Roles:

Project Manager: Chai Zhang

Research Lead: Lauren Hruza

Design Lead: Muhammad Al-Atrash

Prototype Lead: Sean McGranahan

Evaluation Lead: August Wang

Reporting Lead: Sean McGranahan

Concept Statement

Brain Buddy is a dynamic app designed to smooth the transition to university by fostering connections among students. Entering college comes with academic challenges and the daunting task of fitting into a new social circle. Brain Buddy steps in by offering a platform for students to easily engage in study sessions, club events, or casual meet-ups. Key features include profile matching and real-time chats, enhancing meaningful bonds. The app integrates with the university's SIS, auto-placing students in course chats. It also links to club chats, boosting campus involvement. The standout feature is the buddy matching quiz, pairing students with potential friends based on common interests. Additionally, unique ice-breakers aid initial conversations, easing initial hesitations. Brain Buddy champions academic collaboration both online and offline, and fosters a community spirit, ensuring students not only thrive academically but also find their tribe on campus.

Tailoring the Scope

Given the uniqueness of Brain Buddy, which aims to assist university students in their transition phase, it was clear that a generic UX design approach would not suffice. Recognizing the distinctive challenges these students face, our planning phase was geared toward a deep dive into specific user activities, something not typical for all apps. Our ideation process, too, was adapted to reflect these unique user needs, with a greater emphasis on real-life scenarios gathered from actual student interviews. The decision to integrate the UVA NetBadge, for instance, wasn't just a design choice but a tailored response to ensure secure and relevant user access for our target audience. Our collaboration at Rice 032 and our dual sketching method were strategic choices to foster a balance between traditional and digital ideation, enhancing our project's adaptability and our learning. When presenting to our client, Jenny, we were particularly attentive to feedback that would enhance the app's adaptability and relevance to the user group, demonstrating our commitment to tailoring our UX design specifically to Brain Buddy's unique requirements.

Persona

Process

The methodology we employed was somewhat more rigorous than originally anticipated, yet it produced noteworthy outcomes. Drawing from the insights of our Phase 2 interviews, we developed an initial set of ten candidate personas. While these personas bore resemblances to our interview participants, each had unique, distinctive characteristics. We discerned many commonalities among these personas, a consequence largely due to the limited number of interviews conducted. Consequently, we refined the original ten, categorizing them into 3 specific groups: "Academic Achievers", "Social Integrators", and "Collaborative Seekers". Each group followed the trend we started when crafting our candidate personas having a background, characteristics, goals, and pain points. From that framework, we crafted a singular persona for each category, culminating in the selection of personas from which our Primary Persona was identified. 

Once we had selected our Primary Persona, we took some time to really flesh him out. There was a lot of input here with our group initially shouting out ideas to make him feel as real as possible but after some good deliberation, our primary came into his own.  

Some of Our Selected Personas

Primary Persona

Making Bob Sticky

Rationale for Choosing Bob as Our Primary

Bob is an ideal primary persona for Brain Buddy because he embodies the core challenges and aspirations that our platform aims to address. As a new Computer Science major and a transfer student at UVA, Bob is in a phase of transition and adaptation, navigating large, collaboration-intensive classes while also trying to find his footing in a new social environment. This intersection of academic and social adjustment makes Bob representative of many students who struggle to make connections in a university setting, especially in demanding fields like CS.

Bob’s situation highlights the necessity of a tool that facilitates both academic collaboration and social interaction. His lack of established social networks at UVA and his need for peer support in his studies present a prime opportunity for Brain Buddy to make a significant impact. Given his eagerness to connect with peers but hampered by limited social skills, Brain Buddy can act as a bridge, lowering the barriers to forming meaningful connections. This aligns precisely with our vision of leveraging technology to create a supportive, interactive community that fosters academic and social growth.

Moreover, Bob’s persona helps to underline the importance of an intuitive and welcoming platform. His potential unfamiliarity with digital social tools at UVA means Brain Buddy needs to be easily navigable and engaging for users like him, ensuring that the app is approachable for those who might feel overwhelmed by new social scenarios. Bob’s persona thus guides our design decisions towards creating a user-friendly, accessible interface that encourages active participation and fosters a sense of belonging.

