Itemize is an app designed to help secure students' valuable items purchased from college campus stores. However, the web app faced significant usability issues. Interactions were broken, and users were more prone to input inaccurate information when registering their products.
The project aimed to identify, test, and improve the most critical key tasks to update the web app.
The project spanned several weeks, during which a usability study was conducted, stakeholder interviews were carried out, and changes were implemented based on the insights gathered.
The project began with a review of past UX research data to understand the web app's usability strengths and weaknesses. This was followed by a heuristic review and 1:1 interviews with the three founding members to understand the business model, needs, challenges, and constraints.
Usability testing was then conducted with students and internal users, focusing on registering items or claiming lost items, which were identified as critical tasks. The insights from the research helped optimize critical interactions and discover broken interactions that were confusing users.
The changes were sketched and then implemented directly in the High Fidelity prototype by the UX Design team. After the changes were implemented, a remote usability test was performed to validate the improvements.
The project resulted in significant improvements in the web app's usability, with users able to submit accurate information when registering their devices and easily create an account. The contact feature was also made more accessible. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of the research and design process in identifying and addressing key usability issues.
Itemize, an app that helps secure students' valuable items purchased from college campus stores, was facing challenges with its web app. The app had broken interactions, and users were more prone to input inaccurate information when registering their products. The key question was: How might we evolve Itemize's dashboard page to have users complete their critical tasks, such as inputting required information to secure users' insured items legally? The goal was to identify, test, and improve the most critical key tasks to update the web app. The challenge was to simplify the registration form, fix broken interactions, and ensure users could easily and accurately register their devices.
The primary objective of this project was to conduct UX research to better understand the satisfaction levels and experiences of the San Diego Experience Design (SDXD) community's 2,700 members during monthly events. The aim was to identify opportunities to improve future events and better serve the community.
Specific goals and objectives included:
Understanding member satisfaction levels with events.
Identifying what motivates or demotivates members from regular attendance.
Identifying opportunities for improving members’ experiences with SDXD.
The research was designed to provide insights into members' satisfaction levels and experiences to enhance the quality of future events and better serve the community. The ultimate goal was to use these insights to make data-driven decisions and implement changes that would positively impact the SDXD community.
As a Qualitative Researcher for Itemize, my role was to understand and optimize the user experience of the web app. I worked closely with the Project Manager, UX Designer, and other team members to achieve this goal.
My responsibilities included:
Reviewing Past Research: I reviewed previous UX researchers' data to understand past research and findings. This helped me gain insights into the web app's usability strengths and weaknesses.
Stakeholder Interviews: I conducted 1:1 interviews with the three founding members to understand the business model, needs, challenges, and constraints. This helped me align the research objectives with the business goals.
Usability Testing: I performed usability testing with students and internal users. The focus was on registering items or claiming lost items, which were identified as critical tasks.
Data Analysis and Insights: I analyzed the data collected from the usability tests and interviews. The insights from the research helped us optimize critical interactions and discover broken interactions that were confusing users.
Collaboration with UX Design Team: I collaborated with the UX Design team to sketch different concepts to address key pain points discovered in the usability study. The changes were then implemented directly in the High Fidelity prototype by the UX Design team.
Remote Usability Testing: After the changes were implemented, I performed a remote usability test to validate the improvements.
Through these responsibilities, I contributed to the improvement of the Itemize experience, ensuring that users could easily and accurately register their devices and seek help when needed.
Project Definition and Planning: The project aimed to improve the Itemize experience via usability study and stakeholder interviews. Itemize is an app that helps secure students' valuable items purchased from college campus stores. The goal was to identify, test, and improve the most critical key tasks to update the web app.
Literature Review and Stakeholder Interviews: Reviewed past UX researchers' data to understand previous research and findings. Conducted 1:1 interviews with the three founding members to understand the business model, needs, challenges, and constraints.
Usability Testing: Conducted usability tests with students and internal users to understand the usability strengths and weaknesses of the web app. The focus was on registering items or claiming lost items.
Data Analysis and Findings: Insights from research gave us the information needed to optimize critical interactions, such as collecting accurate information required to register devices for insurance and discovering broken interactions that were confusing users.
Persona Development: Developed personas based on the literature review and stakeholder interviews to help stay focused on the users.
Brainstorming and Sketching: Collaborated with the UX Design team to sketch different concepts to address key pain points discovered in the usability study.
Prototype, Test & Iterate: Iteration changes were sketched and then implemented directly in the High Fidelity prototype by the UX Design team. Afterwards, a remote usability test was performed.
This UX research project on the Itemize web app yielded several significant findings and improvements that enhanced the user experience:
Improved Information Submission: The usability test results showed improvements in user ability to submit accurate information when registering their devices. The simplification of the item submission form played a key role in this improvement.
Enhanced Contact Feature: The contact feature was made more accessible by converting the contact button to go to a contact submission form. This change made it easier for users to reach out for help or support.
Simplified Account Creation: The process of creating an account was simplified, allowing users to create an account with just a few clicks. The option to use Google or Facebook accounts for creating an account was added, further simplifying the process.
User Feedback: Users found the process of submitting information about their device easy and straightforward. This positive feedback indicates that the changes made to the web app were well-received by users.
These outcomes demonstrate the effectiveness of the research and design process in identifying and addressing key usability issues. The next steps include further testing and refinement of the web app based on user feedback and business needs.
I hope you found this project insightful. I'm always looking for new opportunities to apply my UX research and design skills. If you're interested in collaborating or would like to discuss how I could contribute to your team or project, please don't hesitate to get in touch.