ResumeStudent Planner App
Client:
Grad Project
Role:
UX Researcher, Visual Designer
Timeline:
12 weeks
PlanHub was designed to empower students to effortlessly plan and stay on top of their academic and social lives. The main aim of this project was to help students maintain a vibrant social life while achieving their educational goals.
EMPATHIZE
Understanding student needs and struggles
User Interviews
To begin, I conducted 5 user interviews to understand user pain points
These interviews helped me identify 3 pain points,
Time management
"I want to spend weekends with my family but I forget about all the things I need to do and get stressed instead”
Assignments
"Some assignments require weeks of work and I need help making a weekly plan based on all assignments"
Social events
"I save the things I want on insta but forget it. I wish there was a calendar that let me to add potential events"
Competitive Analysis
A Competitive Analysis was conducted to identify market gaps and understand user expectations
DEFINE
Learning from our initial research
Persona
Using the data from my interviews, I created a persona to define my user
As a grad student, I want to manage my time better so that I can balance my social and academic life
All-in-one task management
PlanHub centralizes all academic and personal tasks, allowing students to manage everything from one platform. This integration helps users stay organized and efficient without needing to switch between multiple apps
TEST
Validating the PlanHub Experience
Test Task #1
The first task was to Sign-Up to PlanHub. The designed path is demonstrated below
Test Task #2
The second task was to Login to PlanHub. The designed path is demonstrated below
Test Task #3
The third task was to Add a task. The designed path is demonstrated below
Test Task #4
The last task was to Add an event. The designed path is demonstrated below
Test Results
After conducting the tests, I analyzed the results to gain a deeper understanding of how users interact with PlanHub. I have summarized these results below,
Design and Accessibility
Positive Feedback on UI
Most users enjoyed the clean and user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate and manage tasks.
Accessibility Concerns
A user with color blindness found the color scheme challenging, highlighting the need for better accessibility options.
Functionality and Flow
Login/Sign-Up Complications:
Several users encountered difficulties with the log-in and sign-up screens, indicating a need for a smoother onboarding process.
Task Addition Overload
One participant felt that the multiple ways to add tasks were overwhelming, suggesting a need to simplify this functionality.
UI Feedback
Event Indicators:
A suggestion was made to display the number of events per day as a number instead of a dot, providing a clearer overview of daily schedules.
Simplicity is Key:
Users emphasized the importance of keeping the app simple and intuitive, even as new features are introduced in the future.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What I learnt
Accessibility Considerations
A key learning point was the importance of accessibility. Feedback from a color-blind participant underscored the need to prioritize accessibility in the design process. This experience highlighted the need for more inclusive design practices, ensuring that the app is usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities.
Handling
Feedback
Receiving and acting on feedback was a critical component of the PlanHub project. Whether it was positive or constructive criticism regarding specific features, each piece of feedback was an opportunity for growth. This experience underscored the importance of staying receptive to feedback throughout the design process.