Choosing Bob as our primary persona provides a focused lens through which we can refine Brain Buddy to effectively serve students who are transitioning into new academic and social environments, ensuring that the platform remains relevant, empathetic, and beneficial to its core user base.

Design Planning and Ideation 

Planning

In the planning phase of Brain Buddy, we focused on a detailed analysis of user activities and tasks essential for university students transitioning into a new environment. Utilizing flow models and Hierarchical Task Inventory (HTI), we mapped out the intricate steps involved in each primary function of the app, from initial login to engaging in group chats and participating in the buddy matching quiz. This was supplemented by insights from 10 user interviews, which provided real-world context and highlighted the specific needs and challenges faced by students. These interviews were crucial in grounding our task analysis in actual user experiences, ensuring our design efforts were aligned with the true needs of our target audience. This comprehensive approach in the planning stage laid a strong foundation for the development of a user-centered design, ensuring that Brain Buddy would be both intuitive and effective in addressing the challenges of university life.

Ideation and Sketching 

During the development of Brain Buddy, our ideation and sketching processes were deeply interconnected, forming a cohesive and iterative cycle that fueled our creative progress.

Ideation served as the brainstorming backbone of our project. It began with collective brainstorming sessions, where our team gathered to explore a myriad of creative possibilities for the app's key features, such as the login page, translation tools, the buddy matching quiz, and ice breaker interfaces. These sessions were guided by insights from user research and our project's objectives, ensuring that each idea was rooted in practicality and user need. The synergy between ideation and sketching was pivotal. Ideation generated a bunch of creative concepts, while sketching grounded these ideas from the visual perspective. This cyclical process of ideating and sketching ensured a constant flow of creativity and refinement. It allowed us to visualize multiple solutions quickly, assess their feasibility, and evolve our designs continuously. The sketches became a visual dialogue of our ideation process, capturing our evolving understanding of user needs and design possibilities. 

We started by compiling  a list of interactive tasks from our Interaction Design Requirements table, along with insights from our contextual analysis and client feedback in Phase 2. Some features, like the group chat interface and user profile, were already designed and prototyped in Phase 1. Thus, our focus was on features absent in the initial prototype and new ones from Phase 2: Buddy Matching Quiz, Translate, Block/Report, and Ice Breaker. We let each member choose a feature that they had ideas for to sketch that feature. After about 30 minutes of drawing, we regrouped to discuss our sketches.

Through this integrated approach, our ideation and sketching processes effectively complemented each other, enabling us to develop a well-considered, user-centered design for Brain Buddy. This synergy was instrumental in creating an app that not only meets the functional requirements but also resonates with the users' experiences and expectations in their university life. 

List of Interactive Tasks

1. Profile Setup and Customization:

   1. Sign up/login using UVA NetBadge

   2. Create a detailed user profile with interests, hobbies, courses, and extracurricular activities

   3. Edit and update the profile information as interests or activities change

      1. courses get updated every semester as SIS updates

   4. Manage privacy settings for profile visibility and interactions

2. Group Chats:

   1. Automatically joins course and CIO group chats

   2. Participate in discussion related to course content, CIO-related discussions and event planning

      1. Engage in real-time text, video, and audio chats

      2. Send voice messages, photos and videos within chats

   3. Schedule and join study sessions specific to each course or hangout sessions specific to each CIO

3. Buddy Matching:

   1. Complete the buddy matching quiz by answering questions about interests and preferences

   2. Receive and review potential buddy matches

   3. Initiate conversations with matched buddies using private messages

4. Ice Breaker Activities:

   1. Send and respond to icebreakers in group chats and direct messages

      1. Send and answer classic icebreaker questions

      2. Play interactive mini-games such as “Two Truths and a Lie”

      3. Engage in fun poll surveys and share results with others (only available in group chats and group PM)

5. AI Moderator:

   1. Report inappropriate messages or content to the AI moderator

   2. Receive notifications about moderated content and actions taken

   3. Provide feedback on the effectiveness of of AI moderation

6. Translation:

   1. Use the translate feature to communicate in different languages

      1. Translate slang and colloquial terms for effective cross-cultural communication

7. Notification and Reminders:

   1. Receive notifications for upcoming study and hangout sessions

   2. Customize notification preferences for group chats, PM, study and hangout sessions

Rationale

Profile Setup and Customization: 

The login integration via UVA NetBadge ensures secure and reliable access. Detailed user profiles allow students to create and modify their profiles. With courses updating every semester through the university's SIS system, Brain Buddy ensures that the information is always current, enabling accurate course-related group chat placements. Additionally, granting users control over their privacy settings enhances their sense of security, fostering active and open participation within the platform.

