Student Life Tracker
How can we improve accessibility to information about clubs and activities at University of Toronto?
The Student Life Tracker is a mobile app designed to address the challenges University of Toronto (UofT) students face in discovering and participating in student groups, clubs, and campus activities. This project was developed as part of INF352 Information Design Studio II: How to Design (Prof. Olivier St.-Cyr).
- Platform & Sector:
Mobile App for Student Life - Methodologies:
Design Thinking, Research, Iterative Design, Lean Evaluation, Usability Testing - Tools:
Google Workspace, Miro, Canva, Figma - Team:
Sara Bigioni, Jefferson Castro, Nathan Fisler, Caitlyn Hundey, Mary Zhao
My role:
- Conducting primary and secondary research to understand student challenges.
- Analyze data to identify user needs and pain points
- Design wireframes and prototypes for usability testing
- Iterate on designs based on feedback and usability testing results
Highlights
By centralizing and simplifying access to student group information, the app aims to foster greater student engagement and enrich the campus experience.
- Bulletin Board: Real-time updates on events with tag filters.
- Unified Calendar: View, compare, and add events seamlessly.
- Schedule Integration: Plan activities around your personal schedule.
- Personalization: Color-coded events and customizable views.
Background
Secondary Research
We explored existing literature and online discussions (e.g., Reddit threads, university blogs) to identify recurring themes in students' experiences. Key findings include:
Challenges in finding clubs that align with students' schedules and interests.
The overwhelming nature of UofT's large and decentralized campus.
The pressure to balance extracurriculars with academic demands.
Primary Research
After collecting 41 survey responses and conducting 24 interviews, we found that people think the UofT social life is not as active as they would like it to be. Common themes included accessibility, information clarity, and work-life balance.
Average Social Metrics (out of 5)
Common Themes
Representing Users
Using our research findings, we created a user persona, Morgan Mingle, to represent the needs and goals of a specific user archetype.
Design
Ideation
After getting a better sense of our users, we brainstormed potential solutions to address the challenges students face. We then created a prioritization grid to identify the most impactful and feasible ideas. No matter how absurd an idea seemed, we wrote it down.
First Iteration: Low-Fidelity Prototypes
Lean Evaluation
We asked 4 participants to complete a series of tasks using our low-fidelity prototypes. We encouraged them to think aloud and provide feedback on their experience.
Key findings included:
- Users appreciated color-coded faculty bulletins but requested pinch-to-zoom functionality.
- Event information windows at the bottom of the screen felt unnatural; users preferred a top placement.
- Scheduling features needed more details (e.g., event locations, affiliations).
Second Iteration: Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
Usability Testing
3 UofT students participated in a usability test of our mid-fidelity prototype.
Key findings included:
- Users wanted larger buttons and resizable calendars.
- Tag filters were effective but needed a reset option.
- Personalization features (e.g., custom color coding) were desired.
- Navigation was intuitive, but more visual clarity in event comparison was needed.
Reflection
Skills Developed
Design Skills: User-centered design, prototyping, usability testing, and visual communication through tools like Figma and Miro.
Other: Collaboration, problem-solving, time management, and integrating diverse feedback effectively.
Lessons Learned
Importance of Research: I learned that one must do research before jumping into design. It's crucial to understand user needs and pain points before jumping into solutions.
Clear Communication: This was my first time working with a team on a design project. I learned the importance of clear communication and setting expectations early on.