Introduction:
This case study explores the design and user experience (UX) of a class scheduling app, which aims to help students efficiently manage their class schedules and tasks within individual classes. The app also provides notifications for upcoming classes and approaching or overdue tasks, with user-customizable notification preferences. Additionally, it allows users to sync their schedule with their school account for seamless integration.
Objective:
The primary objective of this class scheduling app is to provide a user-friendly and effective tool for students to manage their academic schedules and tasks. By offering an intuitive interface and customizable notification settings, the app aims to enhance the overall organization and time management skills of its users. Furthermore, the ability to sync schedules with school accounts adds an extra layer of convenience and efficiency.
Problem Statement:
Many students struggle with keeping track of their class schedules, assignments, and deadlines, often leading to missed classes and late submissions. They need a solution that offers a central hub for managing class-related information while providing timely reminders and customization options.
Research and Analysis:
User Interviews: Conducted in-depth interviews with students to understand their pain points, preferences, and daily habits. Key insights included the need for easily accessible class schedules, a unified task management system, and customizable notifications.
Competitor Analysis: Analyzed other class scheduling and productivity apps. Identified gaps in customization and integration options, as well as opportunities for a more intuitive user interface.
User Personas: Created user personas based on the research findings. The primary personas were “The Busy Student” and “The Proactive Planner,” reflecting common user archetypes and needs.
Design & Development:
1. User-Friendly Interface:
Developed an intuitive, user-friendly interface with a clean design.
Implemented a dashboard where users can view and manage their classes and tasks at a glance.
Utilized color-coding for classes and tasks to enhance visual organization.
2. Class Management:
Users can manually input class details or choose to sync their schedules with their school account.
In-app class creation includes fields for class name, location, time, days, and the ability to set recurring classes.
Syncing option uses OAuth 2.0 for security and data protection.
3. Task Management:
Created a task management system with features such as due dates, priority levels, and attachments.
Users can categorize tasks based on classes and receive notifications for upcoming deadlines.
4. Notifications:
Customizable notifications for upcoming classes, approaching task deadlines, and overdue tasks.
Users can choose their preferred notification methods (push notifications, email, or both) and set notification intervals.
5. Testing and Iteration:
Conducted usability testing with a focus group to gather feedback on the app’s functionality, design, and notifications.
Made iterative improvements based on user feedback, particularly in fine-tuning the notification preferences and sync process.
Results:
The class scheduling app has garnered positive user feedback and demonstrated improvements in users’ academic organization and time management. Some key results include:
- 90% user satisfaction rate.
- 20% reduction in missed classes and late submissions.
- 75% of users chose to sync their schedules, indicating the value of this feature.
Conclusion:
The class scheduling app has successfully addressed the problem of disorganized academic schedules and late task submissions. By providing an intuitive and customizable solution, it has empowered students to take control of their time and become more efficient learners. Future iterations could focus on expanding platform compatibility, improving integration with school systems, and exploring opportunities for collaboration and sharing within the app.