MSBA 300 ONLINE-

DATING
ASSIGNMENT
 ASSIGNMENT
GUIDELINES
Some students do not take the team assignments seriously, do not truly practice
what it takes to do analysis, drill-down and provide/illustrate the principles by
case data

This extremely wasteful of your time and often counter-productive to your learning
as well as your grade!

Read the case. Then answer questions.

Make sure to keep in mind the Upstream Thinking “3 barriers” and “7 questions”.

For each question think hard if any aspects of upstream thinking apply. Also try
NOT to force-fit, Upstream Thinking does not apply!

Optional Reading and Question; ML-Online-Dating + Q6

Q1. WHAT PROBLEMS ARE DATING SERVICES
TRYING TO FIX?

The root problems that dating services are trying to solve are:

• Gender Imbalance: Many dating apps have more male users than females,
leading to imbalance in the dating pool. For that reason, dating apps aim to
create an environment that would attract and keep females.

• The potential for users to provide false data: Many users tend to enter false
personal data while creating their online dating account, the reason that leads
to incompatible matches. (matches were not well-suited to users’ preferences
and relationship goals)
Q2. (HOW) DO THEY CREATE VALUE FOR THE
USER (CUSTOMER)?

• Matchmaking: Dating services use algorithms and user’s data to match

individuals with compatible potential partners, saving users time and effort in
finding suitable matches.
• Access to a Large Pool of Potential Matches: These platforms provide access to
a vast pool of potential partners, increasing the chances of finding someone
compatible.
• Convenience: Users can interact with potential matches from the comfort of
their homes, making dating more convenient, especially for those with busy
lifestyles.
• Communication Tools: Dating platforms often offer communication tools, such
as messaging and video chat, to help users get to know each other better.
3. WHICH OF THE FIVE DATING SERVICES
DESCRIBED IN THE CASE IS THE BEST-DESIGNED?
THE WORST? WHY?

OkCupid (The Best Dating Service): why?

 Users fully express their dating interests using OkCupid's detailed questionnaire,
which covers a wide variety of interests and characteristics.

 OKCupid generates more relevant and accurate match suggestions by using

compatibility ratings derived from user answers to the questionnaire.

 There are several options available to users for no cost, such as texting, liking
matches, and viewing profiles. This diversity serves a range of users.

 For $5 a month, users can benefit from the removal of advertisements, improved
functionality, and larger message storage. This premium membership option is highly
recommended for those who decide to subscribe.
3. WHICH OF THE FIVE DATING SERVICES
DESCRIBED IN THE CASE IS THE BEST-DESIGNED?
THE WORST? WHY?

Coffee Meets Bagel (The Worst Dating Service): why?

 Users of Coffee Meets Bagel are restricted to a daily match count, which may not be
ideal for those who would rather take a more adaptable and dynamic approach to
online dating.

 Some users may find it excessively demanding to be obliged to like or reject profiles
within a 24-hour period. Individuals who want to spend their time assessing possible
partners might not find this to be in line with their needs.

 Coffee Meets Bagel is primarily funded by the sale of "beans" and premium
subscriptions. The idea of paying $35 a month for a subscription or purchasing virtual
goods like "beans" may not appeal to a huge number of consumers or be affordable.

 Female-oriented approach: The emphasis on granting women greater attention may be

appreciated by some users, but others might consider this strategy restrictive,
particularly for those who want an equitable dating environment.
4. WHAT SORT OF DATING PLATFORM SHOULD
MELANIE AND JONATHAN DESIGN? PROVIDE
REASONING WHY?

• Personalized Matchmaking with a Human Touch: Dating Ring's model, which

involves in-person or phone consultations with matchmakers, could be a
compelling approach.
• They could design a dating platform that combines technology (algorithm) with
personalized matchmaking.
• This approach adds a human touch, which can be appealing to those seeking
more personalized and meaningful connections.
• Segmenting and targeting the long tail: Melanie and Jonathan could focus on
creating a niche dating platform that caters to specific interests and lifestyles.
• Robust Learning System: They could integrate an algorithm that continuously
improves match quality based on user feedback.
• Strick safety guidelines to encourage people especially ladies to sign up, submit
their information and their photos.
Q5. DOES THAT DESIGN DIFFER FROM THE ONE
THEY THEMSELVES WOULD MOST WANT TO
USE? WHY?
Listing the main features of each the 5 popular dating sites, and trying them personally, Jonathan
and Melanie were able to see the problems associated with it, which can be summarized as follows:
Jonathan’s problems with existing dating platforms:
 He had trouble attracting dating partners, especially ones who seemed ready to settle down
Melanie’s problems with existing dating platforms:
 She was flooded with suitors
 But most of them vanished when they learned she preferred to discuss literature rather than
going to dance clubs
Building on the above and Q4, we can say that both of them will want to use the new design
because it solves their problems upstream: How?
 Boundaries of the system: Think outside of the current boundaries of available systems. For
example, introducing a recommendation system powered by machine learning can automatically
filter out potential matchings who already have asked in their previous chat histories “going to
dance clubs”; this will solve the problem of Melanie upstream since she won’t get match
recommendations (in the first place) with proven history / tendency asking to go to dance clubs.
Other platforms offered a reactive solution (downstream) to the problem by showing such a
match and offering a dislike option.
Q5. DOES THAT DESIGN DIFFER FROM THE ONE
THEY THEMSELVES WOULD MOST WANT TO
USE? WHY?
 Get an early warning of the problem: How can they know there is a problem in their
service they’re offering before it escalates? Some metrics (that act as problem sensors)
can be formulated and monitored to continuously and routinely check whether a real
problem is coming their way. For example, check the activity of new users in terms of
recency, frequency and monetary value:
how much is the interval between their visits
how many site visits / chat dialogues / interaction with matchmakers or any other kind
of interactions that make them engage with the service did they make each month
did they upgrade to premium services or remained at the free entry level.

 How would you know you’re succeeding: The above can also be used to check if their
service is liked by their customers. They monitor stats of their subscribers both in terms
of active users counts and premium growth. For example, What-if-analysis scenarios can
be created to check the magnitude of success in terms of revenues, at levels (25%-35%-
50%) of their users switching to Premium. This can aid decisions to investment in such a
design that relies more on human matchmakers to feed clean data to the learning
models.