Connecting and supporting students with a native app
London School of Economics
In their commitment to enhancing the student experience, LSE had identified the need for a central space that provided information and services to students. After talking to student groups, LSE wanted to explore the effectiveness of a digital student portal. As part of the pitch team looking to win this work I was responsible for exploring this as an idea and creating a proof of concept prototype.
Overview
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is one of the foremost social science universities in the world. As part of their commitment to improving their students experience they wanted to explore how digital could make a positive impact. As part of the pitch team I was responsible for researching current student needs as well as existing portals. Additionally, as part of the tender I was required to create a working prototype demonstrating how we could fulfil LSE's requirements
Skills & tools
Focus Group
Competitor Analysis
Prototyping
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Guerrilla Testing
Sketch
Invision
Approach
Ensure that the solution created addresses real problems
Discover
Having run their own focus groups, LSE had identified a number of key student requirements such as booking rooms and events through to viewing maps, accessing timetables and connecting with other student groups. In order to better understand students and their requirements I ran a focus group with MMT's placement students and recent graduates. During which we spoke about daily tasks and frustrations as well as reviewed some of the existing student portals from other universities. This was then followed up with a survey asking for more information about their experience. Qualitative research proved that current student apps and portals offered a poor experience, so I would need to look outside the education sector at other digital products that solved similar challenges.
Define - key challenges
1. Create a tailored experience
Students want a personalised space where they can find relevant content and services.
2. Easy access to services
Students should be able to access basic information and perform daily tasks in one space.
3. Connect students
Students need a space where they can connect with each other, discuss ideas and find inspiration.
Develop
1. Create a tailored experience
Given that the portal would be predominantly accessed by mobile I created mobile prototype that would be used for both testing and presenting concepts to LSE. In order to effectively segment content, I introduced a set of scrolling tabs and tiles on the homepage so students would be able to quickly access a variety of articles and upcoming events based on their group preferences and current syllabus. Tailored content could also be promoted on the home page under 'Links' or directly through group chats and would also make use of the app's map and calendar functions.
2. Access services
Calendar based information such as events or booking rooms/appointments could be grouped under the 'View Calendar' section whilst basic maps and notifications could be accessed through the app's top level menu which could be accessed at any point.
3. Connect students
The final 'groups' feature would enable students to both create and join course and non course based forums. This would provide opportunity for them to connect and discover new content and events.
Desktop Design
Outcome
Once a basic prototype had been created, I then ran a number of quick informal testing sessions and iterated on the designs before presenting to LSE.
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