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TAMPERE 3

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In 2018, 3 Universities based in Tampere (TUT, UTA and TAMK) merged into one new university corporation - Tampere University. The board responsible for establishing the new foundation decided to create a mobile app that could help students to cope with their academic life. This challenge, to design the app was assigned to design students as project work for the Methods in Human-Centered Design course.

Challenge: To identify the required functions for a university mobile app

Outcome: Design of the TAMPERE 3 mobile app with 6 main functions: schedule, enrollment, news, restaurant menus, bus schedule, and grades.

Team: 4 people

My role: Prototyping, Part of the competitive audit and user research

Software: Marvelapp, Adobe Photoshop

TARGER GROUP

The users of the product are university students from UTA, TUT and TAMK. The students from these universities are represented through different groups, such as international and Finnish degree students and exchange students.

METHODOLOGY

COMPETITIVE AUDIT

We identified 12 competitors, 11 were developed exclusively for universities (worldwide) and one (TUUDO) was suggested by our client, since it is an application used by different universities in Finland, including TUT and TAMK

TUUDO

Finland

Colgate University

USA

Duke University

USA

Del Mar College

USA

California state University, USA

Harvard University

USA

Fitchburg State University, USA

Pontifical Catholic University, Brazile

Pasco-Hernando State College, USA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Maine Maritime Academy, USA

Qatar University

Qatar

Example of analysis of the app for TUUDO

The functionalities presented in these applications were then compiled into a series of cards that we use in the user research to define the most important features

PARTICIPANTS

6 students from

TUT, UTA, and TAMK

3 STUDENT GROUPS

Exchange students

International degree students

Finnish degree students

USER RESEARCH: PROCESS

Semi-structure interview

Questions:

Thinking about your routine, what kind of information makes your student's life easier?
Which of this information do you usually check at home or on the go?
What do you think about the information platforms offered by your university?
Would you change them or improve them somehow?
How do you usually get informed about university issues, such as news, events etc.?
Thinking about the enrollment period for courses, how would you describe it?
How do you currently plan your lecture schedule?
How do you usually communicate with your colleagues?

Card sorting

We offered participants to sort the cards with functions (presented above) separating them into essential, desirable and indifferent. Then, ask to organize in order of importance (more to least important). Additionally, there were blank cards to write new options, if required.

USER RESEARCH: RESULTS

We identified more common issues among different student profiles (Exchange/International/Finnish) than the particular needs of each current university (TAMK/TUT/UTA).
Some of the defined requirements are more related to individual needs than ones that would represent a whole institution.
Exchange students seem to have fewer needs than degree students (both International and Finnish).

Functionalities Preferences

In order to understand the common priorities among the interviewed students, we granted points to the functionalities after the conclusion of all interviews. The first three options under the essential category got 4, 3 and 2 points respectively. From the fourth option onwards (and the desirable functions), we granted 1 point. The functionalities categorized as indifferent did not get any points.

UX / USABILITY REQUIRMENTS

Usability requirements:

efficiency
ease of use
fast responsiveness

UX requirements

Intuitive
Supportive

IDEATION

Based on the User research we first identify other stakeholders apart from the students. Then we built the Cultural model to understand how strongly they influence one other.

Then it was important to understand to visualise sequential models of required functions: (1) Enrolment process to courses; (2) Schedule checking; (3) Restaurant menu checking.

Sequential model of the enrolment process to courses

Sequential model of schedule checking

Sequential model of restaurant menu checking

WIREFRAMES

Starting with the paper

Digital wireframe prototype

HIGH_FI PROTOTYPE

MAIN SCREENS

USER TESTING

The prototype was tested with 6 people from all three Universities (TAMK, UTA, TUT). We offered participants to use the prototype and check available functions. After we ask them a few questions to evaluate their experience and identify possible improvements.

Questions:

How did it feel to use the app?
What feels bad?
What feels good?
What feels missing?

Outcome and future work:

Overall experience and feedback were positive

“It feels as it should be, I like the fact that everything you need is there.”

Participant 1

“I like the fact that the system tells you our next class that will happen in 20m, that’s cool!"

Participant 2

Labelling of the main functions requires a rethinking. For instance, we labelled the icon which corresponds to the bus activities as “shuttle” which caused confusion to our users during the testing of our prototype. Shuttle, for them, meant private buses.
The app would benefit from adding Email (outlook)
Participants pointed out the absence signs/ flags "when a class will get suddenly cancelled?". As the front page provides the information about "next class", the changes in the schedule should be visible apart from the regular notifications.

LIMITATIONS

To explore the difference in students' needs between the three Universities (TAMK, TUT, UTA) bigger sample is required.
Despite the conducted User testing, the evaluation of the UX/Usability requirements is possible only after the implementation of the app. As some content is dependent on external online resources (restaurant menu) or requires data from other university systems (Mudle), these might affect such requirements as responsiveness.
Consistency in UI design should be improved, as part of the next iteration