My goals for this project were to:
Throughout the process, starting from competitor analysis to designing my high-fidelity prototype, I learned a lot about UX design and research. The extensive research that was put into this project every week made me realize how in-depth this process could be. User interface design was in actuality, very much more research focused than design focused. The amount of testing and iteration that was done during this 9-week process was much more than I expected, so this class was really fulfilling.
I was able to fulfill my goal of creating an entirely new application and designing all of the features I initially wanted to design. I also received a lot of feedback from testing participants.
It was my first time going through heuristic evaluation, and I felt that I learned a lot about how I should go about competitor analysis. I was able to find a lot of issues with similar platforms that I would like to avoid. Then, it was my first time conducting a field study and contextual inquiry. Unfortunately, I did it through Zoom this time around, but in the future, I would like to visit the participant’s place in person. It was also my first time drawing a low-fidelity prototype, and completely dismissed options to go back, simply because I initially believed that a browser back button would suffice. I decided to add breadcrumbs and easy ways to go back to my high-fidelity designs. Lastly, it was my first time conducting a cognitive walkthrough and learned a lot about how I can do testing that is shorter in length. Overall, my project turned out well and the research and insight I put into it really shows in the final product.