Responsibilities
User Research・Ideation・Wireframing・Prototyping・Usability Testing
Tools
Figjam・Figma・Keynote・CapCut
Team
Solo Project
Timeline
July 2024~October 2024
Social Engagement | Retention | Ad Targeting
Boosting user satisfaction by adding a new feature to Facebook
Overview
Facebook users primarily connect with friends and family, but often feel overwhelmed by ads. To address this, I focused on reducing ad-related frustrations by linking relevant ads to friends’ posts and providing a customizable feed, ultimately enhancing engagement and meeting business goals.
THE PROBLEM
Overwhelming ads and irrelevant content make navigating Facebook frustrating
Users want to stay connected with friends, share moments, and engage with groups, but feel overwhelmed by ads and scams. They are also dissatisfied with the content quality, finding it often uninteresting and irrelevant.
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Why do these problems matter?
User Retention & Engagement:
Poor experiences lead to reduced activity or users leaving, while relevant content keeps users engaged.
Ad Effectiveness:
Showing relevant ads increases advertiser success and reduces wasted opportunities.
Trust & Control:
Easy ad management fosters user trust and a sense of control over their experience.
THE SOLUTION overview
Add features on Facebook to improve the user experience. Link ads to a user's friend's posts, allowing users to discover more relevant information of interest. Customize the Mindset Map based on user preferences to give users greater control over their feed.
USER RESEARCH
Qualitative interviews reveal key pain points and opportunities
I conducted remote interviews with six women aged 30–50 who use Facebook to connect and share life moments. Through guided discussions and follow-ups, I identified key pain points and the need for deeper understanding.
"This is a picture, but I find it less relevant. Why are you showing me this? I don’t need a life lesson from someone I don’t even know."
"I can find a lot of information within the groups from my country that have already made this step, so I can get helpful advice, contact them, and receive their support."
"I want to save it, but it will put it up as an archive, which function is really a bit annoying. It has deep potential, but they are hidden very deeply."
"…more than just seeing my friends' posts or things like that. I'm also seeing a lot from news channels that I don’t even follow."
Research insights
Secondary RESEARCH
Competitor analysis highlights strengths and market positioning of key social platforms
These social media platforms aim to entertain, connect, and engage users, but cater to different content styles and audience preferences. Instagram leverages its established presence and diverse features, while TikTok attracts users with its viral, engaging format. Both are strong competitors to Facebook.
Key market opportunities
User interviews revealed that ads are the main concern on Facebook. Therefore, I compiled these key opportunities to focus on improving user experience by making advertising more personalized, engaging, and relevant.
Framing the opportunity area
Enriching the user experience by reimagining ads
By analyzing user needs, goals, and pain points, I focused on nurturing the core product experience. This user-centered approach ensures that stakeholder interests and user needs are aligned, guiding the development process toward a solution that benefits everyone.
Opportinity
IDEATION PROCESS
Needs and business goals for a win-win solution
Intrusive ads were a major pain point, creating a conflict between user needs and business goals. My key decision was to make ads a seamless part of the user journey.
User goals
・Easily control their feed.
Business goals
Designed Solution
Visualizing the user path for concept testing
I translated my concepts into two primary task flows to prepare for testing. By illustrating the core user paths, I could effectively clarify and validate the proposed features and their interaction models.
Task flow 1: The user explores a friend’s post to discover additional information and relevant ads.
Task flow 2: The user refines their mindset map to improve the ad algorithm based on their preferences.
Wireframing
Structuring the solution with Mid-fidelity wireframes
I created mid-fidelity wireframes to translate my initial ideas into a clear, tangible structure.
Feature 1 :
Follow friends' posts to explore more information
Feature 2 :
Mindset Map for personalized ad preferences
Explore your friend's journey
User Need 1:
Stay connected with friends and family by sharing important moments.
Solution
A family trip to Nacpan Beach shared by your friend, Sophia.
What you’ll see:
Area Location: Relative map showing nearby restaurants and hotels.
Tailored Ads: Promotions for local shops, hotels, and restaurants are displayed below the post.
Support your furry friends
Solution
Your friend Harper shared photos from a hiking adventure with her dog.
What you’ll see:
Tailored ads featuring pet products, local shops, and animal shelters make it easy to show your support.
Follow your friend's lead
User Need 3:
Discover and enjoy new places your friends visit, sharing experiences beyond photos.
Solution
Your friend Sophia shared photos from a beautiful street.
