Facebook Professional
What if Facebook decided to enter the professional networking scene?
The goal of this project was to do just that; add professional networking functionality to Facebook. We decided to build a sub-app, Facebook Professional, that would create a more inclusive professional networking experience for users utilizing their existing “Facebook Friends”.
Lead Roles
Scrum Master, Research, IA, Usability Testing
Contributions
Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping
Duration
2 weeks sprint with fellow UX Designers
Tools
InVision, Adobe XD, Illustrator, Sketch, Powerpoint
My Process
Design Thinking
I design experiences that are influenced by research. I let the research lead me to the main problem. Click below to read through my process.
With Facebook’s mission in mind, a competitive analysis was done to discover the gaps that were present in the professional networking space.
- Linked-In caters to the top tier professionals and recruiters- This makes it not suitable for freelancers and blue-collar professionals
- Shapr and BumbleBizz do not utilize users’ personal network to make connections
Facebook Professional would fill this gap by being a platform that is more inclusive to all job types and levels. It would also allow our users to leverage their personal network for future opportunities and to make connections and get recommendations.
To develop our user persona, I conducted additional research on the Facebook users to really understand their view on Facebook moving into the professional networking arena. I did this by conducting user interviews and constructing an affinity map to discover major pain points.
Based off of the data from above we narrowed down our target audience to freelancers and blue collar workers. Meet Mason, a blue color worker looking to find a job through his connections.
The next step was to create a Customer Journey Map to show the process that Mason goes through in order to accomplish his goal of using this app to make connections that aid him in getting a job.
Finally, I worked with the team to blend our ideas into one consistent design and clarify which features to focus on for our MVP
Main Features
- Allowing users to create a detailed profile
- Searching capabilities: being able to search for connects based on name, work history, and career interest
- Ability to add your “Facebook friends” and their friends as connections
Problem
Hypothesis Statement
Feedback & Iterations
Clarifying the on-boarding process:
We used the BumbleBizz interface as an inspiration for the onboarding process this app and users were unfamiliar with it. They had a hard time figuring out the swiping left or right feature. To account for this we included additional instructions during the profile creation process to reduce friction.
Logo & Terminology Distinction:
Several users thought that the logo change made Facebook Professional distinguishable yet familiar
Distinguishing the difference between “friends” (used for Facebook) and “connections” (Facebook Professional). Users need this explained clearly to reinforce that the two accounts are separate.
Search Capabilities for 'connections':
Users found it helpful to be able to search for connections based on name, work history, and career interests.
The ability to view potential connections’ profile of 2nd degree connections helped users see the potential of expanding their network even more.
Conclusion & Next Steps
With Facebook making many new ventures into helping us stay connected, taking a step into the professional networking scene seems like a no brainer. Creating a separate app that leverages users’ existing network of “friends” for professional networking would be filling a gap in the market for freelancers, blue & pink collar workers, and individuals with unconventional jobs. On this more inclusive app, choosing which friends to add to as professional “connections” would give users the control to keep their private lives and work lives separate while still allowing them to enjoy the benefits using their personal network for professional gain.
Next Steps:
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Create Job Alerts and Recommendations
- Chat feature