Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels
|
Cando
UX Case Study
Cando is a Spanish vocabulary app. This case study explores effective vocabulary memorization through competitive analysis and researching actual users to better understand how people learn vocabulary and their behaviors. In the final processes, I monopolized these data to ensure an user centered application.
|
Design Process
How do I start?
My goal while creating the Cando was to create an effective app based off of feedback from real users. While doing so, I needed to incorporate and balance technical feasibility, business needs, and human centered thinking.
To do this I needed a design scaffold to even start the process of designing. Therefore, I adapted the design thinking methodology, pioneered by Tim Brown and Standford Design School: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype & Test.
“Design thinking begins with skills designers have learned over many decades in their quest to match human needs with available technical resources within the practical constraints of business. By integrating what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable, designers have been able to create the products we enjoy today. Design Thinking takes the next step, which is to put these tools into the hands of people who may have never thought of themselves as designers and apply them to a vastly greater range of problems.”
TIM BROWN, CHANGE BY DESIGN
|
Competitive Analysis
What other apps are out there? What can I learn from them?
Because I am no vocabulary learning connoisseur, I have no idea how to even start building a vocabulary learning app. I needed to do a bit research to comprehend what I will be creating. Through competitive analysis, I was able to formulate an idea of what a “good” and “bad” vocabulary app is.
I first needed to understand the current market, strategies, and highlights of my competitors. Through analysis, I can learn the pros and cons from other vocabulary learning applications- especially for a different language. Thus, I selected 3 mobile applications that were focused on vocabulary building skills and conducted an analysis.
For each app I examined their onboarding process, navigation flow, various functions. Doing so gave me a general understanding of how most vocabulary apps work, each app’s unique idiosyncrasies, and their issues.
I noted their pros and cons: functions, ease of use, aesthetics; then created a general summary of the app. Here I focused on their target audience, the most notable experience, and my own recommendation to the app, which can be useful for creating my own.
|
User Research
What would my users do?
After conducting the interview, I gathered the data and summarized into three categories: Doing, Thinking, and Feeling. These three helps me understand what the users’ current frustrations, ideas, beliefs, behavior, etc. so I can get a better understanding on how to improve on my app.
Doing
For each interview participant, I organized the data into Doing, Thinking, and Feeling. For doing, I recorded their actions, behaviors, and history in vocabulary app usage. This allowed me to understand what my participants are behaving and what types of resources are there.
Thinking
This is where I asked about their beliefs for a successful vocabulary learning experience. I learned that all my users agreed repetition or timed re-exposure is crucial to learn new vocabulary.
Feeling
Lastly, I recorded how they feel when learning a new Spanish vocabulary. They told me their frustrations and happy triggers, which are essential to help me utilize in my app – what to use and what to avoid.
Our Participants
User Interview Questions
1. Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you want to learn Spanish?
2. What is your current level of Spanish as of now? How did you learn it?
3. How are you learning Spanish right now? Are there any applications you are using? What are the best features of these apps?
4. How often do you practice Spanish by: speaking to people, flashcards, passive listening, etc?
5. What do you think is the best way to retain new vocabularies? Why is that better than other methods?
6. How did you feel when you learned a new word? When you forgot? What did you want to do afterwards?
7. What’s the most frustrating part of learning new vocabularies in a new language? What could be done so that it would’ve been easier for you?
What I learned
At first, it was difficult to imagine how someone else’s experience with other apps can help me improve on my own. After all, isn’t Cando a unique app? However, I came to realize that having user research gave me new insight on users’ psychology, beliefs, and other resources. I now can see how each user have different learning style and yet understanding there are overlapping strategies as well.
|
User Persona
Using human empathy for design
How do I further understand my users and help solve their needs? Well, by creating a story of my user! These stories helped me drive forward to the direction of my app. If my user needs a way to listen on her commute, I can then monopolize this information to include this function to Cando. Here I describe my user’s Needs/Goals, Stories, Problem and Hypothesis.
Needs and Goals
“Needs” are used to describe what functions my user needs that can help her in her day to day learning- whether it’s based on her schedule, learning behaviors, lifestyle, etc. These needs are driven by her goals, which are the big- picture- reasons why my user wants to learn more Spanish vocabulary.
