Continuous Testing and Iterations: Achieving 92% User Satisfaction with StudyEase App
User Research, Usability Testing, Visual Design and Interaction Design
The Background
After performing initial research, the team found out 76% of international students faced difficulty in managing academic performance, connecting with new students, getting acquainted with new culture, and loneliness, among a few challenges. This investigation was part of an academic project tasked by the university to enhance the productivity of students.
My Role
UX Researcher
Interaction Designer
Visual Designer
Team members
1 Designer/Researcher
1 Designer
2 Developers
Industry
Ed-Tech
Productivity
Duration
3 Months
The Research
The team conducted User Research with 12 International Students and User Observations of 4 International Students.
Key Research Insights
Key Research insights were synthesized depending on the amount of students facing the issue and the impact it had on their productivity.
Hard to set achievable goals
8/12 students faced challenges in setting achievable goals
Avoided conversation with strangers
10/12 students avoided connecting with new students due to lack of information about common interest and lacked skill in breaking the ice
Lacked academic resources
8/12 Students faced issues in searching valuable academic resources apart from syllabus
The opportunity
The insights from research guided the team to focus on following opportunities:
Goal Setting
How might we help students in setting achievable academic goals
Community Engagement
How might we help students in building a sense of community and foster engagement
The Solution
After the ideation phase, multiple iterations were designed by incorporating the inputs from 2 Expert Usability Tests and 1 Structured Usability Test. The final solution was designed considering following key Pillars:
Key Tasks
Online Student
Setting a Goal
Tracking a Goal
Getting to know and attending event
Connecting with friends
Offline Student
Accessing study resources
Joining online events and meetings
Adding interests and hobbies
Connecting with new friends
The team heavily focused on user testing to refine the design
Key Research insights were synthesized depending on the amount of students facing the issue and the impact it had on their productivity.
2 Expert Usability Tests
2 Expert Usability Tests were performed and 2 iterations of designs were developed
1 Structured Usability Test
Key issue were related to goal setting, navigation, iconography and discoverability
10 Key changes
Out of 26 changes, 10 key changes were finalized based on its impact and relevance to the Key tasks
Goals were categorized into 4 types
The initial design used AI to help clarify students' goals. However, tests showed it wasn't flexible enough for all goal types, mainly because of unclear goals and lack of method awareness amongst students. To solve this issue, goals were organized into four categories: Time-bound, Deadline-based, Habit-based, and AI-assisted goals, improving clarity and awareness.
Tracking the streak was effective than tracking completed goals
9/12 students felt the donut chart showing completed goals was not enough moreover incomplete goals made them anxious. As a result goal streak was measured to track the progress. Tracking the streaks gave students a sense of achievement along with the motivation to maintain the streaks
