UX-UI Case study : Designing an English language skills building app
Understanding of the problem statement-To design an integrated application that could help master the four skills areas of the English language-Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking with the given and possible features identified from the pain points.
Understanding the industry- The primary aim of this industry is to enhance the quality of online learning experience by facilitating better performance among the users. The industry is gearing towards bridging the gaps in the user’s offline learning experience by integrating technology into learning.
Summary of the process I followed towards this problem statement:
- With the understanding of the problem statement I approached it by applying the user-oriented approach.
- I did the secondary research- To deepen my understanding of this problem space, to know the existing environment for the users.
- Followed by the primary research -To understand the pain points and frustrations of the users, goals and motivation of users to use the product.
- Did the affinity mapping-to organize my insights from the research
- Plotted the empathy map of the 2 user sets for collaborative visualization that I used to articulate the insights I gathered from the users
- I then created user personas-to categorize the users based on my understanding from the interviews so as to better understand their personality, goals and motivation.
- I wanted to brainstorm to initiate the ideation stage. Framing HMW questions helped me explore more ideas as I moved towards the ideation stage. After brainstorming I came up with possible solutions/features and started creating the wireframes and created the prototype. I’ve presented the solutions alongside the screens with the rationale.
Process
Primary Research
User Interviews
Affinity Mapping
Defining User Sets
Empathy Mapping
User Personas
How might we
How might we create an integrated experience for all learning all the 4 skill areas?
How might we make the learning engaging?
How might we customize the experience for the users?
How might we help users get effective evaluation?
How might we help users track their progress in learning?
How might we help users with doubts and queries while learning?
How might we help users of different proficiencies to identify their gaps?
Brainstorming
Prototype and solutions:
Link to my prototype Figma file-
- Feature- High vocabulary articles
Rationale- High vocabulary articles with read aloud feature that helps to master vocabulary, listening and pronunciations
2. Feature-Word of the day
Rationale-The word of the day generates a new high vocabulary word everyday with its meaning, pronunciation, use in a sentence
3. Feature- Save articles and word of the day
Rationale- The save feature lets save the articles and words to continue reading later or for later reference
4. Feature-Listening exercise runs in the background
Rationale-This feature lets the program run in the background so that user can still learn while not holding the phone
5. Feature- Self-paced learning
Rationale-Customized learning experience for the user lets the them complete the course with flexibility
6. Feature- Engaging practice tasks and tests
Rationale-Practice sessions and tasks for listening, reading, writing and speaking helps master English as a language
7. Feature- Track progress
Rationale-Though its an integrated platform offering learning experience for all the 4 skill areas, this feature helps individually track the user’s progress
8. Feature- Badges
Rationale-Badges offered at the completion of specific tasks and reaching a certain level, unlocks further levels to motivate the user
9. Feature- Adjust playback speed, auto repeat, captions
Rationale-These features help the user alter the settings for listening section to have a customized learning
10. Feature- Voice chat
Rationale-This feature helps the user anonymously connect with other users and mentors to practice and improve their speaking skills
11. Feature- Group Discussion Rooms
Rationale- Group discussions rooms help the user connect and participate in discussions on a specific topic through voice calls
12.Feature- Engaging practice tasks and tests
Rationale-Practice sessions and tasks for listening, reading, writing and speaking helps master English as a language
Testing stage:
I connected with the users again to know their rationale on the prototype I designed.
USER 1- “ I feel the integrated learning experience is what stands out for me, it has everything that I thought was missing. ”
USER 2- “I assume the learning through such an app would be much engaging and the fact that I could get to connect with native English speakers excites me”
USER 3- “ The flow isn’t much complicated which is a good thing for me and listening session running in the background would be much helpful to me personally ”
Future scope: I would like to spend more time on research to gather more insights for in-depth evaluation in order to fill in the gaps and design the solutions and screens for the same
My learning- I’ve an inclination towards designing products for ed-tech. Though the principle and frameworks for design exist, I learnt to tailor the design process according to the available time and resources to design the scope of the product.