Duration
Apr 2032 — May 2023
Scope
User flow, wireframing, interaction design, prototyping, testing
Context
One of the main sections on the platform are Jobs and Gigs — one-time orders with fixed payment and results, where the author of the announcement is a Customer (Jobs) or a Freelancer (Gigs). The majority of active customers on LaborX are individual entrepreneurs or small business owners. They usually have a constant stream of tasks of various complexity that they are willing to delegate freelancers. They can post multiple orders at once or return to the platform with repeating orders. Cryptocurrency is used a payment method that convenient for both parties.
The chat on the platform is an integral part of the interaction between the freelancer and the customer and is actively used from the moment of first contact until the completion of the work.
Project Objectives
✦ Increase the number of successfully completed orders.Project monetization involves charging a commission from the customer for a successfully completed transaction, so the number of orders is a vital metric.
✦ Attract more Customers to the platform.
Process
After interviewing users and advisors there were identified several common pain points related to escrow deposit and chat .
Problem
✦ While depositing escrow for paying Freelancers 37% of Customers drop out.
The pop-up window of escrow deposit looks very complicated
It is not clear how much funds I need to add to my wallet when an error occurs
I cannot copy the wallet address or open the wallet via QR for depositing
You cannot connect a new wallet from this window, you need to go to your profile in Wallets
It’s not clear what basic and advanced gas settings are and why they are considered separately from another commission
There is no total amount to deposit
It's difficult for me to track the progress and results of the work — I have to swich
Freelancers spam messages about new jobs while I still get messages in active one — it's annoying
Competitive analysis and references. Along with identifying the pain points of users and possible solutions with which we will work in this section, I analyzed the flow of work with orders from the main competitors, the Upwork and Fiverr platforms, as well as other products that have similar functionality (for example: an online transaction between private seller and buyer, ordering offline services from a private contractor with communication and payment on the platform). Moreover, I analyzed crypto wallets and crypto exchanges for future redesign of escrow deposit flow.
Iterations. Before agreeing on the final solution, there were 2 iterations, in each of which the there were offered 3 options of layouts.
Let's look on the changes in the structure and interface and talk in more detail about escrow deposit option.
Let's look on the changes in the structure and interface and talk in more detail about escrow deposit option. The most important thing is that we added an option of connecting a new wallet. Also we abandoned two columns, added an ability of deposit wallet by cash and crypto and wrote separate errors in details how much crypto a user need for paying the task and for the commission.
The chat also had changes. All negative options, which distracted users from main actions, were hided in the top widget with main info about the freelancer.
Guided Tests
The new interface was well welcomed, yet several changes were implemented based on the results of moderated usability testing.Initially, the offer card and CTA were supposed to appear in the chat window, but 3 of 8 users said that they actively communicate with freelancers and the buttons may get lost in the correspondence.
We moved this to the right column, but duplicated the information about the offer in the chat to preserve the history of negotiations.We assumed that the order number in the system and duplication of the full description of the work would help the user navigate orders of the same type. Respondents felt this information was unnecessary to show on display, but would appreciate a quick access to it.
Results
The new chat design was implemented as part of a major overhaul of the Jobs and Gigs user scenarios, and the change in metrics was measured against the overall redesign of those scenarios. After implementing the new chat design, over the next 3 months, the weekly number of Buyer registrations increased by 23%. The weekly number of successfully completed transactions increased by 12%, and the average check also increased by 37%.
