Organizing funerals online during covid — Design case
Client
Perpetual Memorial Park https://www.perpetual.com.my/
My role
- UI/UX design
- User interviews
- User testings
Date
2021
Our client wanted to be more than a funeral organizer. They decided to venture into a digital product and together we wanted to build a a digital photo album, where family members can add pictures and comments. As the family grows, new members can be added to the digital family tree and keep the memory of the family alive. My role in this project was to drive user research and partially design the web application. We didn’t know yet what features the photo album should include. We didn’t even know if the photo album should be the main focus of the product, it was just the outcome of a design sprint and the idea had yet to be tested with users. I have first interviewed potential users then derived a prototype from their insights and through competitive analysis. A card sorting exercise helped us prioritize and generate ideas. Finally, I have tested the prototype with a new set of users. I have then created the final designs and my colleagues continued with further iteration and implementation with the developers.
It was not an easy topic to share with our interviewees as they have experienced a loss (sometimes recently ) and it reminded me that we have to be very attentive to how people can react to some questions. No matter the topic, funerals or else, I think it is important to try to create a moment where we are all enjoying ourselves and learning new things together during the tests and interviews. Interviewees usually feel under scrutiny and are in this mindset that they have to do things well and not fail (even if we remind them that we are not testing them, but the product itself… but one cannot help human impulse!). They can stress out easily. Or feel like the question is intrusive or brings back memories. Even if for the interviewer it might seem like another task to carry out to get work done and it is the 5th interview of the day, we must remember to be extra kind and attentive to the interviewees, individually!
1. Interviews
Competitive analysis
Prior research the client and my agency ran a design sprint with them to explore the idea of a digital photo album for people who have passed away. They had many sources of inspiration that were explored. Facebook Live (the streaming feature of Facebook) was considered because the idea was that the photo album would be launched when the family was starting to organize the funeral. Facebook Live is a very useful tool to stream funerals for guests that cannot attend the ceremony for safety reasons (covid-19) or live too far. It gave guests a way to participate and say a last goodbye, no matter what. Rolled out to the public in January 2016, through the Facebook app. Facebook originally developed streaming to compete against Periscope, a live stream company acquired by Twitter. When broadcasting live, your Facebook followers have the opportunity to join the conversation and ask questions, comment, react, or just follow along in real time.
You can also create photo albums on Facebook, which could potentially inspire the photo album. Something similar was considered, but with messages in between pictures, like the Facebook News Feed (but probably less interactive).
Another inspiring company was Shopee for another set of features in the album. In February 2015, Shopee launched in Singapore as a social-first, mobile-centric marketplace where users can browse, shop and sell. Integrated with logistical and payment support, the asset-light platform claims to make online shopping easy and secure for both sellers and buyers. The app-based platform launched a website in order compete with other e-commerce websites in the region like Lazada, Tokopedia and AliExpress. To differentiate itself, Shopee offers online shopping security through its own escrow service called “Shopee Guarantee”, where it withholds payment to sellers until buyers have received their orders. It could give ideas for reducing trust concerns over online shopping. However, families are not prone to buy products during the funeral, and also expressed the concern that it may be perceived as “profit-seeking” if not properly designed. Guests however, may want to be able to purchase flowers and offerings, and it could be a feature to design, but with care.
Grab is a one-stop shop for anything you need in your daily life. Order food, transport, do your groceries, get a delivery done…We could take inspiration from them, when guests cannot attend the funeral and want to send something to the family (food, or flowers) or organize rides for people to attend the cremation ceremony. But we need to look at the feasibility of creating such services as they require significant labor costs and new operating system for delivery.
Nirvana is the largest competitor of the client, as they are both targeting taoist funerals mainly for the Chinese-Malaysian population. They have a digital presence presenting their services compared to our client. They offer burial plots, funeral services and funeral pre-planning.
Interviews
I like to conduct user research structurally, influenced by how I made university research! My presentations usually consist of an abstract, research method section, models I have used (e.g.: user personas), findings and recommendations. Therefore, I will proceed following my “university” approach.
Research questions
The interviews share light on the following research questions that we would like the prototype to answer:
- What features would customers have online and what features they would keep offline? Given that most of the funeral process currently is offline.
- What feature-ideas do interviewees have, which will help us differentiate from competitors?
- What are the current pain points in the process of organizing a funeral?
Research methods
The structure of the interview was the following:
- 5 interviews ranging from one hour to an hour and half.
- The first part of the interview was a discussion on how they experienced organizing a funeral, or attend one.
- The second part of the interview was reserved for the card sorting exercise. In card sorting, the interviewee is presented with features and is asked to provide her opinion on it. It helps prioritizing features, and also helps providing new ideas of features.
During the interview, a note keeper takes notes. These notes are then labeled, for instance, under “Contact guests by Whatsapp”. Labels and themes help illustrate the customer user journey, as it is currently, and what are the potential pain points.