Group Chats:

Enrolling students into course and CIO group chats immediately connects them with their peers, promoting instant engagement. Participation in discussions related to courses and extracurricular activities encourages collaborative learning and event planning, enriching the overall university experience. The availability of various communication modes, including real-time text, video, and audio chats, accommodates diverse communication preferences. Allowing media sharing further enhances communication by enabling the exchange of voice messages, photos, and videos. Moreover, facilitating scheduled study and hangout sessions specific to courses or CIOs fosters collaborative learning and social connections, aligning with the core purpose of Brain Buddy.

Buddy Matching: 

The buddy matching quiz serves as a vital tool for creating meaningful connections by ensuring matches are based on shared interests and preferences. Allowing users to initiate conversations through PM with their matched buddies encourages proactive engagement and relationship-building.

Ice Breaker Activities: 

Diverse icebreaker activities, such as classic questions and interactive mini-games, serve as engaging conversation starters, breaking initial barriers and encouraging natural interactions among users. Fun poll surveys not only add an enjoyable element to group interactions but also foster a sense of community and shared experiences among participants.

AI Moderator: 

Providing a report functionality empowers users to contribute to the platform's safety by reporting inappropriate content, creating a respectful environment. Additionally, gathering feedback on AI moderation effectiveness establishes a valuable feedback loop, ensuring continuous improvement and maintaining a secure space for all users.

Translation:

Enabling translation of different languages and slang terms promotes inclusivity, allowing students from diverse backgrounds to communicate effectively and bridge language barriers, fostering a globally connected community.

Notification and Reminders: 

Customizable notifications empower users to stay informed about relevant events and interactions without feeling overwhelmed. Tailored notifications enhance the user experience, ensuring that users are engaged without being inundated with unnecessary information.

Workspace and Materials Used

We primarily work at Rice 032, a dedicated workspace where we spend every Wednesday from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. This regular schedule allows us to collaborate effectively, discuss progress, and share insights. For our sketching work, the team employs a dual approach. In our personal time, we individually create sketches; this is where the tactile feel of pen and paper comes into play, allowing for spontaneous, freeform ideation. Meanwhile, for more refined, digital iterations, we utilize iPads. This blend of traditional and digital sketching techniques not only enhances our creative flexibility but also allows for a seamless transition from rough ideas to polished concepts, essential for the iterative design process of Brain Buddy.

Clients Feedback on the Interactive Tasks and Sketches

After presenting our ideation and sketches to our client, Jenny, we received valuable feedback that led to significant adjustments in our design. Jenny expressed concerns about the practicality of the location-based study session feature, noting potential awkwardness and productivity loss when new members join ongoing sessions through discovering that study session in the geo-location feature. She proposed restricting access to these sessions to mitigate these issues. After discussing within ourselves and taking Jenny's concerns into account, we have decided to remove the real-time location feature in Brain Buddy. We agreed with Jenny that this feature might be rarely use, since less likely will people to spontanously joins an ongoing to about to happen study session after discovering them. Furthermore, after reviewing the requirement table from Phase 2, we've identified no real need for the real-time location feature.

For the Buddy Matching Quiz, Jenny suggested a feature to highlight shared interests, enhancing early user connections, and recommended limiting the quiz to specific times in the semester to boost its effectiveness in forming new friendships. She appreciated the clear separation of the Brain Buddy Matching, Group Chats, and DM functions in one of our initial sketches (#1), and endorsed the intuitive design of the Block/Report feature. Additionally, Jenny advised adding a First Text Suggestion/Template to the Ice Breaker function to aid conversation initiation, and suggested limiting fun poll surveys to group chats. Her insightful feedback was crucial in refining our features and ensuring a more user-friendly and efficient app experience.

