UpGrade Mobile App
Role: Research, Visuals, User-Testing, Interaction
Duration: about 3 weeks
Project Goal
This project's goal is to create a mobile app for students to find teachers to help them succeed academically in college-level subjects. The app will be a way for students to choose tutors and schedule meetings that align with the availability of both parties, and be able to communicate with them through the app.
User Profile/Summary of User Research
I interviewed students of high-school and college age and asked about what they would look for in an app that helps you find tutors. They wanted flexible scheduling options because of often volatile schedules, especially for college students. They mentioned that they would typically need it for one or two subjects at a time at most and that they want a way to communicate with the tutors in the app itself rather than emailing.
Sketches/Paper Wireframes
User-testing on Lo-Fi Designs
Affinity Diagram
Mid Fidelity Designs
(after user testing on a previous iteration)
More comprehensive scheduling pages with more nuanced options added after usability study.
High Fidelity Prototype
Conclusion
I truly enjoyed the experience of creating this mobile app. As a student, it was interesting to talk to other students and gather their perspectives on what is important to them in such an app and what they prioritize and look for. Throughout the process, the main theme I faced was trying to figure out how to create the flow of elements and order of information on a page during the booking process that would feel natural and not confusing. An example of this is, on the scheduling pages, I first put the calendars and then the question of whether they wanted sessions to be monthly, weekly, one time, etc. During user testing, I realized that it doesn't make much sense that way because the user should provide the most basic information first on the page. I learned to better understand the user's perspective and needs through this project.
For next steps, I would expand the rescheduling section to accommodate more cases and allow users to cancel sessions more easily while being able to efficiently communicate that with their tutor.