UX/UI Designer
WELL TALK: Multi-platform AI assistant for new professionals to engage in small talk to increasing their career confidence.
WELL TALK：多平台AI助手，旨在帮助职场新人通过非正式谈话提高职业自信心。
Problem
Inexperienced workers may find it challenging to engage in casual conversations with colleagues in the workplace, which can result in feelings of isolation and hinder relationship-building due to factors such as age, cultural differences, and a lack of social skills or shared interests.
在工作场所，缺乏经验的员工可能会发现与同事进行随意的对话具有挑战性，这可能是由年龄、文化差异、缺乏社交技能或共同兴趣等因素引起的, 这会导致职场新人的孤立感，并阻碍他们的社交。
Solution
A multi-platform smart assistant designed for new professionals to make small talk naturally in the workplace. It provides pre-planned conversation starters and an opportunity to practice and receive feedback, ultimately increasing their confidence and ability to build relationships with colleagues.
一个为新专业人士设计的多平台智能助手，旨在帮助他们在工作场所自然地进行闲聊。它提供预先计划好的对话开场白和练习机会，最终增加他们与同事建立关系的信心和能力。
How I reached my solution?
Empathize
User Research
I gathered user input through interviews with seven people, user diaries with five people, and used empathy maps to synthesize user needs. The target user group for my survey was junior professionals with 0-3 years of working experience, as they were identified as the primary user base.
During the interviews, I tried to keep my questions open-ended, except when collecting basic demographic information.
I also provided my users with a three-day-long simple framework diary to further understand their real-time feelings and behaviors. You can access the interview questions and diary framework through these links: interview questions, diary framework.
我通过对七位用户进行访谈、对五位用户进行用户日记以及使用共情图谱来综合用户需求。我的调查目标用户群体是有0-3年工作经验的职场新人，他们也是主要用户群。
在面试过程中，我试图让我的问题保持开放式（除了收集基本的人口统计信息）。
我还为我的用户提供了一个为期三天的简单框架日记来进一步了解他们的实时感受和行为。您可以通过以下链接访问面试问题和日记框架：采访问题，日记框架。
Insights
I noticed some common themes and patterns in the users responses that later influenced my design decisions.
我注意到在用户回复中有一些常见的主题和模式，这些最终影响了我的设计决策。
Workplace culture shock
New professionals' confidence can be affected by the pressure to build rapport with colleagues, interpret unspoken norms, and understand office customs and traditions.
职场新人的信心可能会受到与同事建立关系的压力、解释不言而喻的规范以及了解办公室的习俗和传统的影响。
Topic
Appropriate discussion topics vary based on context and the people involved.
适当的讨论话题根据情境和参与的人员而异。
Timing
Chitchat is necessary, but excess = distraction. However, new employees lack a quick response regarding when and how to initiate and end it.
聊天是必要的，但过度会分散注意力。然而，新员工缺乏关于何时以及如何开始和结束聊天的快速反应。
Interactive practice
The current users’ methods are passive, impersonal, and speaking-focused, and do not offer practical solutions to communication problems.
目前用户的方法是被动、不够个性化且以口语为主，无法提供实用的沟通解决方案。
Persona
Competitive Analysis & The Gap
How Might We
Facilitate personalized interactive communication practice efficiently?
如何高效地促进个性化的互动交流实践？
Track real talking and analyze small talk skills over time?
跟踪真实的对话并随时间分析闲聊技能？
Remind users of the right small talk timing and appropriate conversation topics during working times?
在工作时间提醒用户适当的闲聊时间和话题？
Define
User Journey Map
Ideate
Previous Design
In the initial design version of 2020, my plan was to combine an app with a 3D holographic device to provide more advanced facial and emotional recognition technology at the time.
After reflection, I concluded that using a 3D holographic device on a daily basis may be more of a hassle than a benefit, and an emotional analysis was not a practical solution for users. Instead, a simple smartphone app with advanced AI-talking technology could achieve even better results effectively. Thus, I opted for an AI-empowered app as my final solution platform.
