PlanUp

The goal

The goal: streamline the complex, often stressful process of planning private events through a smart, intuitive digital solution that connects users with verified local service providers.

‍

The Challenge

How might we understand the needs, expectations, and pain points of users and providers to design a functional, delightful app for home-based event planning?

This required gathering and synthesizing a large volume of qualitative data across a highly diverse stakeholder ecosystem: from users and hosts to performers, cooks, decorators, and event organizers.

‍

Research-Driven Impact

• Over 100 in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders across roles and regions.
• 12 user personas developed based on behavioral segmentation.
• +300 insights mapped, clustered, and prioritized using affinity diagrams and journey maps.
• 8 empathy maps built to understand motivations, fears, and expectations.
• +40 wireframes and interface proposals created based on validated needs and pain points.
• 4 key functionalities prototyped and tested to validate desirability and usability.

‍

Design process

Empathize

1. Conducted over 100 in-depth interviews with users, service providers, and event planners across diverse contexts and regions.
2. Deployed online surveys to reach a broader user base and validate qualitative patterns.
3. Performed a competitive benchmarking analysis of local and international event service platforms.
4. All findings were triangulated to identify recurring pain points, behavioral trends, and key opportunity areas.

This mixed-method approach enabled us to uncover actionable insights with a high level of confidence, ensuring the proposed solution would meet both user expectations and business goals.

Define

1. Synthesized research into thematic clusters and problem statements.
2. Identified top pain points: scheduling, trust, lack of comparison tools, and coordination fatigue.

Ideate

1. Brainstormed possible features including real-time availability, curated packages, secure payments, and provider ratings.
2. Co-creation workshops with users to prioritize functionality.

Prototype

1. Developed low- and mid-fidelity wireframes.
2. Created navigation flows for both event organizers and service providers.
3. Mocked up booking tools, review systems, and communication modules.

Test

1. Ran usability testing with clickable prototypes.
2. Refined key journeys such as service search, quote request, booking, and post-event reviews.

‍

Innovation Highlight: A Two-Sided Solution for Real-World Events

Unlike traditional marketplaces, PlanUp was designed as a dual-sided platform that caters equally to users and providers. The result is a balanced ecosystem where:

• Users enjoy curated, trustworthy options with real-time booking and transparent pricing.
• Providers benefit from targeted visibility, scheduling tools, and simplified client management.

‍