Improving Student Connections with User-Centered Matching
Eat Together
Time
February - May 2024
(10 weeks)
Tools
Figma
My Role
Product Designer
(Worked together with 2 Designers,
3 Engineers, and 1 PM)
THE STORY BEGINS
"What makes sharing a meal so meaningful?" Someone asked during the brainstorming session for the new feature. The question hung in the air for a moment before Pim, the team’s designer said, "It’s not just about the food. It’s about the connection—the way a meal can make someone feel comfortable, heard, and welcome."
The team was wrestling with one of the most ambitious challenges for Eat Together: designing a feature that matched users not just by location, but by compatibility and shared preferences.
"The team’s skeptical about whether this can work at scale," Chris, the lead developer, pointed out. "And we’ve only got one quarter to design, prototype, and test it."
Eric, the CEO, looked at the flurry of sketches and notes on the whiteboard and said, "We’ll make it happen."
OVERVIEW
Eat Together is a student-led startup app that aims to reshape the college experience by matching users with friendly individuals nearby to meet up and share a meal. By focusing on meaningful connections, Eat Together transforms simple meals into opportunities for friendship, belonging, and community in the bustling college landscape.
REVIEWING OUR BRAINSTORMING SESSION
We wonder and want to determine whether having a meal together will increase sense of belonging between the students. Hence, our team conducted a brief desk research and found that:
A survey by Statista found that 72% of social network users prefer personalized recommendations, which makes them more likely to engage with the platform.
Perlman and Peplau (1998)
Students who are able to find and connect with peers who share similar interests and goals are more likely to persist in college and perform well academically.
Pascarella and Terenzini (2005)
A survey by Statista found that 72% of social network users prefer personalized recommendations, which makes them more likely to engage with the platform.
Kim and Tussyadiah (2013)
College students often experience social isolation and anxiety, struggling to find like-minded peers.
Existing social platforms lack personalized matching, making it difficult for students to form meaningful connections and feel integrated into the campus community.
The finding led to some questions that we might ask ourselves. We think about how might we
Create a personalized space for college students based on their preferences
Provide environment where students can easily connect with their peers
Reduce loneliness among college students
☑️ SOLUTION
To overcome the challenges, here we introduce our new feature, which called
Buddy Recommendation System 👫
Provides comfortability and familiarity when going to meet new students
Matches buddy based on users’ interests and preferences
⚒️ FEATURES
1
Choose A Buddy
Allowing users to explore a list of potential matches based on shared similarities, search for specific individuals using a search bar, and refine their options with filter buttons to customize preferences such as mutual friends or similar interests.
2
Send Buddy Request
Enabling users to invite potential buddies with a personalized message while providing a general overview of each match, including shared similarities, to foster meaningful connections.
3
Tracking Request
Allowing users to manage buddy interactions by tracking incoming and outgoing requests, accepting or declining invites, sending reminders for pending requests, and withdrawing sent requests if needed.
4
Notifications
Keeping users updated on interactions with potential buddies, including new requests, accepted invitations, and declined requests.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
I did a deep analysis of competitors that have similar purposes and extracted important information
I found that they don't emphasize personalization for social interactions and do not build connections between users.
USER SURVEY
What do they prefer?
To start, we conducted a survey among Eat Together app users to gain insights into their preferences for using the feature. The survey included questions about their preferred location for the feature within the app, their preferred methods for finding a buddy, and whether they favored group meetups or one-on-one connections.
Due to time constraint, we distributed the survey for a week and finally got 9 users who participated.
RESULTS
When preparing for an event, most users prefer to select one-on-one buddy using a filter feature on the profile page
DESIGN PROCESS
User Flow
Lo-fi designs
From testing and user flow, we did several sketches to push our ideas before jumping to the hi-fi prototypes.
Testing & Improvements
After designing mid-fidelity mockups, we did our second round of research with the same participants
From feedbacks, we did several design improvements
Design Iterations
1
Changing choose a buddy page style
Incorporating a personalized quote for each buddy to provide a compelling "first impression" aligning with user feedback that highlights the desire for more engaging and unique details.
Displaying shared attributes like "You both are" or "You both enjoy" to emphasize mutual interests and connections between users and potential buddies.
Simplifying the layout by switching from two columns to a single-column format for improved spacing and clarity.
2
Refining the buddy request process
Include a direct button for users who prefer not to send a message, ensuring clarity about which button is for sending a message and emphasizing that messaging is optional.
Maintain a consistent design by using the same style as the "Choose Buddy" page.
3
Enhancing buddy management on the profile page
Adding an "Edit Buddy" option and displaying "X is your buddy" simplifies tracking and managing the user’s current buddy, providing a clear and intuitive way to update their buddy selection.
Insights from user interviews revealed challenges in identifying their current buddy and a lack of functionality to easily edit their buddy preferences.
FINAL DESIGNS
PROJECT SHOWCASE
After going through all the research and design process, the hi-fi prototypes are finally implemented by our developers.
A quarter after that, our feature has finally launched and it's time for us to showcase our project. YAAAAYYY!!!🥳🥳🥹🥹 I am so proud of my team, including our amazing and hardworking designers, developers, and project manager🫶
KPI MEASUREMENT
USER ENGAGEMENT
Increased interest in pairing up for meetups, indicating growing demand for the buddy system.
USER RETENTION
Frequent use of the buddy system for multiple events, demonstrating its lasting value.
COMMUNITY & SAFETY
Reduced last-minute cancellations and no-shows, suggesting the feature encourages commitment.
STYLE GUIDE
