For our next project, a group of myself and three other students had to create a redesign of any application of our choice using the software Adobe XD. This project included performing every step involved in prototyping and creating a proper product, including performing fieldwork, creating paper prototypes, usability testing, and analyzing the results of those usability tests to further modify our prototype.
For this project, my team decided that we should attempt to redesign something that was a common pain in all of our lives – the website of the services provided by our university’s Office of the Registrar, Testudo. We also decided that instead of simply redesigning the website, we could also make the service more convenient by recreating it as an app on our phones!
To view the finished prototype, click here.
Prototype made by Sebastian Bolatto, Mateo Aron Ortiz, Leah Peckham, and Anthony Squillacioti.
Fieldwork
We began by conducting fieldwork to find out what works with the current design of Testudo and what needed to be improved. We therefore went and interviewed multiple UMD students. To ensure that we could get everyone’s opinion, we made sure to interview a variety of ethnicities and ages. From these interviews, we found that the main issue with Testudo was its organization; If we could change how links are categorized, and make the app easier to navigate and the links easier to find, that could go a long way.
Prototyping
The next phase was the prototype phase. We began by drawing out paper prototypes of what we wanted to app to look like. We then got together, discussed whose style and layout would work best, and decided on a single style to unite the whole application and its organization. We then went and prototyped the app and several of its functions using Adobe XD, after assigning eachother a different part of the app to design.
Usability Tests
Once we finished the first version of the prototype, we decided to do some usability tests. We decided on what key thing we wanted to learn from the usability tests, and then created a series of tasks for our testers to complete that involve navigating the app, to gauge how intuitive it is. We once again made sure that we had a variety of testers of many different backgrounds, and different familiarity with existing apps like ours.
Analysis
After conducting the usability tests, we analyzed what worked and what didn’t according to our testers, and compiled a list of their likes and dislikes. We found that the majority of the complaints from testers came from initial confusion with what information was under each icon and tab in the app.
Revision
The results from analyzing the usability tests led us to create a tutorial for the app, and add that to the prototype as well. This greatly improved the app and allowed users to better understand the interface from the start.
Sebastian Bolatto's Portfolio 