For future design sprints, I will think more critically throughout the prototyping day so that I do not get caught up in the details. During testing on day five, I realized that I had fleshed out so much detail in my screens that users got curious and tried to interact with elements that were outside the scope of the feature I was testing. Perhaps if I had chosen to create my screens in Adobe XD where I could simultaneously prototype them, I would not have gotten so into the details.

While prototyping, I weighed decisions as to how to make each screen move and connect in a way that makes sense to the user. I asked myself questions such as: Why should this be a push left instead of a slide left? Why should it be an instant transition instead of a pop? Each answer results in different feedback and communication to the user, and taking the time to carefully make those decisions allows me to truly test that the design works as intended: smoothly and appropriately.

All five of my users gave me outstanding feedback! That being said, the majority of their backgrounds are in professional photography rather than more casual photography. I asked all of my users who they thought would actually use the photo quest feature, and four out of five users thought it would best suit tourists or individuals who primarily take photos with their phones.  

Aside from minor usability issues, the five tests yielded two simple, yet significant, results:

1. Users take photos with their actual cameras and not just their phones.

2. Users want to know about the obstacles (weather, crowd, lighting, etc.) that may get in the way of capturing their envisioned photos.

From my interviews, I learned that a significant part of getting the perfect photo comes from how one prepares and how one sets up their camera. While many are satisfied with photos taken from their phone, an important, core app user may also be interested in taking photos with professional-grade equipment. To increase the return rate for users who prefer their cameras when shooting, adding the functionality to upload a photo from their phone's camera roll or from Google photos is recommended.

While not as surprising, learning about what photographers think about leading up to a shoot provided me with a lot of additional insight as to how to refine the app. For example, too many people around can make it difficult to get that perfect photo, but that is just one obstacle. These interviewees talked about the sun and its position, the intensity of the wind, the fabric of the outfits, the clarity or choppiness of the water, the props, and so much more. I think if I had been able to interview users at the start of the design sprint, I may have learned even more about what things photographers take into consideration before a shoot. The main takeaway is that a detailed description of the location is vitally important for the user. Users really want to know as many details as possible in order to fully understand the environment and the obstacles to their perfect photo. By providing a level of detail users can create a plan to successfully compose the photos they envision. Also, users that stumble upon a photo pin can decide if it's worth checking out or if they won’t be missing out if they were to skip that spot.