Learning Progress APP Design

Problem Overview

The problem:

Online learners often have a high online course drop-out rate. They need a tool to track course progress and motivate their learning.

The solution:

"100%" progress checking app is designed to provide learners pedagogically-driven study report features and easy access to learning progress.

User Research

Research Goals:

We want to know how digital tools motivate learning and how adult learners use such tools to track their learning, such as how to check progress, make schedules, and identify their knowledge gaps.

We also want to know what opportunities and needs might exist for online learners to help to shape the direction of the app development process. In this project, we will take UX design learners at Udacity as our main research subjects.

Research Plan

Method & Recruiting

Semi-Structured Interview:

• The designer conducted 30-min interviews with 3 UX design learners at Udacity

• The designer used interview scripts as a guide to asking questions

• The designer developed organic conversations based on participants’ answers

Survey:

• The designer used surveys to test interview results and gained a deeper understanding of the topic from 10 learners

Affinity Mapping

After the interview, the designer uncovered common themes such as user behavior and user needs.

The designer wrote down user quotes on sticky notes about

• User pains and frustrations

• Wishes and desires

• Delights and joys

• Facts and desktop findings

• Observations and AHA moments

• Etc.

Research Findings

Key findings:

• Checking learning progress is important and motivating for UX Design learners

• Identifying learning gaps and outcomes motivate learning and should be an important feature of the app

• Making learning schedules is not very effective at motivating learning

Recommendations:

• Our product should provide a progress checking feature with greater accessibility and clarity

• Our product should provide a learning report feature to help students identify learning outcomes and gaps

Research Synthesis

Themes and Opportunities:

• The designer grouped and defined labels representing themes and opportunities

Feature Ideation:

• The designer ideated solutions for observed opportunity areas from data

Feature Prioritization

• The designer used Value v.s. Complexity Quadrants to prioritize features for the app

Paper Sketches

The designer used the Crazy-8s method, sketched an extreme low fidelity prototype that draws on the research findings and synthesis: the app should include a progress checking feature and a study report feature.

Low/Mid Fidelity Prototype Iteration 1

• Based on the paper sketches, the designer developed a low/mid-fidelity prototype using Figma

• Pages designed: Log-in Page, Sign-up Page, Sign-up Successful Page; Main View Page

Usability Study

Log-in/Sign-up pages user pain points:

• Users were confused about the login and sign-up buttons

• Users intuitively entered emails in the “username” column

• On the sign-up page, users don’t know which column is required to fill in

Low/Mid Fidelity Prototype Iteration 2

Improvements:

• Emphasized the importance of the "Login" button by placing it above "sign up" and make "sign up" tertiary

• changed "username" to "email" to indicate what users should input accurately

• added "*" to each prompt to notify users of the required information

Style guide

High Fidelity Prototype – Log-in Pages

High Fidelity Prototype – Main View Pages

Improving Design Performance