Process Photo

Selected Scans of Initial Sketches

Feature 1: Chat and Translation Feature

Feature 2: Brain Buddy Matching Quiz 

Feature 3: Blocking and Reporting 

Feature 4: Profile Page

Our initial design sketch for the Brain Buddy profile emphasizes simplicity and personalization. In this design, users are prompted to enter fundamental information such as their name, academic year, and major. The addition of a profile picture option adds a personal touch, making the platform more engaging and relatable. A unique feature is the setup of a 'match quiz' - a series of questions designed to help pair users with compatible study partners or peers. This interactive element not only fosters a sense of community but also ensures that users are matched with individuals who share similar academic interests and study habits, enhancing the overall effectiveness and satisfaction of the Brain Buddy experience.

Physical Mock Up

For this phase of our project, creating physical mock-ups was not applicable for Brain Buddy, primarily because our product is a digital application designed for mobile interfaces. There is also no physical component in Brain Buddy's system design. Since the interaction with our app is solely through digital devices, such as smartphones, physical representations would not effectively contribute to understanding or improving the user interface and user experience design. In digital applications, especially those like Brain Buddy that are focused on social interaction and personalization, the key aspects of design revolve around screen layouts, navigation flow, and software features. These elements are best explored through digital sketches and wireframes rather than physical models. Consequently, our efforts were more productively channeled into developing detailed digital sketches and interactive prototypes, which are more aligned with the nature of our application and more beneficial for gathering user feedback and making iterative improvements.

Designer's Mental Model

Mental Model

What It Does: 

Brain Buddy facilitates connections between students by offering a user-friendly interface for various activities such as study sessions, club activities, and casual hangouts. It automatically places students in course group chats, integrates with university systems, and provides tools for students to form new connections. The platform employs intelligent algorithms to match students based on their interests, courses, hobbies, and schedules. It also incorporates an AI moderator to ensure a safe and respectful environment for communication. Brain Buddy offers features like ice breakers and real-time interactive text and video chat to encourage meaningful interactions among users.

How It Works Within Its Ecology: 

Within its ecological perspective, Brain Buddy stands as a pivotal digital nexus in the university ecosystem. By leveraging the NetBadge login system, it integrates effortlessly with the university's Student Information System (SIS), ensuring students are smoothly transitioned into course-specific group chats. More than just a virtual connector, Brain Buddy enriches the tangible aspects of campus life. It empowers students to initiate and join real-world study sessions, bridging the gap between online and offline academic interactions. This synergy between digital convenience and physical community-building places Brain Buddy at the heart of the university's social and academic fabric, nurturing a cohesive and supportive learning environment.

How Users Operate Brain Buddy: 

Users interact with Brain Buddy through a user-friendly interface accessible via various devices. To begin, students create profiles, inputting their interests, courses, hobbies, and availability. They can initiate connections by joining course group chats, participating in club activities, and engaging in casual conversations with peers. Users can form and join study group sessions for the courses they are enrolled in, plan and join hang out sessions for the CIOs they are involved in, or take the buddy matching quiz to find potential future BFF.s They can send icebreakers to start conversations and use text, video, or audio communication to interact with others. The Translate feature assists users who may have language barriers, ensuring effective communication.

Intended Emotional Impact: 

Brain Buddy aims to evoke feelings of belonging, comfort, and confidence among users. By effortlessly connecting students with shared interests and goals, it alleviates the initial anxieties associated with university life. The platform fosters a sense of community, reducing feelings of isolation and enhancing overall well-being. The ice-breaking features and interactive communication tools encourage positive social interactions, leading to friendships and a supportive network. The design and functionality of Brain Buddy are crafted to instill a sense of empowerment and assurance, ensuring that students can navigate their university journey with ease and enthusiasm.

Breakpoints:

Potential breakpoints may occur if users have difficulty understanding the buddy matching algorithm or if the AI moderation system flags content that users do not find inappropriate. Clear explanations on why the users are matched with their buddies (“See what you guys matched on” feature) can address these breakpoints. Addressing user concerns regarding safety and comfort in online interactions is another key breakpoint. By mirroring familiar Block/Report structures from existing social networks, we reassure users of their safety and control within the app. This approach significantly contributes to a positive emotional experience by providing a secure and comfortable environment for users to engage with peers. Confusion in switching between different communication modes such as buddy matching, group chats, and private messages can also be a potential breakpoint. Ensuring clear separation and intuitive transition between these modes can address this breakpoint. 

