Client
Student Project for Udacity UX Nanodegree
Sector
Marketing, Communication & Development
My Role
User Research, User Flows, Lo-Fi Prototype, Usability Tests, High-Fidelity Prototype
Problem overview
As a former freelance web developer, I learned how it’s difficult for a freelance web developer (expecially if junior) to find good projects online. The main problem I experienced is that on Freelance Marketplaces there are usually poor descriptions like “Simple website – We are looking for a web developer for a simple website in clothing industry”. For developers it’s not easy to understand the real size and complexity of the project to make a right price quotation. My goal with this research was to understand if the problem was only mine, or if other developers have this problem too. After that, I managed to design a developer-friendly freelancer marketplace, to simplify the process of pricing evaluation.
Tools
Paper and Pencil, Figma, Miro Board, Whimsical, Zeplin, Gsuite, Lookback,
Research
Research Goals
I wanted to learn how freelance developers look for clients and jobs online right now. In particular, on those who use freelancer marketplace but are not completely satisfied about it. My goal was to understand if developers are interested in a platform to simplify the research of projects they could work on and make better price quotations.
Study 1: User Interviews
5 participants, Freelance Web Developers who:
- Are looking for new clients/projects
- Do not invest a lot of time in personal branding or networking
- Know at least one freelance marketplace
I used the interview script as a guide and ask follow-up questions based on answers from the users
Study 2: Survey
This study focused on better understanding users needs related to online job research for Freelance Web Developer. In addition, I collected data to understand which percentage of users currently make a bid on projects they look.
Research questions
- How can a freelance marketplace better support freelance developers when looking for projects?
- Which functions/features users like in the freelance marketplaces they currently use?
- Which other functions/features would they like to have?
Method & Recruiting
Survey to collect data from at least 15 participants
Research Results
Key findings
- Users need a deep understanding of the project
- Users would like to see a clear distinction between client and professionist areas
- Users use mainly desktop devices to visit freelance marketplaces
