, and important town information.
User Stories
Sarah Smith (User 1)
Sarah Smith, Active Stay-at-home Mom
User Story: As a mom of five, she is always looking for fun events and activities to take her children to where they can interact with others and be entertained for the day.
User Scenario: Sarah uses the township app to view upcoming events and details as well as other scheduled events throughout the year on the events calendar. She also views the featured news to see what is new around town, as well as viewing the parks and recreation page for information when she plans to take her kids out. Sarah also sometimes uses the community chat to connect with other moms who are also looking for activities for their kids.
Use Cases:
Avid user of the app, uses it to plan out her week
Opens app to search for events and school news
Starts with featured news and moves on to event/ school news
Moves to looks through upcoming events this week
Opens the events chat to see who is going and invite others to join her plans
Checks the parks and recreation page for more ideas about what to do
Click on a park for more info and leaves the app
User Flow:
John Peterson (User 2)
John Peterson, Friendly Volunteer
User Story: As he is recently retired and has a deep love of the community and helping others, he is always looking for volunteer opportunities where he can serve the community.
User Scenario: John uses the township app to help him see upcoming events he can volunteer at or where his services may be needed. Each event lists ways to get involved and John loves to help out where he can. John also uses the volunteering chat to talk with other volunteers in the area, ask questions, and coordinate and divide tasks.
Use Cases:
John discovered the app after a fellow volunteer recommended it to him for finding opportunities
John opens the app each week to plan his volunteering and schedule his time
After opening the app he heads over to view the upcoming events
He then heads over to the volunteer chat to see which positions have been filled and what other volunteers are planning
After reading and communicating his plans in the chat, he heads back to the volunteer page to click the event he wants to help with
He is linked out to a webpage where he can sign up to volunteer.
User Flow:
Naomi Kim (User 3)
Naomi Kim, New Resident
User Story: Having just moved to the town a month ago, this mom is looking to meet new people and friends for both herself and her two kids. She is looking to get to know the town better and to feel a sense of belonging. Naomi is also looking to renovate part of her new home. Finding our information relevant to this endeavor is of high importance.
User Scenario: Naomi is new to the town and she feels a bit lost. She wants to use the township app to help make friends, learn about the community, and also understand the school district as well as building and construction rules. She is planning on making a few renovations to her new house and wanted to make sure she stays in the town’s guidelines. Naomi wants the best for her kids and uses the chats to learn what other parents are doing, ways to be involved in the school PTO, and also asks for general advice for how to integrate her kids into the community.
Use Cases:
Discovers the app through neighbor recommendation
Scrolls through homepage to see what the app is all about
She browses the featured news to see what is going on in the community
Discovers the chat feature and introduces herself in the “new residents” chat
While waiting for a response she browses the other pages of the app
She finds the FAQ & Links page and sees the Building and Construction link
Clicking the link she is taken out to the website with rules and regulations.
User Flow:
Sources:
Lynch, Allison. “The Benefits of Flowchart: EdrawMax.” Edrawsoft, 14 Apr. 2021, https://www.edrawsoft.com/flowchart-benefits.html.
“Pennington, New Jersey.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennington,_New_Jersey.
