Project Overview
🎓 As part of my psychology BA studies and UX major, I participated in the UX design for complex systems course, and StudyHub is my team's project - we decided to improve our prior existing student portal.
Yulia Goldenberg, Ph.D. • Lecturer
“Not only was this project great, but the teamwork behind it was excellent! This is an excellent interface. I wish it was widely available.”
Defining The Challenge
The Problem
The college's current student portal is inconvenient and unclear, making it hard for students to access information and assignments.
System Goals
- Integrate existing college systems so the students can perform actions and receive info in a fast and accessible way.
- Improving the user satisfaction survey score.
- Increasing the percentage of system logins.
- Reducing performing actions time.
- Reducing unnecessary communication with technical support.
- Reducing user error percentage in the system.
Competitors Analysis
We examined our current competitors, which are similar systems being used in different institutions, and compiled a list of pros and cons
Pros
- Accessible lectures contact info.
- Calendar with relevant and contextual info.
- Accessible files per class and time.
Cons
- Irrelevant info & actions are located in key system locations.
- Irrelevant info & actions for different types of users- such as students and lecturers.
- Bad use of UI and layout.
User Research
In order to get inspire, explore and choose directions and opportunities, we committed the following qualitative and quantitative methods.
- User feedback - 50 students: Self-reported, open-ended, and close-ended information provided by a sample of users (students) through an online questionnaire.
- Interviews - 5 students, 3 Lecturers : Conducted interviews with potential students to discuss in depth what the participant thinks about the topic in question.
Task Analysis
Following the user interviews and user feedback, we converted the data into a task analysis format. As a result, we will have the bottom-line prioritization of all of the data items and actions our users will perform on the new platform we will provide.
User Requirements
Information
- Dates of assignments
- Daily calendar
- Test and exams dates
- Messages from lecturer
- Tests from previous years
Actions
- Works and exercises submission
- Download & viewing presentations
- Ordering documents & certificates
- Courses registration
- Payment of tuition
Concept 01
Pros
- Most relevant information is displayed.
- Match between the system and the real world.
- The simple layout is easy to scan and is understandable.
Cons
- The visual layout may be too simple/cute.
- Lack of student's personal information - year, school, grades
Concept 02
Pros
- Information dashboard display
- Search bar efficiency
- Outlined important actions (such as registering for new courses)
Cons
- Can cause cognitive overload
- Can cause orientation confusion
- Can take time to adjust
Concepts conclusion
Our classmates and lecturer reviewed both concepts and offered their feedback.
As a result of both concepts, we then designed the final version based on the features and layouts that were most popular with the users.
Prototype
Action flow
Lecturer’s side
Based on my research on college lecturers and technical staff, I identified critical pain points in their workflow
Key Challenges
- Complex and unintuitive task creation process
- Cumbersome task management across multiple departments and courses
- Lack of centralized oversight for multiple assignments
Solution
- Streamlined the process to be intuitive and efficient
- Simplified assignment creation across multiple courses
- Reduced time and complexity of task setup
Prototype
Action flow
- Developed a comprehensive overview for lecturers
- Implemented progress tracking across different classes/courses
- Created visual data mapping for assignment status
Thanks to my wonderful team, I learned a lot working with you: Omer Aviram, Nimrod Sagisman, Noya ArielDana Sergeev.
