Casual Ancestry users are interested in exploring their family history but lack the time or expertise for traditional, labor-intensive genealogical research. The challenge is to provide these users with daily, straightforward, and reliable genealogical discoveries that are easy to engage with and require minimal effort on their part.
The research involved 13 participants from diverse age groups, all with limited experience in genealogy but a strong interest in exploring what Ancestry could offer. Over five months, the team iterated on their design approach four times, ultimately developing the current version of the Discover feed.
Jen
38
Chicago, IL
Spends ~1 hr/week browsing Ancestry app
“How do I know if what I’ve found is accurate?”
Robert
29
Wilmington, NC
Spends ~2 hrs/month browsing Ancestry app
“My parents never mention excatly where we’re from.”
1. Users’ approach genealogical research differently so it is important to provide powerful features that allow a personalized discovery experience.
2. “Auto-magic” only goes so far until the user factors in how much they understand the sources we get info from
From layout to language, several concepts were produced throughout the research process. These sketches will inform the info architecture and reveal any blindspots to investigate further.
The reimagined home tab on the Ancestry app, now called the Discover Feed, provides users with three daily "Hints" related to their family tree. These Hints may include family photos, record mentions, new DNA matches, or stories from other users. Users can review, accept, dismiss, or save these Hints, and track their research progress via a scoreboard that displays their daily discoveries.
The update to the Discover feed introduced a small section for DNA Matches, in addition to the existing records and photos. As a result, more users began viewing their DNA Matches, indicating increased engagement with this feature.
Users consistently reviewed hints in their daily picks. But early on we knew all users conduct their research differently so we needed a way for users to continue to discover ALL hints they have yet to see in their daily picks. The All Hints tab provided users with a straight forward way to browse any type of hint they desired.
Recap the day’s work with the Scoreboard. User’s no longer have to dive into the depths of ancestor profile pages to find records they have reviewed. This feature would serve as the foundation of a hopeful “Activity Log” feature in the app’s future.
