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Crafting an Intuitive All-in-One Student Support App
Introduction
Design a user-friendly, simple student support app to find answers to common questions, ensuring a seamless and intuitive experience.
Client
The University of Sheffield
Project Type
Web
Project Duration
6 Months
Project Details
User Experience Design
User Interface Design
Design Systems
User Research
Challenges
In collaboration with the student services team (SSiD) from February to December 2021, I designed a self-service solution for students to easily find answers to common questions. The user-friendly flow included categorised questions leading students to relevant information or resources. My responsibilities encompassed designing page layouts, states, interactions, and final UI deliverables. Please note that certain features and designs are the University of Sheffield's intellectual property, and this case study focuses on the design process and facades for an accurate project overview. I collaborated with the student services team from February to December 2021 to create a user-friendly wizard installed at the SSiD front desk and other locations. The flow involved categorised questions guiding students to answers or directing them to the appropriate resource. My tasks included designing page layouts, states, interactions, and final UI deliverables. Note that specific features and designs are the University of Sheffield's intellectual property, and this case study emphasises the design process and facades for an accurate project depiction.
Progress Wizard Bar
In response to insights from the student services team, we addressed the challenge of shifting students' communication preferences by introducing a progress wizard bar. Our research highlighted the importance of invoking positive emotions, particularly through the SSiD team interaction. To achieve this, we leveraged functionality for problem-solving, built trust with reliable content, and integrated emotion to drive satisfaction. Employing emojis, colours, and imagery, we ensured an emotionally resonant experience while maintaining design consistency with other university pages.
Invoke Emotion
User research revealed that students disengaged with open-ended or lengthy questions. In response, we incorporated a progress wizard bar, visually displaying the remaining steps to completion. Each step featured a specific title, numbered sequences, and relevant imagery to enhance user understanding and maintain engagement.
Templates for Pages
Our deliverables encompassed UX and UI designs for templates, navigations, wizard steps, and survey pages. To guide students effectively, layouts directed them to relevant categories, and emotive emojis and iconography reinforced answers. We implemented design elements such as a progress bar, larger text for questions, and colourful buttons for visualizing the remaining steps, ensuring easy interactions. Answer pages included clear calls to action, suggested answers, and sections dedicated to signposting users to internal web links for further information.
The project successfully reduced student service desk inquiries by 26%, and the resource was well-received by the student services team, who continued to expand its content. Post-launch insights prompted the adoption of a more user-friendly UX for diverse demographics, highlighting the need for tailored approaches. While effective for general topics, the wizard faced challenges addressing more personal inquiries in this digital format. The University required a user journey that could handle general student enquiries ~ mostly new students who recently enrolled. We needed to ensure that our solution worked equally as well for our team to maintain as it would for our users (students).
The project was a success according to SSiD, as it reduced enquiries to the student service desk by 26% less enquiries. The student services team took ownership of the resource and continued to add new topics to the wizard. Post-launch we learnt we needed to adopt more user-friendly UX for other demographics like Mandarin for Chinese International students. This project allowed the team to rethink how student services can help students through alternative digital mediums, however, it was apparent that general topics were ideal but more personal topics could be difficult to address on the wizard.