Prototype & Usability Testing
Mid-Fidelity Figma prototype evaluated with Pilots

What we built

We developed a mid-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma covering approximately 20 screens and 5 core user flows. The prototype was designed to feel consistent with ForeFlight's existing visual language, toolbar placement, familiar navigation, while introducing new social layers.

Community forums

Topic-based channels with joining, pinning, and discussion flows

Direct messaging

1:1 chat with mute, pin, and more

Airport map

Interactive map with airport details

Friends management

Add, remove, and browse pilot connections

Profile & settings

Edit profile, set privacy, manage notifications

Usability Testing • n=3 • ~45 minutes

Testing sessions

We conducted three moderated usability sessions with one new and two returning research participants using a think-aloud protocol. Participants completed 7 scenario-based tasks while we observed hesitation points, navigation behaviors, and task completion.

Tasks included

Find and join a forum · Switch and pin a channel · Add and remove a friend · Navigate to an airport on the map · Edit profile privacy settings · Mute a DM chat

Method

Think-aloud protocol · Observational notes · Session recordings · Post-session synthesis using thematic analysis · Returning participants from earlier cohort

Usability Findings

ForeFlight's visual consistency drives learnability

All three participants described the prototype as intuitive because it resembled the existing ForeFlight experience. Familiarity with existing workflows transferred directly to the new social features, reducing onboarding friction.

"This is very, very much like what I’m used to with this app." (P1)

"The bottom bar seems quite straightforward." (P3)

Hidden gestures were not discoverable

A major theme across all three sessions involved difficulty discovering gesture-based interactions and understanding what elements within the interface were clickable while testing on desktop computers. Participants frequently struggled with swipe interactions, hidden affordances, and unclear interaction cues.

"As I see it, there’s no indication to me that I could swipe [...] Even when it moved, I thought it was a web error." (P1)

"I don’t think I would have guessed that, because there doesn’t seem to be any indication that that’s clickable." (P3)

Pilots prefer niche communities over general forums

Participants consistently expressed greater interest in niche aviation communities than in broad discussion spaces. Across sessions, users described wanting more targeted and personalized discussion environments centered around specific aviation interests, flying styles, and regional knowledge.

"I would drill down more [...] so that I would see things that are definitely interesting to me." (P1)

"I don’t want to spend 20 minutes trying to sift through all of that stuff to get something that might be useful." (P2)

User discovery was critically underdeveloped

All three participants experienced challenges when attempting to discover, navigate to, and connect with other users. While users generally understood the value of social networking features, they often struggled with profile navigation, user discovery workflows, and understanding the relationship between profiles, followers, and forums. The design required knowing a user's name before finding them, making organic discovery impossible.

"This is the community. I want to search, but it doesn't seem to want to give me a search function. It's gonna search the communities that are out there, not necessarily the person [...] So, if I don't know their name, I don't know how I would find them." (P1)

"I don’t see how to get to somebody else’s profile." (P3)

What changed as a result

Concept testing confirmed the separate app direction and generated specific requirements for the mid-fidelity prototype:

Clearer Navigation

Added clearer visual indicators to distinguish joined forums from unjoined forums, helping users understand their membership status and reducing confusion when navigating community spaces.

Understandable wording

Replaced "add friend" language with a "follow" model, which participants found more intuitive and less socially pressured — matching patterns they already knew from other apps.

Numerous interactions

Added redundant navigation paths to profiles, communities, and airport info after participants repeatedly couldn't find content through a single route — addressing the user discovery failure directly.

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