LPDP: Simplifying Membership Renewals

Optimizing user flow, emphasizing seamless online renewal, streamlining functionalities, and introducing features to boost member engagement

Client Internship at Lucas Park Dog Park ⧗ Ongoing

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  • Background

    Established in 2010 by downtown residents, Lucas Park Dog Park offers a secure, off-leash green space for downtown dwelling dogs. Managed by the Lucas Park Enhancement Initiative, this exclusive facility in downtown St. Louis, Missouri caters to members. However, the website, www.luasparkdogpark.org, currently presents challenges for both existing members and new applicants. The outdated system makes membership renewals difficult, and new registrations cumbersome. Communication is scattered across the site, and the acceptance process is prolonged due to issues with document uploads and third-party redirects.

  • Role

    Collaborating with two fellow product designers and a lead designer, we are currently improving the dog park's website functionality and streamlining membership signup and renewal. Originating from my initial signup onboarding membership process design concept, our team is steadily progressing, currently developing a study guide and UI kit. I contribute across every stage of the design process, from research to sketches and low to mid-fidelity wireframes.

  • Design Process

    We are employing a Design Thinking + User-Centered Design (UCD) Process to tackle the challenges currently presented since it places a strong emphasis on understanding and addressing user needs and preferences. By combining Design Thinking's focus on creative problem-solving with UCD's emphasis on user research and iterative design, we ensure that our solutions are tailored to the specific challenges faced by Lucas Park Dog Park's website users. This approach allows us to create user-friendly and intuitive solutions that effectively improve the membership experience, leading to increased user satisfaction and engagement

Rising to the Challenge!

The Challenge

entails reconstructing the website's information architecture and functionality to address user frustration caused by poor user-friendliness and limited engagement opportunities

The Goal

is to convey a clear image of the dog park, enhance functionality, and foster engagement and a sense of community among both, new and existing members

To Achieve So,

a website audit was conducted to identify all features and areas needing improvement and enhancement

Website Audit

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What do we know?

  • The outdated website fails to engage users, deterring potential new members from joining

  • Information scattered throughout the website causes confusion and frustration due to the lack of a centralized location for easy access

  • Non-functional tabs, like "login," hinder members from managing their accounts conveniently

  • The absence of a designated signature area in required documents, coupled with redirection to third-party websites, slows down the efficiency of the membership signup and renewal process for users and board staff

How might we optimize the website's functionality, ensuring it meets the needs of
members and visitors?

Research

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The research involved utilizing a series of methods to comprehend members' main frustrations and needs within the website. After reviewing the website's audit at a glance, their feedback was invaluable in identifying and prioritizing their issues.

The objective was to gain better insight into how members interacted with the website, why they needed to, and what challenges they faced whenever they did, in order to find ways to enhance the website to better suit their needs.

To achieve this, we closely collaborated with about twenty current members of the dog park by conducting a user survey. Valuable feedback was received and thoroughly reviewed.

Key Insights

What was learnt?

← For better visibility: zoom in and out, click and drag around
View complete survey here.

Through extensive feedback and research, we identified key weaknesses in the website that require significant improvement
(these are just a few from a long list):

  • Unclear requirements

  • Challenges with uploading documents

  • Issues with signing waivers

  • Lack of relevant information

  • Inefficient search functionality

  • Confusion about park rules and operating hours

  • Preferred payment, contact, and document upload methods

  • Excessive time for membership renewal and signup approval

Project in motion...stay tuned for updates!