Jason Piano | UI/UX Designer

Designing a Seamless PWA Church Reservation Digital Experience

Timeline:

6 Weeks

Role:

UX Researcher

Client:

St. Augustine Parish Church

Problem Statement

Clients of St. Augustine Parish Church need an easier way to reserve and submit requirements for ceremonies because the current manual process is time-consuming, stressful, and often causes delays—especially for students and grieving families.

ISO 25010 Software Evaluation

The system received a very high rating overall, with Security scoring the highest (4.70)—which shows how much users value feeling safe when sharing personal documents. Compatibility got the lowest score (4.23), hinting at some areas where the system might be further refined across devices or platforms.

Still, the final grand mean score of 4.54 proves that the system is not just working—it's genuinely helpful, reliable, and user-friendly for both staff and clients.

Compatibility

4.23

Functional Stability

4.64

Reliability

4.57

Usability

4.57

Grand Mean

4.54

Security

4.70

THE BEGINNING

Bridging the Gap Between Church and Community

To explore how the system could truly support both church administrators and ceremony participants, I designed a research plan focused on uncovering the day-to-day struggles and opportunities for improvement.

Setting the Direction: Research Goals

Uncover opportunities to improve efficiency, accessibility, and clarity in the ceremony reservation journey.

Establish user expectations and readiness for transitioning to an online reservation system.

Identify the specific requirements and common issues encountered during document submission for Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion, Wedding, & Burial.

Explore the frustrations, limitations, and emotional burdens experienced by clients (especially students, parents, and grieving families) during the reservation process.

Methods Used

To gather meaningful insights, I used a mix of stakeholder interviews, user interviews, surveys, and usability tests throughout different phases of the project.

Referencing Real Church Documents

As part of the research process, the church staff provided me with several actual documents they use in their manual process:

Ceremony Requirement Forms – Used by clients to check and submit necessary documents (e.g., for Baptism, Wedding, Burial, etc.)

Sample Certificates – Given to clients after completing a ceremony, which serve as official proof for personal and religious records

The requirement forms helped me understand the specific documents needed for each ceremony and the certificate samples provided the foundation for designing the auto-generated certificate templates within the admin dashboard

From Insights to Identities

To translate the key findings into actionable design, I created user personas that represent the real people interacting with the ceremony reservation process.

These personas were curated based on the responses and descriptions shared by the church staff during interviews. By identifying the typical clients for each type of ceremony—such as students for Confirmation and First Communion, grieving family members for burials, or parents arranging baptisms—I was able to outline distinct user needs, motivations, and pain points.

What the Research Revealed

Emotional Burden

Grieving families struggle with physical visits during a time of loss, making the process emotionally taxing.

Lack of Transparency

Clients often don’t know the available dates until they visit the church office.

Incomplete Submissions

Many students fail to submit all required documents due to lack of clear guidance or support.

Positive Reception to Digital

Most users found the prototype easy to use and appreciated the convenience of mobile submissions.

The Idea

To design a user-friendly online reservation system that simplifies how clients of St. Augustine Parish Church book ceremonies and submit requirements. The goal was to reduce stress, save time, and minimize delays for both clients and church staff, while ensuring the process remains accessible, reliable, and aligned with church traditions.

Mapping the Journey:

Understanding the End-to-End Experience

Mapping the Journey:

Understanding the End-to-End Experience

To better visualize the struggles faced by clients across different ceremonies, I created a generalized User Journey Map that reflects the typical steps users take—from the moment they learn about a ceremony, to the actual event day.

Problems Identified & Opportunities for Design

Problems

Clients often submit incomplete or incorrect requirements due to lack of clear guidance.

Scheduling is manual and unavailable outside office hours, causing delays.

Families in crisis (e.g., during a burial) are emotionally burdened by in-person paperwork.

Users have no visibility on available ceremony dates or status updates.

Church staff are overwhelmed, leading to miscommunication and lost records.

Opportinities

Create step-by-step digital guidance based on ceremony type.

Enable online submission and validation of requirements.

Display a real-time calendar of ceremony availability.

Provide automated status notifications (email/SMS).

Build a centralized admin panel for staff to manage submissions and schedules more efficiently.

Structuring the System

As part of my UX research role, I created the information architecture to organize the system content and flows based on the needs of the users and the church staff. This structure ensures users can easily find the specific ceremony they need, understand the requirements, and navigate the reservation process smoothly.

Interface Sketches

To explore how the system might look and function, I created basic interface sketches. These helped define the placement of key elements, clarify user actions, and align visual hierarchy with the goals of a stress-free, digital-first process.

Post-Testing Survey & System Evaluation

After the usability testing sessions, I conducted a short survey to gather quantitative feedback from participants—including both church staff and users who interacted with the system.

The goal was to assess the perceived ease of use, satisfaction, clarity, and overall experience with the reservation system. Their responses helped validate the system’s design and identified areas for future improvement.

Final Thoughts

After building and testing the system, we gathered feedback from three IT experts, three church staff members, and four actual clients who used the reservation platform. Each group evaluated the system across key areas like functionality, usability, security, and compatibility.

4+ years of experience in brand identity, UX/UI design, and high-conversion digital experiences. Skilled in designing conversion-focused landing pages, marketing collateral, and responsive websites that optimize user journeys and drive measurable business outcomes.