UX Case Study: Discovery Lane

The Opportunity

How did you figure out what post secondary program was best for you? Did you struggle with deciding? I designed an app that is specifically used for choosing which post secondary program is right for you based off of a personality test and an interest test. I don’t target one specific user. My target users range from individuals who are graduating high school, individuals looking to switch college/university programs, and individuals who are looking for a career change.

Research

I started off conducting my research by interviewing my target user. I asked him a set of general questions to help me get a better sense of his lifestyle and to determine a recurring challenge in his life. The purpose of my interview was the find a recurring challenge in my interviewees life and to design an app to help solve his problem.

From some research that I did I was able to find that although there are some web pages to help you become aware of the different programs there are, there are no apps similar to mine that already exist.

Planning

The user will find a need to attend post secondary. They are unsure of which program fits them best and one that they would be passionate about and enjoy. That’s when they would come upon my app, Discovery Lane. After downloading Discovery Lane they would be prompted to log in or create an account. After logging in they would have the option to do a personality test followed by a test about their interests. Based on their results the app would recommend the user a college/university program that best suits them. Once they have discovered the program they wish to pursuit they will be able to view schools that are best for them.

Some features that are required based on what I know about my user is that it needs to be a basic design. A basic design would benefit my app so that anyone can use it with minimal instructions.

Design

Prototype

Usability Testing

After conducting a usability test, I was able to observe four different people use my app. I was able to receive constructive feedback on what needs improvement. An improvement that was discussed by my participants was that I should include a progress bar. By adding a progress bar my user would be able to see what steps are next and how far along into the app they are. Another area for improvement that was brought to my attention was to add another test along with the interest and personality testing. It was suggested to add a test reflecting on the user’s current skills and what they feel their strengths are so that the results could be more accurate.

Summary

In conclusion, I have learned through my research that this is a highly viable app because it appeals to a broad range of users, such as, individuals graduating high school, college/university students looking to switch programs, all the way to people looking for a career change. The ease of use for this application works for all demographics. The design of this app is pretty basic, my goal of doing this was to make it that anyone could be able to use my app with as little instructions as possible. This application has a potential for sponsorship from many of the different learning institutions which could be part of the final process of the app.

https://popapp.in/w/projects/57ed4f537e29472130b848e6/preview