User Research
A research was done to understand the behaviors and trends of language apps users and to identify opportunities to develop optimum design solutions.
Area of Focus
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To know what they think of learning apps
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Discover what they like and dislike about them
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Find out their definition of an ideal learning app
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How to give user a better learning experience
Target Audience
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Active Working Adults (25-54 years old)
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Male and female
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Workers and students
Affinity Mapping
Based on the user interviews conducted, I categorised them into three main categories : pros, cons and ideas (the biggest category).
Pros
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Flexible, no fixed schedule classes
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Good addition to offline learning
Cons
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Payable apps, users want value for money
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Hard to use, to navigate through the apps
Ideas
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More functions, word search/translation/explanation, conversation scenarios/examples, flexibility to choose level, topic and test, chat to practice conversational skills
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Users want more than just clicking words or flash cards
Apps have to go through paywall while google translate is free.
Justin
Nikita
Some apps are hard to use.
Would be helpful if can search words, as google translate is not 100% accurate.
Harris
User Motivations
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Price
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Functionality
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Flexibility
Problem Statement
Active working adults (25-55 years old) needs a way find a more flexible and meaningful way of learning because the apps they know have limited functions to get the information they need.
Hypothesis
We believe that by creating an app which gives user more options and flexibility for active working adults (25-55 years old), we will achieve a more interactive and informative learning.
Persona
This is the persona of the ideal target user of my language apps. Someone busy who wants to learn a language on the go while commuting.
Competitive Analysis
A market research was done to identify five potential competitors in the language app business.
Comparison Matrix
I categorised the competitors based on the 3 user motivators: price, functionality and flexibility.
It is clear that currently none of the competitors have all 3 aspects which motivates the users to use the app.
Competitive Map
My app hopes to fill in this gap in developing a cheaper alternative but functional and flexible app that maximises user's learning experience.
Prototyping
Minimum Viable Product
Ideally, these are the features that my language app has or will have eventually but due to time constraint of the short course,
I focused on one feature: the word search.
User Flow
The task scenario is for the user to use the word search function to search for the Japanese word, "Chotto" in the app, after watching a subtitled Japanese drama.
Low Fidelity
At the time I did not have a specific idea in mind so I tried to create something simple.
The first round of usability testing is done to gather feedbacks for improvement.
Mid Fidelity
The next round of usability testing is done to ensure the users know what to do.
The focus here is functionality and to give user an idea of what the app will look like.
Once users are satisfied with the flow, the next step is the visual design.
High Fidelity
I want to create an aesthetically pleasing design, something creative but simple.
I chose blue colour as it gives a calming yet refreshing feeling for learners.
Since it's a Japanese language, I use Japanese themed elements.
Iterations
The are some changes made based on feedbacks during the usability testing, which resulted in the changes you see from low fidelity to high fidelity.
Usability Test
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Users understand how to search a word
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Users also understand that they can search word by audio
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Users feel that it's user friendly
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Users are able to know what to do at one look
The purpose of the iterations are to provide easy access, avoid confusion, cut process time and make word searching easier.
Self Reflection
Lessons Learnt
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It is not about the creator's preference but the user's
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It is about tailoring the design according to the target audience
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It is a delicate balance between functionality and creativity
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It is about simplifying complex processes for users to navigate
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It is a systematic and thorough design process
What's Next
If I were to have more than a week, I would
insert more functions:
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word, phrases and sentences translation tools
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chat and call with learners and native speakers
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video clips of scenarios and conversations
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quizzes, tests and exams
improve the visuals:
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different illustrations, icons, for different languages
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more research for design app screens
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conduct more user interviews and usability testing
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more focus on visual designs