Conceptual Design

Ecological Perspective

In our conceptual design for the ecological perspective of Brain Buddy, we focus on the transformative journey of a user from isolation to collaboration. The sketch begins with a user, seemingly alone in their academic endeavors, facing the challenge of finding a study partner in a large and impersonal university setting. This initial scene depicts the user's solitary state, surrounded by an environment that feels overwhelming and disconnected. Enter Brain Buddy: a digital bridge that connects the user to a wider community of peers. Through the app, the user successfully matches with a like-minded study partner, a crucial turning point in the narrative. This match is not just a connection; it's the catalyst for a significant shift in the user's academic and social ecology. The sketch evolves to show the user and their new study partner meeting up to study together in person, symbolizing a transition from solitary studying to collaborative learning. This ecological change, facilitated by Brain Buddy, is akin to turning a library corner and finding a study group where there was none before. It's about creating new, dynamic academic environments from static, isolated ones. This transformation in the user's ecological landscape highlights Brain Buddy's role as a facilitator of academic camaraderie and peer-to-peer support, mirroring a shift from solo learning to an engaging, shared educational experience.

Interaction Perspective #1: "You Guys Matched On This" Feature

The Buddy Matching Quiz algorithm can confused users. To improve trust of users in the matching system and lessen confusion, after an user is matched, they are able to read a little bit more on what their matched buddies and themselves have in common. The "See what you guys matched on -->" is an example of an explicit affordance. The clickable text is an obvious cue that tells the user what it does and how to use it. It leds to the match results report. Although not shown in the sketch, the clickable text will be in another color (a color commonly used to indicate buttons and clickable items in the Brain Buddy app), encouraging users to read the report and gain more insights into the Brain Buddy Matching system.

Interaction Perspective #2: Brain Buddy Navigation

Brain Buddy is an app with many different features. Using a common bottom navigation bar design will help users distinguish and organize different features of the app. Utilizing interface metaphors, each features are also marked with icons that are commonly used to represent similar features in many other social network app. For example, the speech bubble for group chat section, and the paper airplane for the private messages section.

Emotional Perspective: Feedback and Support System

In this model, we aim to address the design of the feedback and support system in Brain Buddy. When a user encounters an unfriendly message from Direct Messages or Group Chat, Brain Buddy provides them with a supportive feedback and report system and also an interactive AI chatbot/moderator feature. The chatbot window displays a conversation where a user's concern is being acknowledged and addressed, highlighting the system's responsiveness and empathy. This sketch aims to convey an environment where users feel supported and understood, fostering a deep sense of trust and reliability in the Brain Buddy ecosystem. In this emotional perspective, the metaphor of a virtual help desk is brought to life through a floating chatbot figure and a prominent report button. These elements provide clear affordances, signaling users that immediate assistance and a channel for feedback are always within reach in a friendly, engaging manner.  

Storyboard

Process

In developing the storyboard for Brain Buddy, our focus was on our primary persona, Bob, a 19-year-old second-year Computer Science major at the University of Virginia. Hailing from Harlem, New York, Bob’s background is as rich as it is challenging. He grew up inspired by the legacy of his late father, a Jazz saxophonist, and has been deeply involved in music production for underground rap and hip-hop artists. This creative side of Bob, blended with his charity work back home, made him a well-connected individual in his community. However, transitioning to UVA, Bob encountered a significant culture shock. This change manifested in his struggle to integrate into the larger, impersonal lecture settings of his Computer Science classes and his initial inability to connect with peers in the Jazz Ensemble. Our storyboard aimed to reflect this journey, showcasing how Brain Buddy could bridge these gaps for Bob.

We envisioned scenarios where Brain Buddy would provide Bob with a platform to overcome his social hesitations and academic challenges. From seeking a study partner for a group project to initiating a study session for a math exam, each scene in our storyboard was carefully crafted to align with Bob’s goals and challenges. The app's functionality was designed to not only aid his academic collaborations but also to open doors for new social interactions, helping him gradually find his place in this new environment.

Through this process, we aimed to demonstrate how Brain Buddy could be a transformative tool for students like Bob, who are navigating the complexities of academic and social life in a university setting.

Final Storyboard

Scene 1: Seeking a Project Partner

Bob sits in his Software Development Engineering (CS3140) class, attentive as the professor announces that Homework 4 will be a group project. Feeling a mix of anticipation and nervousness, Bob immediately opens Brain Buddy on his phone and sends a message in the SDE group chat, inquiring if anyone is still looking for a partner for HW4.

