Hone App
Background
"Hone" was my first project and served as an in-depth introduction to the world of UX. This vocabulary flashcard brief allowed me to explore the process from initial research and interviews through to designing, Low-mid fi wire-framing and testing.
Objective: The objective of this brief was to create a working mid-fi prototype of a vocabulary flashcard app.
Role: Sole UX Researcher & Designer
Tools:
- Zoom - Voice Recorder - Miro - Paper Prototypes - Canva - Figma/ Figjam - Marvel/ Ballpark
Timeline: Overall: 8+ weeks (Part-Time)
Discovery & Research: 2+ weeks Design & testing: 6 weeks
My Design Process
My Design Process
1. Competitive analysis
starting from the ground up
To provide some context to my research, I chose three of the top vocabulary learning apps in the current market. I wanted each of the chosen apps to present some key differences so that I could get a broad overview of the varying approaches each company had taken when designing their apps. I chose Memrise (revered for it's uniquely personal "locals" function), Quizlet (most popular in schools) and Duolingo (renowned amongst self-taught linguists).
main takeaways
Performing my competitive analysis allowed me the draw parallels between the three apps, helping me to understand what made each of them so successful, what areas I felt could be improved upon and what could be introduced to my users experience to set my app apart from the competition.
2. user interviews
LET’S TALK!
Having obtained a broad overview of the current market, I felt prepared to go out and gather the perspectives of some real life vocabulary app users. In order to gain a deeper understanding of users lived experiences, I devised a list of open questions in preparation for my interviews.
the interviews
I recruited 3 interviewees from different backgrounds to perform both in-person and remotely recorded user interviews. I wanted to reflect a range of different styles of learning experiences throughout the process of recruitment, as such, the interviews included perspectives from a young student just out of school, someone who had used apps whilst travelling alone and a person who wanted to learn independently.
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Marnie, 18, Student (UK)
“For me, I’m definitely more of a social learner. I’m super competitive & found it far more engaging when I was able to learn with classmates”.
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JOE, 29, Policitical Affairs (UK)
“I learn best through listening & doing, practical application is important to me. The fact that the exercises incorporated repetition made it feel more like revision”.
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Laura, 32, Civil Servant (IRE)
“I feel motivated to use the vocabulary app, it makes me feel good to use my brain productively. I can spend 10 minutes on my commute refreshing my knowledge daily”.
key findings
To condense all of the information gathered from my interview recordings, I filtered my findings into "I Think", "I Feel" and "I Do" categories. This process helped me to quickly identify and reflect upon the similarities in my users experiences.
consensus
Overall, users expressed distaste for apps with too much distraction and felt that they needed an app that allowed them to feel challenged. Users gravitated towards personalised vocabulary learning experiences that are quick to use and allow for different audio and visual learning opportunities.
3. creating a persona
our persona
Based on my interview findings, I wanted to delve deeper into the understanding of my users' habits, needs, motivations and frustrations. To do so, I created a user persona, this helped me to better assess the goals and obstacles my users face in order to pinpoint a specific problem and find the solution.
The Problem
"As a young student who is travelling alone for the first time, Lily needs a simple visual app that can help her log new vocabulary on the go whilst also allowing her to share & study with friends from home - This will aid her learning & communication with her host family."
the solution!
"We believe that by developing a simple Flashcard app with the ability to create, edit and share personalised flashcards, Lily will achieve her goals of improving her vocabulary during her time abroad whilst maintaining the ability to keep in touch with her friends."
how will lily navigate the app?
creating user flows
To put myself in Lily's shoes, I created 2 users flows that I felt Lily, a first time user, may encounter when using the Hone app.
During my research, I came to understand how important a streamlined sign up process was for first time users.
The first flow I created for lily was her initial sign up process and how she may best navigate through the app to reach the homepage.
Another key part of Lily's experience was the ability to create new flashcards to add to her personalised deck. These steps helped me to consider what multimedia and social elements could be incorporated into her experience to fulfil her needs.
4. putting pen to paper
Paper prototype sketches & wireframes
I began the design process by creating a series of low-fidelity paper wireframes. These sketches allowed me to process the feedback from my research and user interviews, pinpointing common user needs such as personalisation, card repetition, social outlets and goal visualisation.
Through sketching, I was also able to create an interactive paper prototype, allowing me to quickly identify errors and refine processes before translating the prototype to a digital format.
5. prototype
Mid-fi figma prototype
At this stage, I linked all of my wireframes up to make the prototype interactive and proceeded to curate a list of user tasks in preparation for usability testing.
6. usability tests
3 users . 3 tests . 3 days .
3 remotely moderated usability tests were conducted over the space of 3 days, each test was recorded over zoom with additional voice recording. The 3 participants performed an array of both direct and scenario based tasks using the Mid-fidelity prototype of the Hone app. The findings of which were then analysed and graded using Jakob Nielsen’s error severity scale.
tasks included:
Sign up as a new user.
Use "Explore" to complete the onboarding process & successfully navigate Hone App.
Add a new word to an existing deck & review it.
Send a quiz challenge invitation to a friend.
revisions
upon reflection
Creating the “Hone App” was a really great introduction to a variety of important research and design methods. I feel this brief highlighted the importance of keeping my users needs at the heart of the design process.
Above all, the journey I took throughout this process pushed me to question my own assumptions and encouraged me to explore, fail and grow through iteration.
Next Steps
Having assessed and reviewed the main pain points of the first round of usability tests:
I would like to streamline the sign up process to include an option to take a quick onboarding tour prior to sign up.
I would update my original Mid-fidelity prototype, reflecting the changes listed above.
I'd conduct further usability tests to assess the success of the changes.
Long term, I would look towards refining my prototype to a High-Fidelity level with more advanced UI and animation.