December 2023
Calendar-Sharing
Led a redesign of the core calendar-sharing experience on Howbout, resulting in a 2x increase in activation.
We simplified the Share menu by utilizing more progressive disclosure, particularly with phone calendars and providing help/education.
Context
Howbout is a social calendar to share time with friends — but the calendar hasn't always been the core product. Originally it was introduced as a mere vessel to view the plans you were creating; but throughout 2023, Howbout's shared calendar went viral on TikTok numerous times. This led us to shift our focus from helping users organize the perfect social plan to enabling them to share their whole calendars so they can make more plans.
Problem
Our #1 FAQ was, 'How do I set up my shared calendar?' and understandably so. An expert evaluation led me to a handful of hypotheses including the following.
View/Share
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Some of our most important features are muddled together in a text and toggle-heavy menu:
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Turn phone calendars on (but this doesn't mean you're sharing them!)
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Turn friends' calendars on/off — and oftentimes this is below the fold
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Sync your phone calendars
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Understand the various sharing options: calendar, availability, nothing
- Manage who you share what with
Sharing options
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When a user adds a friend, their calendar isn't shared by default. Instead, they must opt-in; and the 3 options aren't instantly gettable.
Outcome
There was lots of evidence for the overarching issue, but not the underlying causes.