Importance: This scene showcases Brain Buddy’s role in facilitating immediate academic collaboration. It addresses a common student need – finding project partners – and demonstrates the app’s functionality as a reliable platform for academic networking.

Scene 2: Connecting with John

Shortly after, Bob receives a response from John, a classmate also in search of a HW4 partner. They exchange messages through Brain Buddy, quickly agreeing to collaborate on the project. This initial digital interaction sets a positive tone for their partnership.

Importance: The quick and effective connection between Bob and John highlights Brain Buddy's efficiency in bringing together like-minded students. It emphasizes the app's capability to match students based on shared academic needs and interests, fostering productive collaborations.

Scene 3: Addressing the Math Exam Challenge

With HW4 now under control, Bob's attention shifts to his upcoming math exam. He feels a wave of stress knowing he needs to prepare well. Bob decides to use Brain Buddy again, this time to address his study needs for MATH 1320.

Importance: This scene underlines Bob's reliance on Brain Buddy for diverse academic situations, not just project collaborations. It shows the app’s versatility in supporting students across different courses 

Scene 4: Creating a Study Session

Bob decided to create his own exam study session in the MATH 1320 group chat.  He entered the details – subject, time, and location – for his "Reviewing Exam 2" session and waits for others to join.

Importance: By enabling Bob to organize a study session, this scene demonstrates Brain Buddy's user-centric design, allowing students to take initiative and create their own study groups. It highlights the app's role in empowering students to be proactive in their learning process.

Scene 5: Ryan joins the Session

Meanwhile, Ryan, a fellow MATH 1310 student, is browsing Brain Buddy for study sessions. He stumbles upon Bob's session and finds that it fits perfectly with his schedule and preferred study location. He eagerly joins the session, looking forward to the collaborative study.

Importance: Ryan's discovery and joining of the study session illustrates the app’s ability to connect students who haven't met before, broadening their academic and social circles. It reinforces Brain Buddy's effectiveness in building new academic communities.

Scene 6: Building the Study Group Community

As more students join, Bob sends a light-hearted poll in the group chat to break the ice, helping to foster a friendly and collaborative atmosphere. The study group met up in-person on Wednesday 1 PM at Rice 442 to study for the MATH 1310 exam. The scene depicts the group diving into their studies, with Bob feeling a sense of community and belonging. 

Importance: The interactive features, like polls, emphasize Brain Buddy's focus on creating a comfortable and engaging study environment. This fosters a sense of community among users, enhancing the overall learning experience.

Scene 7: Beyond Academic Collaboration

Back in the SDE context, John and Bob meet up to work on HW4. Their collaboration goes smoothly, and they find they share several interests beyond coursework such as Jazz. John suggests they should hang out even after the HW4 project is done, extending their connection from academic collaboration to a budding friendship.

Importance: This scene extends the functionality of Brain Buddy beyond academics, showcasing its indirect role in building personal relationships. It reflects the holistic approach of the app, catering not just to academic needs but also to the social aspect of university life.

Summary 

This storyboard illustrates how Brain Buddy not only aids Bob in his academic pursuits but also plays a crucial role in enhancing his social network, reflecting the app’s dual focus on academic support and social interaction. Each of these scenes collectively demonstrates Brain Buddy’s comprehensive approach to addressing academic and social needs of students, highlighting its importance as an all-encompassing platform for student engagement and collaboration.

Storyboard Sketches - Draft (Finding Study Partners through Group Chat)

Storyboard Sketches - Draft (Finding Study Partners through Group Chat)

Storyboard Sketches - Draft (Creating Study Sessions)

Process Photo

Working on a storyboard draft

Design Studio

Process

Preparing for the design studio for our Brain Buddy project involved meticulous planning and attention to detail, ensuring that every aspect of our system was ready for insightful feedback. We set up a physical board that prominently displayed our storyboard, concept statement, and other crucial elements of our design. Our primary goal was to garner constructive feedback, focusing on the usability and appeal of Brain Buddy, especially from individuals who could greatly benefit from it. To facilitate an in-depth discussion, we laid out our task hierarchy, inviting classmates to scrutinize and discuss over it. Critical questions were posed to understand the scope and anticipated features of Brain Buddy, such as the need for any additional functionalities, clarity of our goals and purposes, and the overall user experience. The feedback session proved invaluable. We gained diverse perspectives on our feature set, which included both commendations and suggestions for improvement. This session not only reinforced our understanding of the user needs but also challenged us to rethink and refine our approach. For instance, based on the feedback, we revisited our categorization of user groups and contemplated over additional features that, while interesting, might not align with our current project scope. The design studio was instrumental in shaping the direction of our project, ensuring that Brain Buddy would not only meet but exceed the expectations of its intended users, providing a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for academic collaboration and peer connection.

