Kashvi
Enhancing the experience of choosing the university and the course for International studies by providing an ML-based search function and encouraging social connections.
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My Role
Product Designer and User Experience Researcher
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Team
Individual
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Timeline
8 weeks
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Tools
User Interviews, Storyboarding, User Journey, Usability Testing, Adobe XD.
Problem Statement
The most crucial decision a student has to take in senior college is to decide which program is the best for them and the college they should apply to. This process is a convoluted and time-taking process with multiple parameters to take in account for. Different students have different priorities and goals in life, and it is extremely important to weigh and consider all the parameters according to individual priorities while making this decision. With limited knowledge of all the universities and programs, it has become increasingly difficult to gather information from the web or seek guidance on all the universities and programs offered. Moreover, the majority of students are not aware of the myriad of programs on specialized subjects that are available and are a good fit for them. This results in an increase in drop-out rates and a shift in careers at a later stage. Therefore, it is important to compare, prioritize and make an informed decision while selecting a program/university for higher education
Target Users
My primary target audiences are senior college students who are looking for undergrad or graduate programs in different countries. Their main aim is to explore all the available programs that they can pursue and can be a good fit for them.
Design Process
Understanding the Users
Three types of users:
Users looking for guidance on universities and programs
Mentors/ past users who continue to guide people and share their own experience
Parents who are looking for a right university for their children
For this project, I focussed on the first type of user.
To understand the process of college selection and various methods that the students use to make an informed decision, I conducted user interviews with 3 international students studying at University of Michigan. I then created user personas to synthesize all he data collected.
EMPATHIZE
User Interviews
“I tried to reach people from various universities but it was very difficult to keep a track of everything”
“I emailed every university to ask about their procedure and requirements”
“I did not know which program would be best according to my test scores and capabilities”
“My seniors helped me a lot in the process”
83%
Students are not aware of what program they want to pursue in future
66%
Students maintained an excel sheet to manage applications
83%
Students trusted guidance from peers for making any decision
50%
Students do not like reading long paragraphs and prefer having consolidated information
Exploring User’s needs
I explored various methods by which the students achieve their goal of choosing the right college through user interviews. I brainstormed all the actions taken by students in order to get the information they wanted and achieve their goals. This helped me in deciding the key features of the app.
User Personas
I created 4 persona and 1 anti-persona to identify user needs and motivation while using the app. The personas helped me in determining the major factors that are essential for selecting a course and what would the users look for when they use the app.
EXPLORE
Based on the Journey mapping and the impact of each method, I focused on the following features -
Displaying all the colleges according to the search filters provided and having options to compare, mark as favorite.
The comparison table of all the colleges selected
Deadline management for the colleges selected
List of favorite colleges
Connect with students and seek guidance and information
Wire-framing
The wireframing process started by creating 3 approaches to find the solution. As shown below in Sketch 1, Sketch 2 and Sketch 3. I then used the Questions, Options, and Criteria Method to assess the usability of each feature to inform the design decisions.
The QOC Method
Final Design
Next Steps
Conduct usability testing and A/B testing to identify key issues in the workflow.
What is the most critical information about the universities that the students need to know? (List page)
What is the best method to provide filters? (Toggle/checkbox)
How to make communication more engaging?
Explore the information architecture incorporating parents’ and mentors’ needs and develop the app further.