THE PROBLEM

Many college students prefer collaborative studying, but have a difficult time finding others that are compatible or available when they want to study.

INITIAL RESEARCH

30+ surveys were sent to college students

Sample survey questions include:

- What are your preferred study locations?
- Do you prefer studying alone or in a group?
- What are the main challenges you face when trying to find study partners?
- What characteristics are important to you when choosing study partners?

WOW, WE FOUND A LOT...

Let's break it down into themes

Preference for Classmates

Students prefer studying with classmates that share the same courses.

Scheduling compatability

Students need to find partners whose study schedules align with theirs.

Noise & Distraction Concerns

Some students encounter challenges when studying with groups that are too loud or distracting.

Barriers to forming groups

Many face difficulties in forming groups due to not being acquainted with potential group members or inability to reach out.

LOCATION MATTERS

Choice of study location is a significant consideration as students prefer many different options -- even online.

DIVERSE STUDY PREFERENCES

Although many prefer to study with classmates, others thrive in the company of anyone who shares the goal of productivity.

ADDRESSING THE THEMES AT HAND... THE FINAL SOLUTION

Here's what I came up with

GOAL #1: MANAGE USER PREFERENCES AND CREATE OPPORTUNITY

Study group preferences can be defined when creating a group
Users can message people in joined groups for proper meet-up
Add friends feature for users to connect with compatible study partners in the future
Privacy and authenticity is taken into account

GOAL #2: FINDING AVAILABILITY

Created a scheduling feature for users to add their schedules and join study groups that do not interfere with their plans
Colored cards to indicate if study group time works with current schedule

IDEATION AND TESTING

How did we end up here?

Before creating any designs, I created a site map and UX journey diagram to lay the groundwork of the app. These helped with brainstorming ideas on potential solutions of the app.

Then, I created a prototype and conducted two rounds of usability tests where participants were asked to complete a set of tasks, such as joining or creating a group. The first round was conducted using the lo-fi prototype, while the second round was done after the hi-fi prototype was created. This was to ensure that most pain points of the project were addressed. The findings were organized into an affinity diagram with 4 themes, shown below.

RESULTS FROM CONDUCTING TESTS

What needed to be changed

#1. "Study by Class" User Flow SPECIFICS

a. In the initial design, users were able to add a class for class study sessions. However, students were worried that this feature may be abused in ways where non-existent or random classes are added. My goal was to ensure that only legitimate and relevant classes from a user's academic institution could be added to the app. Now, when users wish to add a class, their request must be approved by at least three other individuals from the same college.

b. Furthermore, I recognized that users needed more specific class information to accurately identify and join relevant study groups. To address this, I added class codes, course descriptions and other pertinent details to ensure users could confidently select the correct classes -- reducing ambiguity and streamlining the process of finding study partners in the same courses.

#2. ENHANCING STUDY SESSIONS WITH RESTRICTIONS

a. Another common suggestion that I took into account was allowing more restrictions on the creation of groups. Users now have the option to set preferred qualifications for study groups, allowing them to define criteria, such as gender and age group for potential members. They can also include detailed information, such as group objectives like "Study together for Midterm #1" or a professor's name. These additions provide clairty and context, making it easier for users to identify and join groups that suit their needs.

#3. ALLOWING USERS TO RECONNECT WITH COMPATIBLE STUDY PARTNERS

WHAT THIS PROJECT TAUGHT ME

Learnings + challenges faced

✰ Challenge yourself to try different tools.

Although I usually use Figma, I did this project all in Adobe XD and enjoyed it a lot!!

✰ Try not to do anything unnecessary, even if you think it's visually appealing.

After this project, I found I often added color or other aspects to the design that did not help the user experience at all. It can even make your design more confusing for users overall.

✰ Having too much to focus on is still unnecessary. Work on prioritizing your thoughts.

Brainstorming is good, but is only effective when we are able to gather our thoughts and prioritize them based on what the users need.

heystudy .

THE PROBLEM

✴︎ let's create something together ❋