Group Study Rooms - Mobile App Feature
A tool to help students easily reserve rooms for group projects and collaborative study on campus.
Duration
3 Months | Fall 2020
Platform
Mobile
My Role
UX/ UI Research & Design
01. Overview
The City Tech campus library offers study rooms for group projects, study sessions, and other collaborative activities. While students can reserve these rooms a day in advance, they must do so in person on campus. This policy is inconvenient, as students may not be able to visit campus solely to make a booking, and risk finding no rooms available when they need them.
02. Problem
Students at City Tech often struggle to find suitable spaces for group projects or collaborative study, places where they can work together without disturbing others or being disturbed themselves.
The college library offers five study rooms for groups of three to five students, but reservations can only be made in person and just one day in advance.
03. Research Process
We reviewed the library’s study room policies and found that the current user flow is inefficient and could be improved. This project took place during the Covid-19 lockdown, so we were unable to observe the environment of the library and the study rooms. We used remote UX Research methods to conduct our study.
User Interviews
We interviewed current and former City Tech students to understand their experiences and challenges. We found out that many students were unaware of the study rooms resource. The interviewees generally fell into two categories: those who were already aware of the study rooms resource and those who were learning about them for the first time.
Those familiar with the service often avoided it because of the time and effort required to make a reservation. Coordinating with teammates was difficult due to differing schedules, and the inability to check room and time-slot availability in advance created frustration. Not all team members could visit the library together to book, and those who could often had to wait for confirmation from others before finalizing a reservation.
Students learning about the study rooms resource for the first time were enthusiastic about the idea, recognizing the value of having a dedicated space for group projects, especially since students commute from across the city. However, they found the current in-person, day-before booking system to be inconvenient.
Empathy Map
We placed what the users said during the interviews onto an empathy map canvas. This allowed us to understand and have a visual reference of what they’re thinking and feeling during the process of booking a study room in person.
Card Sorting
Card sorting results showed that students strongly value the resources and equipment provided in the study rooms.
MoSCoW Map
We used a MoSCoW Map to narrow down features to prioritize and work on in the 3-month time limit we had.
User Persona
We created a persona based on findings from the user interviews to help us understand our target audience’s needs and behaviors.
User Journey Map
We mapped out a journey for our persona to understand their experience at each step leading up to booking a study room.
05. Design Process
Starting with sketches, we explored different design ideas.
Low Fidelity Wireframes + Prototype
Initial wireframes were made in Figma to test layout and functionality.
06. Final Design
The final product is a mobile app feature that let's student book a study group room remotely. It allows students to plan ahead of time without the need to be physically on campus. It improves collaboration and lets students focus on their assignments.