Prepared Questions for Responders

• Concept & User Experience:

  • Given the primary goal of Brain Buddy is to simplify students' transition to university life, do you think the current features adequately address the challenges new students might face?

  • From the described functionalities, are there any that you feel might be redundant or could be further simplified for better user experience?

• Community Building & Overall Feedback:

  • Do you see any potential challenges in building and maintaining an active community on Brain Buddy, given the functionalities we've described?

  • Are there any features or functionalities we might have overlooked that would enhance the experience and value of Brain Buddy for students?

Feedback from Responders

• Enhanced Study Session Efficiency

Feedback highlighted the need for more efficient study sessions within Brain Buddy. To address this, integrating online meeting capabilities can be a possibility. This could involve linking the app with platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, allowing users to initiate or join virtual study groups seamlessly. Although very good feedback, we wonder if this is a logical expansion of the scope of Brain Buddy. The main goal of Brain Buddy is to facilitate peer connections at UVA. From our research and interviews, we found that in-person meetings are the best ways to do so.

Additionally, incorporating a feature for TA-led study sessions could enrich the learning experience, providing structured and guided study options. Another practical enhancement would be the integration with the UVA room reservation system, enabling students to effortlessly book physical spaces for group studies. As the university switches from Google to Outlook, Brain Buddy should also integrate Outlook products.

• Increasing System Engagement

To boost engagement and usage of Brain Buddy, forming collaborations with math and science clubs could be highly effective. This partnership could lead to the app being utilized for club activities and peer learning sessions. Another strategy is to engage with professors and integrate Brain Buddy into the regular study routines recommended by faculty. This could lead to an increase in the app’s credibility and usage, as students often follow academic guidance provided by their professors.

Wireframe

Scenario

Bob, a 19-year-old from Harlem and a second-year Computer Science major at UVA, found himself feeling isolated in his new university environment. With the pressure of group projects and upcoming exams weighing on him, he turned to the Brain Buddy app for support. Bob reached out in his SDE (CS 3140) course group chat to find a homework partner and quickly connected with John. Together, they are tackling the project. Bob also used Brain Buddy to organize a study session for his MATH 1310 exam, where he collaborated with Ryan and two other students. Thanks to Brain Buddy, Bob not only found relief from academic stress but also formed genuine friendships, bridging the gap between his past in Harlem and his present life at UVA.

Process

After considering our initial design sketches, we discussed layouts that we would like to see. we focused on specific layouts based on our initial design sketches and feedback from Design Studio and our client, Jenny. For instance, one valuable feedback suggested providing more information about study sessions before users join. This led us to develop scene 2 in the third wireframe picture, allowing users to preview more about study sessions.

After carefully considering feedback from our group and Design Studios, we constructed the wireframe using Figma. Unlike the clickable prototype in phase 1, this wireframe isn't interactive. We used arrows and annotations to provide detailed descriptions of various features. Prototyping arrows in Figma were avoided to prevent confusion with the annotated notes and arrows.

We used Figma to create our wireframes and maintained the color scheme and font chosen in phase 1 during our wire-framing process. Additionally, we incorporated parts of our initial prototype into the wireframe for scenes that received positive feedback (such as the log-in/sign-in page and group chat interface). While we created wireframes for all our main Brain Buddy features, not all of them are described below. We focused on refining and annotating key features like course group chat, study sessions, and private messages, those features also aligned with our scenario.

Wireframes

Brain Buddy Wireframe on Figma

The homepage of Brain Buddy serves as the hub for courses and organization group chats, welcoming users each time they open the app. Here, users can find all the group chats they're a part of, alongside buttons leading them to take the buddy matching quiz (when available) and create study sessions for their courses. Positioned at the top is a search bar, allowing users to search through all their messages. The navigation bar, situated at the bottom of the screen, grants access to private messages, study/hangout session organization, the buddy matching quiz, and the user's own profile.