User and Job Story
These are stories or reasons why learning Spanish vocabulary can help my user in her workspace or in her private life.
Problem and Hypothesis
Through analyzing my user’s needs, goals, stories, I then consolidated this information to create a problem summary. This problem represents her overall needs that are preventing her from learning vocabulary effectively. My hypothesis is how my user would become as a result of my app
|
Information Architecture
How organized is my information layout?
At first, I have all these ideas for my app. I know I wanted several functions to maximize learning and that there is some sort of hierarchal structure. However, it was just jumbles of information in my head. I couldn’t do anything with it until I organized them into a visible user flows. These user flows demonstrate how the user get from onboarding to their goal.
User Flows
Here are two examples of my user flows. The first one incorporates the splash page, onboarding, and then studying through vocabulary deck sets. The second one skips the onboarding and starts at home, assuming the user had been using this app for a while and isn’t logged off. Then the user simply uses a different function of the app- a conversation builder.
|
Wireframing and Prototyping
Quick sketches. Quick edits.
This step is one of my favorite part of UX designing because it’s bringing ideas alive and functioning. It’s also easy and flexible to change and make iterations before moving on to a higher fidelity prototype.
After reading that a designer should use the 6-8-5 rapid sketches for wireframing/prototype, I tried to create as many sketches as possible in a 5 minute time frame. After doing so a couple times, I selected what I deemed as the best design for each function and layout.
|
Usability Testing
How easy is it to use?
This step is also one of my favorite part of designing while at the same time, one of my most feared. I love how I can see participants using the app and the thrill of seeing them completing a goal flawlessly. That means good feedback! However, I also need to work on not taking criticism so personally. When a user has issues with the app, that just simply means a point I can improve on! Here, I conducted a usability test on 3 participants through giving them scenario tasks for them to complete.
Why and How
Scope
Testing the navigation of the prototype “Cando” to determine whether the functions are usable and intuitive
Session and Schedule
Individual testing of 3 people via in person at the comfort of their homes on their free-time at a 10-15 min session.
Equipment
Testing on an iphone X and using paper/pen to record observations Session/Schedule
Direct Tasks
1. Listen to a lesson plan
2. Save a user-made flashcard deck as yours
3. Pair up with a random user to converse via live messaging
4. Create your own flashcards
5. Add a new user onto your friend list
Scenario Tasks
1. You’re commuting back from work and you want to finish listening to a communication lesson.
2. You’re studying for a Spanish final and you found out your friend already made a flashcard deck in the app. You want to save her deck as yours so you can study for the finals.
3. You want to practice your Spanish with someone via live messaging but none of your friends are online.
4. You’ve been doing pretty well in Spanish to the point you started watching movies in Spanish audio. However, you come across some words you’re unfamiliar with and you look them up. You find them useful and want to save them in a new deck of flashcards.
5. You made a new friend from an online pairing! You want to add them to your list of friends.
Data Analysis
General Summary
For each interview participant, I organized their overall experience or important point they made for each task into one general summary. This may mean a recommendation, a criticism, confusion, frustrations, etc.
Notable Quotes
I also recorded their most notable quotes so it can reflect how the user was overall “feeling”. This is helpful for me to go back on this information to make improvements.
Jakob Nielsen's Scale
I used this scale to determine the error severity in Cando. This was done after analyzing the data.
- 0 = I don’t agree that this is a usability problem at all
- 1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project
- 2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority
- 3 = Major usability problem: important to fix and should be given high priority
- 4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix before product can be released
Observation
I consolidated all of my participant’s feedback for each task and wrote a general summary under “Observation”. This is like a Sparknotes version of my data.
Recommendations
Lastly, I segregated the recommendations out so that I can easily come back to this information without reading everything. This is another way for me to stay organized.
|
Iterations
Revise. Test. Rinse. Repeat
After gathering data from my moderated usability testing, I used the information to revise Cando. This was easily done since I was still working on the low-fidelity prototype. I came to understand that UX designing is a lot about receiving feedback and improving the app through iterations after iterations.
|
Final Thoughts
Finished at last!
This is my first taste to UX designing. And simply through this pilot project, I came to understand some of the ins and outs of what it means to be a designer. Through careful research in myriad articles on UX design to actually practicing the process of designing, I am now ready to start a new chapter of my life as a designer.
|