© Abigael Donahue 2026

Cleaning Cal mobile app


Role: Lead UX designer and researcher


Business: Google UX Design Certification Course


Techniques: Storyboards, journey maps, wireframes, prototypes, research plans, affinity maps


Tools: Figma, Miro, Gemini

Persona &

storyboards

Who am I designing for?

Busy professionals and/or students with limited free time.


What is their challenge?

Between work and school, house chores take up the small amount of free time they have.


How can I solve their challenge?

Give them some time back with affordable housekeepers who are easy to find and book.

Journey map & wireframes

- Plan user actions and the steps they’ll take in the flow.

- Consider the user's feelings at each step and how to optimize the experience accordingly.

- Sketch wireframes and create digital versions in Figma.

- Build a low-fidelity prototype for user testing.

UX research process

  • - Create the research study plan, including the script, research questions, and KPIs. 
  • - Conduct the usability study with 5 participants.   
  • - Track tasks, click paths, observations, quotes, and completion ease scores.
  • - Synthesize the data with affinity mapping.
  • - Use the affinity map to identify themes and develop insights for each theme.

Usability study #1:

Low-fi iterations

  • - Add an account creation flow.
  • - Provide a profile to store user information.
  • - Redesign the housekeeper search list to show several condensed profiles.
  • - Show a calendar view for booking a housekeeper.

Low-fi to high-fi

  • Collect asynchronous feedback on wireframes v2 and build high-fidelity prototype in Figma.
  • - Replace the sidebar menu with a mobile-friendly nav hub. 
  • - Add an option for users to search for housekeepers as a guest.
  • - Collect home details from the user, including square footage.

Usability study #2:

High-fi iterations

  • - Collect the user's cleaning needs and home details before they search for housekeepers.
  • - Show the pricing model and projected cost before showing the housekeeper list.
  • - Add a loading screen with a progress bar and information on how the search works.
  • - Surface housekeepers who align with the user's cleaning needs and home details.

Iterate & finalize

  • Collect asynchronous feedback on the high-fidelity prototype. Iterate and finalize.
  • - Add step numbers to accompany the progress bar before the user searches.
  • - Put the key user CTA ("Book") towards the top of the housekeeper profile page.
  • - In the booking wizard, show condensed information on the "Review" step.

Key findings & highlights

  • Establish user trust
  • Give complete transparency into pricing and total cost before the booking process begins.

  • Lower the barrier to entry
  • Don’t make users create an account until they’re ready to book a housekeeper.

  • Personalize the experience
  • Show a general home page for new users and a personalized home page for existing users.

  • Make interactions accessible
  • Make buttons thumb-friendly, as well as accessible for users without the use of their hands.