UX Projects
Project #1: How can an app help students remember more course material?
Approach: I consulted on the development of the Nudge app, a learning tool sponsored by Duke Learning Innovation in collaboration with a team of learning experience designers, researchers, and developers.
Key findings: Students and instructors are excited to use the Nudge app in future courses. We are currently incorporating their specific feedback into the app design (e.g., instructors would like to be able to reuse questions from previous semesters). Piloting of the app is currently scheduled for Summer 2023 courses.
Building The Nudge App
As a Bass Digital Education Fellow with Duke Learning Innovation, I collaborated on the development of the new Nudge app, which is designed to support learning by prompting students to respond to review questions after class.
As a member of the Nudge team:
I recommended new features based on the latest psychological research on learning
I collected feedback from faculty and student users
I conducted usability testing to ensure a user-friendly design
Understanding user needs
Interviewing instructors
I developed interview questions and conducted multiple interviews with instructors over Zoom to hear about their experiences with the initial beta version of Nudge and understand their needs for using the app in the future.
Collecting student feedback
I designed a Qualtrics survey to gain insight into student users' experiences using a beta version of Nudge.
Ideating & prototyping app design
Creating user flow diagrams
Based on the feedback from student users, I developed this user flow diagram in Whimsical to understand all of the possible pathways a student user could take in the Nudge app.
Building an interactive app prototype
I worked with our development team to create a clickable prototype of the app in Figma.
Conducting iterative usability testing
Composing a script for user testing
I developed a set of usability tasks (see a sample below) to test if faculty users could set up new questions and in turn access the question data.
Revising the app prototype
Based on our usability test results, we made changes to the prototype design in Figma, including adding more explicit labels for features that users had trouble finding (e.g., "Report").
Project #2: How can an app help students connect with mentors?
Approach: I collaborated with an interdisciplinary team in a design sprint to identify a user need (first-generation students' need to connect with mentors) and then to ideate, prototype, and test a solution (developing an app that would quickly and easily match students with mentors).
Key result: We built, tested, and iterated a prototype of an app designed to connect students with upperclassmen and alumni mentors, and we pitched our idea to a panel of EdTech experts.
Designing Solutions to EdTech Problems
In a course on EdTech and design thinking led by Aria Chernik and Matthew Rascoff, my team and I tackled the need of first-generation Duke undergraduates to match with mentors who could help them navigate their undergraduate experience and prepare them for professional success.
We pitched our product idea to a panel of EdTech experts from SAS, Duke, and the Friday Institute at NC State.
Building the app prototype
Pitching our idea to EdTech experts
Copy of DukeMentorMatchApp_EdTech presentation_2018.pptxProject #3a: How can we track students' progress throughout their Open Stage Project internship?
Approach: As a consultant for Open Stage Project, a performing arts non-profit organization based in NYC, I used my qualitative and quantitative research skills to identify opportunities to track the progress of students participating in the yearlong mentoring program. I interviewed program leaders and reviewed students' expectations and goals for the program. I designed, built, and implemented surveys to track individual students' progress on key skills at 3 points during the program.
Key result: I presented the key findings to the Board of Directors. By the end of the program, students reported feeling more comfortable with professional skills (e.g., networking, giving presentations), reported feeling more empowered (e.g., self-confident), and reported higher knowledge of backstage career paths.
Analyzing quantitative & qualitative data from students
Project #3b: How can we collect meaningful feedback to measure the impact of Open Stage Project's programming?
Approach: I consulted with a non-profit organization called Open Stage Project based in NYC. Based on my interviews with leadership and review of past program feedback, I identified 4 specific types of users (students, teachers, parents, industry professionals) and created personas to epitomize each user type. I also advised on best practices for designing and deploying surveys.
Key result: I designed, built, piloted, and implemented 5 new survey templates (see example below) using Google Forms that can be deployed to collect feedback for a wide variety of current and future events. These surveys quickly collected meaningful feedback from the 4 different types of users allowing Open Stage Project to adjust their programming
Building survey templates
