Barbify App
A mobile app designed to help small business owners in resolving wait time issues, thereby enhancing their service delivery for improved customer satisfaction.
Product Experience
Problem Space
Problem Statement
This product aims to tackle the issue of reducing wait times for service seekers and enhancing business owners' efficiency through effective scheduling
Problem Background
As reported by Business Insider, patrons of barbershops, beauty salons, and nail parlors frequently endure nearly two hours of waiting time at their chosen establishments. This prolonged wait often stems from customers' preference to remain on-site for their hair services, as leaving and returning later could result in even lengthier delays. Despite the efforts of various scheduling apps aimed at addressing this issue for small businesses, there has been limited success in reducing customer wait times. The prospect of spending two hours on a basic hair appointment is notably inconvenient, especially when that time could be more productively utilized.
User research conducted unveiled that 94% of participants expressed concerns about their productivity or believed they could have used their time more effectively. Feedback highlighted instances where individuals spend over two hours, particularly when service providers fail to communicate about waiting lists, causing interference with their daily activities. Of the participants, 65.2% indicated that extended waiting times impact their loyalty and may deter them from revisiting the shop. Additionally, approximately 90% of participants believed the wait times could have been better spent on more productive activities.
Furthermore, the research revealed that about 90% of participants have never utilized scheduling platforms to pre-book appointments with their service providers. Consequently, finding more effective ways to ensure customers experience shorter wait times at their preferred shops before receiving services becomes imperative.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
User research conducted unveiled that 94% of participants expressed concerns about their productivity or believed they could have used their time more effectively. Feedback highlighted instances where individuals spend over two hours, particularly when service providers fail to communicate about waiting lists, causing interference with their daily activities.
Supporting Data
Of the participants, 65.2% indicated that extended waiting times impact their loyalty and may deter them from revisiting the shop.
Feedback
The user research revealed that about 90% of participants have never utilized scheduling platforms to pre-book appointments with their service providers.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we wanted to work on the following features:
- Help businesses to effortlessly schedule real-time appointments while benefiting from features like calendar syncing and text or call reminders.
- Develop an app that offers real-time updates on the shop's current level of activity. This app will help to monitor queue status, identifying the staff on duty, exploring available services, and managing missed appointments, among various other functionalities.
- Implement a digital queue management system that will allow for a digitalized process wherein customers can remotely join the queue using a mobile app. Users will receive live updates on their queue position, significantly reducing the necessity to physically wait in line.
Explanation of Solution
Barbiefy is a streamlined scheduling platform that simplifies the process of booking appointments at barber shops, nail salons, and beauty salons, all within a single, convenient platform. With Barbiefy, your business can effortlessly schedule real-time appointments while benefiting from features like calendar syncing and text or call reminders. This app would let customers know how many clients are ahead of the them during the booking process.
The BARBIFY MVP will have the following key features:
User Authentication: User will be able to create a secure login and registration to ensure user-specific data and access.
Calendar Integration: User will be able to Integrate their appoinment with calendars to view existing commitments and avoid scheduling conflicts.
Appointment Creation: User will be able to create new appointments with details such as date, time, location, and purpose.
Notification System: Users will be able to receive automated reminders and notifications to alert users about upcoming appointments.
Synchronization: User will be able to sync data across multiple devices, ensuring consistency in scheduling information.
Booking and Rescheduling: On the platform, there will be a section for user for booking and rescheduling appointments.
Feedback and Review System: users will be able to provide feedback on appointments or services, helping to improve the overall experience.
Future Steps
I plan to continue with this project with a dedicated team of UX/UI Designer and Developers to create and further improve on the MVP while utilizing this project as a reference for my product management experience in interviews. Possible additional problems identified that need to be address is that business owner’s expressed concerns with the need for an online payment with the platform, the next steps will include understanding how to solve this problem to significantly streamline their operations by integrating payment section with the scheduling app.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Adekunle Omoboye
Co.Lab was a very interesting experience for me because I had my first hand-ons experience working on a problem and coming up with a solution in a short timeframe.
- I learned how to adopt a user-centric mindset, understanding user pain points, and aligning project goals with customer expectations.
- I learned that having a sound and comprehensive understanding of the product lifecycle, which starts from ideation is an important steps in improving a product.
- I learned how to carry out market research and validation to understand users pain points by conducting market research, user interviews, and validation processes to inform decision-making on how to solve user pain points.
- I learned how to Identify and utilizing key product metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure project success and make data-driven decisions.
- I learned the importance of communicating clearly my ideas in a simple way
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.