What you’ll see:
Tailored ads showcasing similar-style dresses from stores featured in the post, displayed below it.
Final Design | Feature 02
The user refines their Mindset Map to improve the ad algorithm based on their preferences
Get more control and better fit users’ interests
Problem:
Ads are often irrelevant and don’t match users’ interests.
Solution
Users customize their feed by setting preferences through audio input or by selecting topic chips, enabling a more personalized ad experience.
Setting up the Mindset Map intuitively
Problem:
Hiding ads is frustrating and time-consuming.
Solution
Place the Mindset Map icon on each advertisement, allowing users to easily set their preferences directly from the ad.
Validating process & results
Measuring design effectiveness
Following a friend’s post resulted in high satisfaction with the map and relevant ads, while the Mindset Map feature needs further refinement to enhance intuitiveness. I assessed both features using Success Metrics and Severity Ratings to ensure they meet user needs.
“If I click on the map, I appreciate the map information right below the post. My interest is high at the moment, so it’s very helpful to see what’s there.”
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Success Metrics
Task Completion
All tasks completed successfully
Task Efficiency
Tasks rated easy to complete
Overall Satisfaction
Users satisfied with the app
Severity rate : Critical > Major > Serious > Minor
Clear ad borders needed (2/7)
Minor Severity
Needs improvement
Ads appeal issues (3/7)
Minor Severity
Needs improvement
When you change the setting, you want to save it, right? I’m confirming my selection now, and I expect to see a different type of button.
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Feature 2 : Mindset Map for personalized ad preferences
Success Metrics
Task Completion
All tasks completed successfully
Task Efficiency
Tasks rated easy to complete
Overall Satisfaction
Users satisfied with the app
Severity rate : Critical > Major > Serious > Minor
No clear guidance (5/7)
Critical Severity
Needs improvement
Mindset Map icon position (3/7)
Critical Severity
Needs improvement
Chip and voice input (4/7)
Major Severity
Needs improvement
Takeaway
prioritization
Organizing feedback for improvements
I organized the feedback from seven testers into a feedback grid and clustered it into distinct themes to identify overall satisfaction and key severity issues. This process helped clarify which features meet users' needs and which require improvement.
CONCLUSION & KEY LEARNINGS
What I have learned
Growing as a UX designer by identifying and delivering user-centered, impactful solutions
This project was a significant milestone in my growth as a UX designer, challenging me to identify and implement a meaningful and impactful feature to enhance the user experience on Facebook. While adding a feature might seem straightforward, I learned that the real complexity lies in determining which features benefit users and address their pain points. Through the UX design research process, I extracted valuable insights from users and explored potential solutions grounded in their needs. This experience deepened my understanding of user behaviors and expectations and strengthened my ability to create user-centered designs, enriching my journey as a designer.
Challenges I faced
Balancing user pain points with business goals around ad engagement
"Most of the time, I get bored quickly because a lot of the posts these days are advertisements."
One of the most significant challenges in this project was balancing user and business goals, particularly since advertisements emerged as a major pain point for users. My role was to transform this challenge into an opportunity by finding ways to meet user needs while remaining aligned with business objectives. By clustering insights from interviews and analyzing feedback, I pinpointed actionable areas for improvement, specifically addressing user frustrations with ads while increasing their engagement. This process taught me how thoughtful design can help mitigate pain points while creating value for users and businesses.
What I enjoyed about
Positive user feedback on solutions aligning social connections with ads.
What I enjoyed most was receiving positive feedback from users on the solutions I proposed. My first challenge, "Track Your Friend’s Post," was particularly rewarding—it showed that users were interested in engaging with ads that aligned with their social connections, such as interacting with content related to their friends' lives. This concept successfully bridged the gap between user satisfaction and business outcomes by aligning user interests with business priorities. Seeing users happier with the adjusted ad placement reinforced the effectiveness of thoughtful design and its impact on the overall experience.
Unexpected findings
Discovering varied user motivations and hidden "dark pattern" design practices
During the research phase, I encountered several unexpected findings. One of the most surprising insights was discovering that users from different countries have diverse needs and motivations for using Facebook. Additionally, I learned that some features and settings were intentionally buried deep within the app as part of a design strategy commonly referred to as a "dark pattern." While resolving these dark patterns was beyond my scope in this project, it highlighted the importance of advocating for transparent and user-friendly design practices. This unexpected discovery reinforced my belief in UX designers' responsibility to shape ethical and inclusive products.