...
Future issues to consider
Based on the user testing of these two designs, we have decided to keep the majority of the mobile design, and add a map page for additional functionality. There are issues we considered:
- Checking In to a Tour - Our initial mobile design required users to check into a tour (to ask questions) and place their name (for setting up meetups) before seeing the main menu. We realized through user testing that users may want to explore the college (events, stories, stats, etc.) without checking into a tour. Therefore we are changing our check in page to only require the college you are at. The Question Queue and Feedback Options will not be visible until a user checks into a tour. There will be a link to check into a tour on the main menu, and an extra name field for the schedule meetup option.
- Wording/Icons on Main Menu - There were confusing wording on some of the menu options. "Tour" has been renamed to "Question Queue." "Feedback" has been renamed to "Tour Feedback." The icons for the menus items are the same as the icons were in the Map-Based design; one issue to consider is the question mark as an icon for the Question Queue, as it is commonly used as an icon for a "help" option and may confuse the user.
- Summary on Main Menu- We realized that we repeat tour summary information on both the Main Menu and Question Queue. We have decided to remove both the summary info and the tour guide picture (leaving only the queue) from the Question Queue, and add the picture to the Main Menu, beside the summary info.
- Affordances on the Question Queue - Users were confused about the question queue. Many users did not realize that it was a queue, and some believed that the questions were clickable. Going forward, we would need to make the affordances clearer. One ideas was to grey out the questions that were already on the queue, so that they don't appear clickable, and highlight the current question in some form. We also thought of adding the time the question was asked (i.e. "23 min ago") to the side of the question, and changing the text box prompt from "Type Question..." to "Add Question..."
- General Stats/FAQ Page - To add consistency, we are considering changing the title bar of the page from the college name to "General Stats/FAQ." Some users did not understand the dot 'swipable' affordance, so we are thinking of ways to make it more clear. One idea is to show a sliver of the next graph to the right of the current one, so that the user can see that there is more to see.
- Student Profile - We wanted to keep pages consistent in design, and we realized that the profile page was vastly different from others with its "tiles" interface. Therefore we are thinking of changing the page to look more like the General Stats/FAQ Page. Instead of Graphs at the top, we would have the student name, picture, and a button to schedule a meetup. Then for the expandable menus, we would have subsections like "Academics", "Extracurriculars," "Stories Written," etc.
- Stories Page Navigation - An issue that still needs thinking is how to navigate stories. For now we are considering adding a search bar. Another thing to consider is what happens when stories get really long.
- Events Page - To make navigation easier instead of scanning each page, we would like to add a filter option to filter by type of event. One user mentioned the ability to add to a calendar, so that is something to consider.
- Feedback Page - Some users missed the Star rating when they filled out the feedback form. We are thinking of adding a header such as "overall rating" and making the stars appear with a shadow/gradient/3d outline so that people won't miss it. In addition, we are adding a "anything else" section so that users can give general feedback.
- New Map Page - We realized that the map-based design offered some features that the mobile design did not, such as seeing the current location/route of your tour. Therefore, we are thinking of adding a "Map" page to the mobile design. This page would show a map of the campus, along with the user/tour current location, and, if the user is checked in to a tour, the route the tour is on. We would like to add the option to highlight buildings based on type (i.e. "residential," academic," etc.) as well as general info for buildings upon clicking on them (like building name).
Briefing
Problem:
- College tourists often have trouble finding campus events/activities, accessing current students for more specific inquiries.
- Tour Guides have to spend time repeatedly answering common questions from tourists which detracts time from the tour.
...
- Thought if the map was smaller, then the side panel wouldn't hide a part of the map and it would improve the overall visibility.
- Was confused by what the pins meant--didn't convey enough to him on their own.
Future issues to consider
Based on the user testing of these two designs, we have decided to keep the majority of the mobile design, and add a map page for additional functionality. There are issues we considered:
- Checking In to a Tour - Our initial mobile design required users to check into a tour (to ask questions) and place their name (for setting up meetups) before seeing the main menu. We realized through user testing that users may want to explore the college (events, stories, stats, etc.) without checking into a tour. Therefore we are changing our check in page to only require the college you are at. The Question Queue and Feedback Options will not be visible until a user checks into a tour. There will be a link to check into a tour on the main menu, and an extra name field for the schedule meetup option.
- Wording/Icons on Main Menu - There were confusing wording on some of the menu options. "Tour" has been renamed to "Question Queue." "Feedback" has been renamed to "Tour Feedback." The icons for the menus items are the same as the icons were in the Map-Based design; one issue to consider is the question mark as an icon for the Question Queue, as it is commonly used as an icon for a "help" option and may confuse the user.
- Summary on Main Menu- We realized that we repeat tour summary information on both the Main Menu and Question Queue. We have decided to remove both the summary info and the tour guide picture (leaving only the queue) from the Question Queue, and add the picture to the Main Menu, beside the summary info.
- Affordances on the Question Queue - Users were confused about the question queue. Many users did not realize that it was a queue, and some believed that the questions were clickable. Going forward, we would need to make the affordances clearer. One ideas was to grey out the questions that were already on the queue, so that they don't appear clickable, and highlight the current question in some form. We also thought of adding the time the question was asked (i.e. "23 min ago") to the side of the question, and changing the text box prompt from "Type Question..." to "Add Question..."
- General Stats/FAQ Page - To add consistency, we are considering changing the title bar of the page from the college name to "General Stats/FAQ." Some users did not understand the dot 'swipable' affordance, so we are thinking of ways to make it more clear. One idea is to show a sliver of the next graph to the right of the current one, so that the user can see that there is more to see.
- Student Profile - We wanted to keep pages consistent in design, and we realized that the profile page was vastly different from others with its "tiles" interface. Therefore we are thinking of changing the page to look more like the General Stats/FAQ Page. Instead of Graphs at the top, we would have the student name, picture, and a button to schedule a meetup. Then for the expandable menus, we would have subsections like "Academics", "Extracurriculars," "Stories Written," etc.
- Stories Page Navigation - An issue that still needs thinking is how to navigate stories. For now we are considering adding a search bar. Another thing to consider is what happens when stories get really long.
- Events Page - To make navigation easier instead of scanning each page, we would like to add a filter option to filter by type of event. One user mentioned the ability to add to a calendar, so that is something to consider.
- Feedback Page - Some users missed the Star rating when they filled out the feedback form. We are thinking of adding a header such as "overall rating" and making the stars appear with a shadow/gradient/3d outline so that people won't miss it. In addition, we are adding a "anything else" section so that users can give general feedback.
- New Map Page - We realized that the map-based design offered some features that the mobile design did not, such as seeing the current location/route of your tour. Therefore, we are thinking of adding a "Map" page to the mobile design. This page would show a map of the campus, along with the user/tour current location, and, if the user is checked in to a tour, the route the tour is on. We would like to add the option to highlight buildings based on type (i.e. "residential," academic," etc.) as well as general info for buildings upon clicking on them (like building name).