Space-Finder App
Overview
The University of Toronto's Innovation Hub approached my team and I and asked us if we could investigate the topic of study spaces on campus. More specifically, why students feel that there are not enough study spaces on this very large campus. From this, we engaged in the activation journey process. We presented our findings and our Space-Finder solution to the Innovation Hub and they liked it.
Team
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As a UX/UI Designer & Researcher, I conducted research, provided potential solutions, prototyped, and carried out usability tests.
The Problem
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UofT students often have difficulty finding their desired study space on campus, one which is reasonably less noisy / crowded and has the facilities they require. This exercise proves particularly challenging during exam season or adverse weather conditions. As a result, students have to walk to different locations and depend on chance to find a study space.
Tools
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Balsamiq, Invision, Sketch, Adobe
The Goal
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Help students preassess the crowdedness of a library
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Reduce the time it takes students to find a study spot
The Process
Reiterate
User Research
Secondary Research
Primary Research
Project Rundown
Problem Statement
Business and User Assumption
User Analysis
Persona
Empathy Map
As-Is-Scenario
User Requirements
Needs Statements
Big Ideas
Prioritization Grid
To-Be-Scenario
Hills Statement
Evaluation
User Testing
Questionnaire
Prototypes
Low-Fi Sketches
Evaluation
High-Fi Sketch
User Research
Secondary Research: We conducted online research : articles, peer reviewed papers, social media platforms and analyzed existing competitors
Main Findings:
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Some have a holistic study-room booking system
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Some universities provide classroom schedules online for students to better plan study sessions in empty classrooms
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UofT students were complacent on Reddit about the lack of availability of study spaces on campus
Primary Research: Google Form & Interviews
20 online surveys administered
12 interviews conducted
Main Findings:
27/32 students preferred to study on campus
25/32 students have difficulties finding a study space
Clustered research findings into 4 categories
Campus Problems
Current Procedures
Student Worries
Current Tools
User Analysis
Selena is a representative persona of the UofT undergraduate population. We referred to Selena throughout the activation journey to ensure our design solves the pain points of the students
User Requirements
Selena needs a way to:
Find near by study spaces
so that she can
execute a successful study session
Use non-lecture time efficiently
so that she can
get her work done and have time to relax
Preassess vacancy of study spots
so that she can
plan her study sessions efficiently
Prototypes and Evaluation
To address Selena's needs, we created Space-Finder
With SpaceFinder, Selena can:
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View available classrooms on campus
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Assess crowdedness of libraries through self-reports made by other students
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Book any study room on campus
Lo-fi Sketches of Space-Finder
Usability Testing Feedback:
1. Unintuitive hierarchy of functions
2. Modify minor inconsistencies
3. Reduce steps to accomplish prompting tasks
We conducted a second user testing after making the necessary changes. There was no constructive feedback during the second round of testing so we proceeded with creating our high fidelity prototypes
High Fidelity Prototypes
Usability Testing
We had 4 students test out our high-fidelity prototypes while thinking out loud and we followed through with post-test questionnaire.
3/4 student indicated that they found our app easy to navigate, 1/4 indicated a "neutral" rating.
Next Steps
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Get an expert to conduct a heuristics evaluation on our high fidelity prototypes
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Conduct guerrilla testing with a larger sample
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Create a new iteration of the high fidelity prototypes
Conclusion
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Working with a team diverse in educational background was the greatest asset. I got to witness creative ideas be born from the perspective of different disciplines
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Next time I'd like to be more involved in the aesthetics and learn the tools to create beautiful high fidelity prototypes.