Live

Live

Tackling ghosting on Muzz

A card-sort forced decision model to adopt healthy closure.

Role

Product Designer in Agile Squad

Industry

Marriage/Dating

Duration

3 weeks

Problem

78.5% of chats fall silent after 7 days of matching on the platform despite a 72 hour match expiry and reminders has been introduced.

Research

The goal was to understand the emotional and behavioural drivers behind ghosting and not just measure it. Here were clear signals from the data:

Users are increasingly intolerant of ghosting and want the app to intervene

Members aren't passive about this problem. There is a growing expectation that Muzz, as a marriage-intent platform, should actively facilitate better behaviour and not leave it to chance.

There's a growing desire for honest, direct communication, even if it's uncomfortable

Users expressed a preference for a clear no over continued silence. Honest closure is beginning to outweigh the discomfort of rejection, particularly among members with serious intent.

The expectation is shifting from endless options to meaningful connections

Insights from the user survey, interviews and Muzz's social app shows the app is felt to encourage ghosting, lacking features to promote accountability

Problem

78.5% of chats fall silent after 7 days of matching on the platform despite a 72 hour match expiry and reminders has been introduced.

Research

The goal was to understand the emotional and behavioural drivers behind ghosting and not just measure it. Here were clear signals from the data:

Users are increasingly intolerant of ghosting and want the app to intervene

Members aren't passive about this problem. There is a growing expectation that Muzz, as a marriage-intent platform, should actively facilitate better behaviour and not leave it to chance.

There's a growing desire for honest, direct communication, even if it's uncomfortable

Users expressed a preference for a clear no over continued silence. Honest closure is beginning to outweigh the discomfort of rejection, particularly among members with serious intent.

The expectation is shifting from endless options to meaningful connections

Insights from the user survey, interviews and Muzz's social app shows the app is felt to encourage ghosting, lacking features to promote accountability

Defining success

By tackling ghosting through prompting our members to make a decision on their active conversations, we will improve perceived platform culture and reduce churn.

I wireframed and presented three distinct directions before deciding on an approach that best balances emotional comfort, platform goals and the need to prompt an actual decision.

Live prototype

Explore the interactive prototype below.

— Outcomes ·

Success metrics were defined upfront to ensure the design was solving the right problem and give any future build phase a clear north star.

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Shaimaa Osman

Copyright by Shaimaa Osman

Shaimaa Osman

Copyright by Shaimaa Osman

Shaimaa Osman

Copyright by Shaimaa Osman