Creating Your Modern Tribe
In our modern days, with busy lifestyles and lack of support, around a third of parents are experiencing
chronic loneliness. Dots help families create new connections and build their modern community.
Overview
Dots is a matchmaking platform for families founded in 2020 by Tamar Liberman, Tal Provizor Narkiss, and Lee Winfield .
In 2022, I joined Dots as a Product Designer.
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The app is active in more than 40 destinations globally and will soon be featured in the mobile app (replacing the previous
web app).
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The platform's core is matching like-minded families based on their family identity—parents' and kids' characters, location, and mutual interests and values.
Following extensive research, a new feature was added to one-on-one connections: Families Hangouts. This addition aims to provide more ways for families to create their modern tribe.
New matching design
Defining The Main Problem
Problem Statement
When I joined the Dots team, I aimed to establish a clear and focused scope.
As a result, we defined the problem statement that guided us:
Families in today's world often struggle to form meaningful connections and a strong support network, which leads to feelings of loneliness. The frustration caused by this can negatively affect the happiness of their children. By establishing a modern community, they will be able to eliminate feelings of loneliness and live happier lives
The Personas
Most Dots users belong to one of the following groups: non-traditional families, families that have recently welcomed a new member, or expat families. As a result, building their story was a natural part of envisioning the app from their perspective.
Single mother
“I look to build a support network with someone in a similar situation”
First time parents
“We rarely see our friends anymore because we're so busy and tired”
Expats
‘"Starting from scratch is tough, especially after being surrounded by so much love”
Research
Previous App Review
My first step was thoroughly reviewing the existing app and identifying design and user flow issues. This analysis provided valuable insights into users' identities, needs, and behaviors and helped me identify common features. This review served as the driving force behind the mobile app's design.
Layout
Dots was a web application that featured a catalog of families in an "e-commerce style" or "social media feed" design. Families were connected through private chat.
Main problems I found in the layout:
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During scrolling, the picture took up most of the display space, and the common characteristics (kids' age, location, and parents' status) were not bold enough to stand out.
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Users would need to “read more” every single family to understand if there is a relevant connection between them.
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The navigation buttons were at the top of the screen, making them uncomfortable.
Chat Friction
We noticed some blockers and users who find families don’t begin the chat. My first task was figuring out the main reason for this friction. Mixpanel and Fullstory have shown that engaged users who create full profiles that include their family pictures review families but don’t start a chat.
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In order to increase the chat, An automatic message assisted users in initiating chats. Nevertheless, the message was sent on their behalf without their knowledge, and they became embarrassed when they realized what had happened.
Users typically responded to automated messages with discomfort.
Automatic messages that we sent to users,
and the user's typical response to it
User Research
Overview
Considering that initiating conversations with other families is an integral part of building a community, my research began with a question:
Is there a technical issue with app?
After reviewing session recordings on FullStory and Hotjar, I observed that although the majority of users leave the app after reviewing families, some use the chat—this indicates that there are no technical issues at play.
Is there an emotional barrier that stops them?
I noticed in the session recording that users who visit the complete family profile experience delays - They tend to linger on the profile page without writing a message, or they click on the chat button but hesitate,
I assumed they were thinking - "What should I write?" or "Where do I start?"
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To address this, I conducted user interviews with existing and new users. They all mentioned feeling embarrassed about initiating a chat, particularly fearing they might not receive a response.
Additionally, we sent a survey to existing users. One of the multiple-choice questions addressed chatting: "What would help you break the ice?" The majority of respondents (70%) chose “Show me our common likes, so I know where to start” over “Automatic ‘Hi’ message” and “Funny GIF attachment.” This indicates that users are confused about the matching process and need shared interests as a conversation starter.
Insights
#1
Scrolling is inconvenient and limits the number of families that can be reviewed.
Decision
Reviewing families needs to be faster, easier, and more enjoyable.
#3
One-on-one chatting can be challenging for some users, especially for those who are looking for in-person meetings.
Decision
The app should offer another option to meet like-minded families, not including the first steps of chatting.
#2
Location and kids' ages were the most essential information that users looked for.
Decision
Important information needs to appear immediately and in bold.
#4
Users are not willing to take the first step - they are embarrassed or afraid of rejecting
Decision
The app should make the “starting chat” flow more easily. Automatic messages, writing suggestions, and mutual interests should appear as starters to this chat.
Mobile App Design
Onboarding
Sign in
Children
Intrests
Explore Tab
First chat with family
Filter
Hangout Tab
Discover
The hangout tub contains all in-formal events around the user. Users who are embarrassed to start a conversation with other families but want to build a community can host events and establish meaningful connections.
There are two ways to explore the events (map view and list view), and the main choice is between "explore" hangouts and "our hangouts" - events we are joining or hosting.
Additionally, sorting is available on the main screen to help users find what is most relevant to them.
Craft new hangout
Hangouts are informal events (such as playground meeting or movie night) and must be created in an easy and short manner - if the creation is complicated, users will avoid it.
