NID Connect
Introduction
Our final design project at NID, involved a systems topic which has many branches and stakeholders. This was an introduction to systems research and thinking. For this project, I decided to tackle the problem of our community mail, which is our one source of establishing connection with everyone on campus and getting important updates from the administration.
The NID mail is cluttered and full of various mails with no means of tailoring the experience. This is where I felt that providing a tailored, end to end experience would help me learn about systems thinking as well as user experience design which i can implement first end to gain insights.
Understanding the challenge - Context building
Being a student of NID and using the community mail for 2 years already gave me a lot of insights and problem identification which helped me in deciding the pain points and areas where I could use my design sensibilities to use.
There are some updates which are very important to the students which are received via the mail, such as lost and found items, baatein sessions, curriculum updates etc. The issue faced by most students is that there is no way to compartmentalize these mails and no way to get a tailored experience while using the platform.
This results in loss of information and mismanagement where sometimes some mails are lost, or forgotten, where using the mail system itself becomes dreadful and annoying.
Providing a solution which keeps the engagement levels of the students and other community members high also while ensuring that the efficiency of communication is at its utmost was a challenge and the main goal of this project.
I also had to study community platforms of other colleges in India and abroad to better understand how are the communications executed in other colleges
Research Methods - The Survey
I discussed the project and the questions I had in my survey with students from various batches in college as well as other community members such as faculties, utility staff, administration, and guards. The purpose of this was to understand their pain-points and experiences while using the NID mail for communication. Learning about the problems of potential users helps in understanding the holistic map of the project. Working with real data is a good starting point to help avoid guesswork and preconceptions. Using this information provided a better chance to discover the root of the problem and how to solve it.
Quotes Directly from Users:
“I get so annoyed with the mails sometimes.. 90% of the time, the mails I get are not relevant to me.”
“I have unsubscribed myself from most groups as the mails are very frequent and are more of a distraction than being useful.”
“The chain mail are particularly annoying.”
“I don't access the mails on my phone, I check the mails on my laptop; once in the morning, one when the class ends, and once at night.”
“Most colleges have their community and class forums for discussions and academics, we should have that too.”
“I've been so used to deleting mails without seeing what it is, I miss out on so many important things. ”
Personas
The results of the survey and discussion suggested that I could group the people into set categories which reflected each department. This was evident because the answers and insights I gained from the survey had a lot in common amongst people from the same group.
For eg: the issues faced by students were almost similar as were the issues faced by the administration staff and faculty. For this reason I prepared general personas for each category of user. The accumulation of the different insights and common patterns that came from the users’ answers helped me create these personas.
Jobs To Be Done
One of the most powerful tools I used is a JTBD form. Instead of focusing on what the problem is or what the users want, I ask myself why they need it. By understanding why people might want this app it increased my chances of making a truly valuable product.
User Flowchart
Understanding the user flow of a user helps us in visualizing the cycle followed by a person, and can predict the future steps or situations around our users. This helps us in building scenarios and context to help create more contextual user experiences.
Storyboard — Using The App
Storyboards are important for describing the user's experience with the platform. This exercise helps in visualizing the application in a larger context. This helps in understanding the various circumstances in which the application would be used in.
Sketches
Quick prototyping tools were used to sketch down concepts and iterations which reflected a basic look of the platform. The sketches done in this stage are later refined to created Lo-fi wireframes.
Wireframes
Basic framework of the interface is visualized with these wireframes. Focus on functionality is made in this step as we have to ensure a smooth user flow on the platform. Clarity and reasoning is always expressed here. The simple shapes used in this stage helps make testing quicker and responsive, with a strong feedback loop.
Visual Research - Inspiration Board
I started the visual exercise for this project by creating an inspiration board. The purpose was to understand the existing apps in the market and other competitors who operate in the same field. Doing a background research about the existing products acts as a guide for our projects and puts us in a better place to assess our work.
Color Palette
The life at a college is always hectic and there are too many things which are required to be managed by everyone who is a part of an institute. For reducing the stress and complexity of the environment, a palette made of blue tones was selected as it has a calming effect on the person interacting with the color.
Typography
Creating a platform for all official communication from an institute can involve a lot of data and content. The information which has to be presented to the student on the app also showcases a wide amount of variety. For this reason the typeface chosen was DIN, a very neutral and simple typeface which has a direct nature in presenting information. Din has a very unbiased and transparent interpretation of the information which is presented using it.
Screens- Concept 1
Using the visual research and wireframes helped in creating screens which
showcased the final look and feel of the application. These screens were used to show various categories of the application such as Filmclub screenings and baatein. The faculty members gave a lot of feedback on the design process and the work created during this project.
Final Screens
The feedback received by the faculty were used to re-do the final screens and were looked at from a technical standpoint to overcome all visual limitations presented as the solution.
Conclusion - What did I learn?
Doing live projects have a large impact on learnings. It is important to note that since this project was directly impacting the people and environment around me, the feedback and insights which i was gathering throughout the project was very tangible and i could interact with it, thanks to quick prototyping and interpretation. Thinking about the user at the core of any problem always helps in drawing reasonable and justified solutions.
What are the next steps?
Propose this platform for official communication at NID
Involving more students from various other departments to collaborate
Make this a working platform with the help of technical staff
Integrating various departments in the college onto the application
Future Features
Remote discussion
Filling various forms and sending fees via the application
Integrating issues related to the hostel into the application
Final Thoughts
NID is a very small community with a lot of hidden talent. The idea of this platform is to use it to make people more interactive and responsive towards each other and to use this platform for showcasing work and inspiring each other.
The goal is to involve more students and their design projects towards this app and create a collective of work which can be used to drive the functioning of this platform for the college.