Project Overview
Research and develop a manual of pain points and frustrations with a list of feature solutions for users of online learning platforms.
The Process
The assignment was a multi-step process of user research and analysis of user pain points. The completed 28 page manual presents our team's findings and solutions to challenges that are present in online learning platforms.
Each week we completed and analyzed a research method. Our team completed varying UX methods, including a Google Survey asking a variety of questions about online learning experiences and pain points, a 5 Why analysis, a one-on-one user interview, two feasible user personas, and a likely user scenario journey map.
Above are three graphs created showing the results from three of our questions from our twelve question survey. The collected research consists of both undergraduate and graduate student’s experiences. Not all institutions utilize the same learning platforms; however, the primary three platforms are D2L (Brightspace), Canvas, and Blackboard. To obtain diversity in pain points from online learning users, the users interviewed and surveyed are not focused on one specific learning platform; instead, the responses range across all three of the primary learning platforms.
Bellow and to the right are two user personas and a journey map based on a potential pain point experience by a user. Both the personas and journey helped up continue to understand the user and also show how we are presenting online students' frustrations.
After learning the pain points and needs of the users, developing a solution to the problems was the next task to accomplish. While each of the primary three platforms (D2L, Canvas, and Blackboard) have their visual styles, all three have similar features and navigation tools. Going beyond simply fixing the visual appeal of the platforms, the presented solutions focus on improving navigation and accessibility of features for the users.
Contributors
Allyson Keenan, Samantha Adelman & Zach Markle
Software Used
Adobe Illustrator & InDesign