Card sorting look at which features most interviewees think are important, instead of trying to re-memorize the steps of a funeral. Also, they give their opinion on features and come up with new features by creating new cards.
We interviewed 5 users from the market segment we think are most likely to use the digital album:
- 2 men and 3 women
- Have been to a taoist funeral before, or organized one
- Between 40 and around 60-year-old
- Chinese Malaysian
- Tech savvy
Models
The customer journey is very suitable to have an overview of the pre and post funeral processes and the digital opportunities to facilitate and create a better experience for funeral attendees.
Recommendations
Currently, the organisation of a funeral happens offline, strictly via the undertaker. According to interviews, families undergoing a funeral are in a very emotional state and therefore, it is hard for them to think of planning or organizing the event. Thus, the undertaker appears to be irreplaceable, as she provides very much needed human interaction during the funeral, and provide services and answers on the go.
⇒ The focus should be directed not be about trying to become a one-stop shop in organizing a funeral. We could instead create a supporting tool for the undertaker, organiser and guests. There could be two types of tools:
Practical tools:
- A real-time schedule for both the organiser and guests to access anytime.
- A post-funeral schedule for ancestor celebration events and prayers, especially during the following year of death,
- Order more food and drinks (flowers and offerings too?)
- Online portal to make a monetary contribution easily
Experiential tools:
- A memory page that works like a photo album. As we scroll through, we have pictures of the deceased in chronological order for instance, and testimonials. And any visitor can share a picture and a memory, that will be approved by an admin of the page, which then automatically adds to the album.
- Straightforward FAQ on practicalities and education about traditions.
The tools should be optimized for mobile because all interviewees used their phone (especially the older interviewees who use the phone to facetime their family, rather than spending time on desktop). It seems that it is the preferred choice of device for organisers and guests. While people who like desktop can use both desktop and mobile, people with a preference for mobile ONLY knows how to use mobile.
Families do not seem to shop around for undertakers. Nobody really seems to pre-plan their own funeral. Once the person passes away, they contact the undertaker they have previously used or use the one recommended by their church and let the undertaker organize. Families just need to state the religion of the deceased.
⇒ The landing page should stay minimal because it is less likely to be visited.
Useful feature could be:
- View detailed offerings of available funeral package options: price ranges, model of urns, model of the car…
- Straightforward FAQ
- Post-Funeral services: maintenance of the final resting place, schedule of ancestor commemoration dates (like the Festival in April) and post-funeral ceremonies and prayers
This summary help us decide which features we will design and test! So that we know which features should be prioritized and make more time for it, compared to the others.
2. User tests
Prototype
During the User Testing, the user had to go through various tasks and questions to see if they were successful in understanding the prototype. 5 users tested the prototype for 30 minutes to one hour. If it is a new interviewee, we have asked some questions around their experience attending or organizing a funeral. Then, we have shared the prototype with the user. We collected their first impressions on the prototype, then we have asked them to perform the following tasks:
- Share the obituary
- Make a contribution
- Add and share a picture on the Memorial app by Whatsapp
- Manage the organiser account
Because images speak more than words, here are a few screens to show you where users had some difficulties or praise about the features!
Conclusion
Features testers have highlighted were the ability to contribute and the ease of sharing the obituary with Whatsapp. They liked the idea of a digital obituary although it is a new concept for them, where they can find all the links related to the funeral. Also, they wanted the obituary to give explanations on each event of the funeral as guests may not be familiar with the traditions of each church and want to know what is happening.
The feature that was less liked was about contribution: it could feel “too much hard-selling”, “Credit card contributions is too commercial. May be with a disclaimer saying that the money is being sent directly to the mourning family’s bank account and nothing else profiting from it.” It is fine to be able to contribute online, as long as it is not pushy.
The digital photo album is the feature the team was most enthusiast and thought was really going to be exciting for the user. However, it felt like users were not as interested in it as us and highlighted mostly the practical information the digital obituary could provide them with. So we made sure that for implementation, the family tree, the directions to the different events of the funeral and streaming links to the events were the most emphasized features on the obituary. “Do’s and Don’ts” are also included to help users navigate and understand the traditions all along the procession. The digital photo album is still present and have a more prominent place after the funeral takes place, for families to remember and cherish pictures with their loved ones.
You can see the improvements from the prototype to the design that was taken during implementation! Additionally, the color scheme was also changed to a calmer tone and to fit the new brand colors the client desired.
About me
To view more of my work, go here: https://medium.com/@gwenndesignMy portofolio: https://www.gwennlepechoux.com/
I work at Lizard Global, a web-development agency based in Malaysia and in the Netherlands. We provide data-driven digital solutions to partners from a wide range of industries. Check out more about Lizard here: https://www.lizard.global/
