Highlights

My UX Information Architecture team at UC Berkeley-x chose Craigslist Mobile for Case Study re-Design - an Information Architecture challenge with deep category dependencies (on a small form-factor).

But Mobile offers Craigslist the Business Value they need—more traffic and easier high-value transactions, on the devices Users' prefer and use most.

So we optimized the IA of CL's Mobile App with UX design by,

• analyzing the current IA

• better-understanding Users' mental models through research

• testing alternate abstract IAs

• honoring CL's values with intentional restraint

• optimizing revenue-producing tasks:

  • move Users from 'Seeking' to 'Doing' (faster value 4 business & user)

  • surface 'actions' (every 'task' has an 'action')

  • 'actions' signify categories, aid Users (ex: volunteer = non-profit)

Design Strategy: Make it easier (more intuitive) and faster (more task-direct) for Users to get Tasks (highest $CL revenue) done on Mobile.

Results: Saw very good find-ability improvement on Tree Test (across the board)

I created an 'Actions' toolbar for faster task-completion - with very good initial effect, needs testing and further wire framing

Recommend: More tests on 'Actions' Tool

UC Berkeley-x UX-IA Team: Margaret Seymour, Claudia Benitez, Noynica Ahuja

Tools: Figma, Miro, PowerMapper Cloud, Optimal Sort, Balsamiq, Google Sheets & Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint

Source: process templates - Rakesh Patwari

1) Conduct Initial Research

Identify Business Value & Key Tasks

Research informed the strategy

Situation

The growth of Social Selling on Facebook (and others) significantly increases competitive pressure for Craigslist. Total user traffic in '21 for CL did not reach pre-pandemic levels, although revenue per transaction is up.

Context

We chose to focus on Craigslist's Mobile App information architecture. This was a challenge with 100s of items on a small form factor. But Mobile can increase Business Value for Craigslist best, with new traffic and by enabling easier high-revenue transactions (on devices people use most).

Goal

Make high-revenue Tasks on Craigslist easier for Users to Find and Do

Strategy

Make it easier (more-intuitive) and faster (more-direct) for Users to get tasks (with high CL $revenue) done on Craigslist Mobile

Design Imperative

Honor and maintain the values-first simplicity of Craigslist, while updating for more profitable traffic and mobile usage

Values

To respect CL's values-1st mission make it simpler and easier for CL Users to transact with each other in ways that are:

• Friendly

• Social

• Trusting

• Communal: as 'Seekers' or 'Doers'

Revenue Model

Grow traffic by optimizing more profitable and new usage scenarios (Mobile)

• Move Users from 'Seeking' to 'Doing' faster

• Innovate mobile to 'get things done'

• Do UX User Research for inherent needs / mental model

• Should we enable new modes of contactless-trusted transactions? Ex.

Cost Structure

Optimize community self-regulation

• Minimize overhead

• Maximize community ownership

Growth Strategy

Increase traffic and organic growth

• Trusted peer - to - peer

• Community - NOT a global Social Media brand

Created 25 common Tasks

Then Created 2 Personas for Most Desired Tasks: Buying & Finding Work

• Provided info for User context, goals, needs, pain points

• Helped create Tasks in next step - Card Sorting

Questions:

• Highest revenue per transaction for Craigslist?

• Most in-demand by Users?

2) Gap Analysis and Tree Testing 

Gap Analysis

• Next, we performed gap analysis for the Tasks identified in research

  • Used Gap Analysis Template (Links to an external site.)

• Looked for key insights from our analysis

  • Missed opportunities?

  • Important tasks that do not have matching pages?

  • Included screenshots of the gap analysis spreadsheet

Tree Test

• We conducted online Tree Tests with 18 Users, using Optimal Workshop

• Used top 10 tasks we identified in research

• Analyzed and presented results

Tree Test Results for Top 10 Tasks

-Optimal Workshop-

3) Synthesize - From Analysis to Sitemap 

Steps

• Planned and performed card sorting, in person and online

• Analyzed the results of card sorting

• Identified the relationship between card sorting and mental models in an Abstract IA

• Created a 1st site map

Created script, finalized tasks, input to Optimal Worship, recruited participants, sent-out

Evaluated 100s of results,

Normalized across 3 different native-language speakers (real-world in The Bay) for 'optimum' label results

-Craigslist has LOTS of CATEGORIES

Confirmed Prior Observations

• User mental model of 'Gigs' is confused

• Overwhelmingly chose 'Jobs' or 'Services' or 'Volunteer'

• Starting with 'Nouns' made sense to Every User

• Selling procedure unclear - but Category is not

  • AND Users went to 'For Sale' (VERB?) to sell an item

Created draft Abstract IA and Site Map

using Mental Models from Card Sort

4)Refine, Validate & Design

From Sitemap to Navigation

Steps

• Considered different classification schemes and organization structures

• Evaluated  labels

• Suggested more effective navigation ideas

Evaluated and scored 100's of labels

CLICK to see full spreadsheet

Then performed another round of tree testing with new abstract IA

• Note tasks for this second round of tree testing  must remain the same

• Used same number and many but not all same participants (not necessary)

• Compared Tree Testing results - observed how the results varied

• Success - which would have been greater

  • IF 'Actions' had been also a 'correct' choice

...more results

Results

5) Design - From Navigation to Wireframes

Steps

• Considered different navigation models across form factors

• Selected optimal navigation options

• Created low-fidelity wireframes with Balsamiq

I designed 3 clickable lo-fi wireframes using Balsamiq