在2020年的初始设计版本中，我的计划是将应用程序与3D全息设备结合起来，提供更先进的面部和情感识别技术。
经过反思，我得出结论，每天使用3D全息设备可能更像是一种麻烦而不是好处，情感分析也不是用户的实际解决方案。相反，一个具有先进AI对话技术的简单智能手机应用程序可以更有效地实现更好的结果。因此，我选择了AI增强的应用程序作为我的最终解决方案平台。
Information Architecture
Paper Wireframe
This application caters to three main flows 这个应用程序涵盖了三个主要流程:
- Reminding users of the appropriate talking timing and prompting them with suitable topics 提醒用户适当的谈话时间，并提示他们适合的话题
- Selecting a scenario to practice 选择场景练习
- Recording and analyzing conversations to improve speaking skills 记录和分析对话以改善口语技能
Prototype & Test
Wireframe & Prototype
I then brought my idea to an interactive digital low-fidelity prototype and brought it to five potential users to collect feedback.
Major Iteration
Based on feedback from usability testing sessions, I made four major modifications to improve the user experience. I carefully considered user comments and suggestions, and worked hard to implement them in a way that would make the product easy to understand, efficient to use, and enjoyable to interact with. Through close attention to user feedback, I made changes to achieve these goals.
根据用户测试反馈，我进行了四个主要迭代以改善用户体验。我认真考虑了用户的评论和建议，并努力实现以使产品易于理解、高效使用和愉悦互动。通过密切关注用户反馈，我进行了优化以实现这些目标。
👇 Iteration 1. Easy Understanding of the Report 可视化更易理解报告
The user expressed difficulty in immediately understanding how their dialogue performance was reflected in the report. To improve the design, I utilized a radar chart to visualize the report data, making the results clearer and easier to comprehend.
用户表示， 没有办法立刻明白报告中自己的对话表现究竟如何。为了改进设计，我使用雷达图对报告数据进行可视化处理，让结果更加清晰易懂。
👇 Iteration 2. Get permission at the beginning 在开始就获得许可
Initially, users were asked if they could record other people's voices only when they started recording an actual conversation. However, in actual usage scenarios, it is necessary to enter the recording state as soon as possible. Additionally, there was no follow-up function for questions about the conversation partner.
Therefore, I moved the recording permission to the settings section and removed the question about the conversation partner. This change better streamlines the integration of new user settings.
在最初的设计中，用户需要在进行实际对话录音时才会被询问是否可以录制其他人的声音。然而，在实际使用场景中，需要尽快进入录音状态。同时，询问谈话对象的问题也没有后续功能的跟进。
因此，我将录音许可移到设置部分，并移除询问谈话对象的问题，以更好地简化整合新用户设置。
👇 Iteration 3. Less feature for better concentration 更少功能更棒专注
Many users have expressed that checking notification cards on their phones during chats can be distracting and impolite. Therefore, I have removed the notification card feature to help users stay more focused on their conversations.
许多用户表示，在聊天时查看手机上的提示卡片会分心，不太礼貌。因此，我删除了提示卡片功能，以帮助用户更加专注于聊天。
👇 Iteration 4. Multiple entry points for constant inspiration and reminders 多个入口提供不断的灵感和提醒
In various scenarios, users require quick access to certain tools or features. To help users quickly find inspiration, I added a smartwatch as an extra tool.
在不同场景下，用户需要快速使用的入口。为了帮助用户更快地获得灵感，我加入了智能手表作为辅助。
Final Design
Components
User Guide
Here’s the final prototype:
Here’s the Figma file
What I Learned 🌱
During my time working on the Well Talk project, I realized the importance of collecting as much user feedback as possible in the early stages of the project. With the development of technology, there are always new options for appropriate technology within the project. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly refine and improve previous projects.
在 Well Talk 项目工作期间，我意识到在项目早期收集尽可能多的用户反馈的重要性。随着技术的发展，项目中适合的技术也会有新的选择。因此，需要不断地对之前的项目进行打磨和提升。