In the wireframe, arrows illustrate a sequence of user actions mirroring the scenario described earlier, where Bob organizes a study session for his MATH 1310 exam using Brain Buddy. The user's interactions within the app are represented by black arrows. For a detailed understanding of these actions, refer to the fully annotated notes in the comprehensive view of the wireframe.

In the course group chat, users can tap on another user's profile and choose to send them a private message (PM). Although it's not explicitly shown, users do have the ability to block or report another user. By tapping on the three dots icon in scene #3, users can access options to block or report the specific user whose profile they tapped.

The arrows indicate a series of user activities that mirror the scenario described earlier. For instance, Bob initiated a conversation in his SDE (CS 3140) course group chat to find a homework partner and quickly connected with John through a private message. The blue arrow represents the passage of time, leading to a wireframe of the same interface but at a later point, showing the progression from an empty PM conversation to a fully filled PM conversation between John and Bob.

These wireframes provide detailed insights into Brain Buddy's Study Sessions feature. When a user taps on an open study session, they are directed to a page where they can learn more about the session. The square next to the session title displays the profile picture of the person who created it. If the session description is too long, users can tap on the minimized form to view the full description on a dedicated page. This full view also shows how many people have joined the study group. In the current wireframe, since no one has joined yet, the text reads "Be the first one to join the group!". Once a user joins a study session, they are automatically redirected to the private message (PM) group chat created for that study group. Users can also send poll questions in group chats involving more than two people.

The arrows in the wireframes depict a series of user activities that mirror the scenario described earlier. For instance, Ryan views Bob's study session and joins it. As more people join, the group engages in conversations in the group chat and eventually meets in person at the agreed time and location to study together.

UX Target

Ensuring Rapid Learnability for New Users

In designing Brain Buddy, a crucial focus is on the learnability of the interface, particularly for new users. The goal is to create a seamless experience where even casual users can navigate and utilize the platform's features effortlessly, without the need for extensive training or tutorials. This approach is expected to foster consistent engagement, as users can immediately dive into creating their profiles, joining chat rooms, and connecting with peers. User surveys will be instrumental in measuring the time taken by new users to familiarize themselves with key tasks, providing valuable insights for continuous improvement.

Achieving High User Satisfaction through Personalization

A core objective in the development of Brain Buddy is to ensure high user satisfaction by delivering a personalized and relevant experience. The application is designed to not only connect users academically but also socially, through features like the Buddy Matching Quiz and course-related group chats. Regular feedback surveys will be conducted to assess user satisfaction, focusing specifically on how individual features contribute to their overall university experience. This feedback is vital in refining the app to better meet student needs and preferences.

Fostering Long-Term User Engagement and Community Building

Long-term user engagement is a pivotal aspect of Brain Buddy's design philosophy. The application aims to create a thriving community where students are motivated to regularly participate in group discussions and build connections with fellow students. The design ensures that the app remains a dynamic platform for academic collaboration and social interaction. To measure this engagement, app usage analytics will provide data on the frequency and duration of user sessions, offering a clear picture of how effectively the app retains its user base.

Maintaining Low Error Rates in Data Integration and Security

Given the integration of university SIS data into Brain Buddy, maintaining a low error rate in data management and ensuring robust privacy protection are paramount. The application is designed to enhance utility by seamlessly syncing academic information while upholding stringent security standards to safeguard user privacy. A combination of technical audits and user feedback will serve to monitor any issues related to data integration or privacy concerns, allowing for prompt responses to any challenges that arise.

Enhancing Connectivity through Social Feature Adaptation

The design of Brain Buddy places a strong emphasis on its social features, with the goal of enabling users to quickly adapt to and make the most of these functionalities. This includes easy navigation through group chats, fostering connections through the buddy system, and engaging in community-building activities. The success in this area will be gauged by tracking user engagement data, specifically focusing on the number of new connections and interactions each user achieves. This metric will reflect the effectiveness of these features in promoting active participation within the Brain Buddy community.

In summary, these UX targets for Brain Buddy are integral to shaping an application that not only meets the practical needs of university students but also enriches their social and academic experiences. By continuously evaluating and refining these aspects, the application aspires to become an indispensable tool for students navigating their university life.