Mini Ploma
A short blurb to describe what to do
Overview
Degree Planner for UBC students int he faculty of Arts to plan their degree and manage any requirement and extracurricular.
The core goal of this project is to help the students plan their degree and achieve their graduation goal by understanding each individual's unique degree requirements and extracurricular.
My Role
UX & UI — Interaction Design, Visual Design, User Flows, Rapid Prototyping, Presentation
Team
Solo
Timeline & Type
3 weeks, Personal Project
✍️ With complexities in degree planning, visualization and easy access are keys.
Moving to another country is not only difficult but also scary. For this design sprint, we were tasked to help newcomers start their professional career journey in Canada.
Solution Overview
Two visualization options
Full Degree: Show the high-level activity of the overall plan for each term
Year By Year: Show a detailed course plan
Track credits and graduation requirements
Tracking credits for different requirements needed for graduation. See exactly what is completed and what is not
Access to saved courses
Saving different courses that students may need to fit different requirements so students do not need to go over all the course list again.
Planning Feature
Allows students to create their degree timeline and choose their work/study abroad sequence.
Allows students to add courses in each sequences.
The filtering option will allow students to see different course that fits different requirements. Some required courses can be automatically preloaded!
Moreover, students can created as many back up plan as they want!
Problem Space
Many students face difficulty planning their degree.
Through discussion with UBC students, as well as a deep dive into r/UBC. I found out that the difficulty of degree planning is a shared experience.
Student 1
How long will it take me to graduate?
Student 2
What requirements do I have left?
Student 3
What if I don't get into my major?
Moreover, we notice that while UBC provided us with a Degree Navigator tool. A lot of students find it difficult to use.
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
r/UBC
How long will it take me to graduate?
I have 3 years of engineering experience and graduated top of the class BSc. I've sent about probably more than 100 job applications online and yet no interviews. Some say it's all about connections but being a new immigrant, I don't have much. I'm fairly social, not at all shy. Am I doing something wrong?
Research
UBC has its own degree navigator. Why is it not a big hit among students?
Current Degree Navigator Audit
While there are many minor outdated features that contributed to the overall difficulty in using the degree navigator. Here are some of the main problems I’ve encountered.
Cognitive Overload
Too much text.
Too much scrolling.
Equals to ~ 81 pages of A4 paper.
Outdated UX/UI
How long will it take me to graduate?
Unclear Functionality
How long will it take me to graduate?
The Planning feature is Burdensome
How long will it take me to graduate?
Interview
UBC Degree Navigator tool does not respond to students' needs. A more intuitive tool is needed.
I interviewed 6 UBC students whom I have no direct contact with. The interview is a semi structured interview focusing on their degree planning habits, goals, frustration, experience with current UBC tools and other tools they might have used.
I conduct a thematic analysis, using affinity mapping and as well as using empathy mapping to understand how students would feel during the process.
Key Insights
"Planning our degree also means planning our lives too, since we are students and everything centers around our school activities." — Participant 4
1. Students plan their degree manually (and digitally through note apps/spreadsheet) since they do not know the planning function of Degree Navigator exists.
2. Students wish they could see their degree as a whole. (Visualization)
3. Students think about different extracurricular activities such as Co-op term, Study Abroad term during their planning process in addition to course planning.
Personas
Students need a simple tool that can be used to to track their complex academic lives.
I conduct a thematic analysis, using affinity mapping and as well as using empathy mapping to understand how students would feel during the process.
How might we help Chris and students like him plan their degree and achieve his graduation goal?
Ideation
An improved user journey, where students don’t run into more problems.
Before settling down to one idea, I've explored a couple different solutions.
Peer Mentoring Network
Connects students to seniors or students in the same field/interest.
Pros:
✅ Foster guidance & support.
✅ Get insights from real lived experiences.
Cons:
❌ Similar networking app exists
❌ Too much effort for similar or less impact
Degree Planner & Progress Tracker
Digital planner used to keep track of graduation timeline and requirements.
Pros:
✅ Design degree with multiple plan.
✅ Incorporate internships & exchange semesters.
Cons:
❌ Inflexibility in special circumstances that may requires an advisor
Degree Planning Fortune Teller (Gamification)
Degree Planning Calendar Integration
Degree Planning Resource Hub
Degree Planning Fortune Teller (Gamification)
Checklist Tool
Progress Tracker Widget
After decided that a degree planner tool would probably be the most beneficial, I drew up an improved user journey, ensuring that the tool is answering the right question to the students.
I want to graduate in 4.5 years with a major in Film Studies, and do 3 terms of internships
Current user journey
Use UBC’s degree navigator tool to plan out courses, but found it difficult to navigate.
Decide to talk to academic advisor instead but found it a hassle to go back and forth between co-op advisors and academic advisors.
Realized that I took a course for nothing!
Realized the approved co-op sequence did not work out!
Confusing, Overwhelmed
Frustrated
Improved user journey
Use Mini Ploma to plan out what courses I will be taking in each term.
Get reminder of all requirements I need.
Be able to see all my degree plan in a glance and keep track of the credits completed.
Know what courses I’m taking next semester!
On track to graduation within 4.5 years!
At ease
Happy, Accomplished
Then, I looked into what functionalities could be adapted from UBC's degree navigator and what could be add or improved based on the research.
User Flow & Low FI UI
Out first skeleton, focusing on visualization and planning features.
Sitemap: I created a site map using Figjam to outline the general structure and organization of the pages for my project. It helps to clarify the main objectives and goals of each page and allows me to see the bigger picture of the site's navigation and flow.
Prototype Scope: Horizontal Scope with vertical in some aspects
After that, I create some rough sketches for the main frames of the website. Then, I created initial wireframes according to the sketches.
🎨 Style Guide
Created a style guide and components to keep the planner consistently cool.
I worked on coming up with a style guide for a consistent visual identity before working on designing components to be use in the library.
Hi-fi Prototype
30 screens, designed and prototyped for seamless user experience.
In the HiFi phase, I worked on designed and prototyping 30 screens for the degree planner. The foundation work of the components and visual identity decided beforehand makes it easier and faster to work on this phase.
Usability Testing
Along with other minor changes, the progress bar was updated to better reflect the remaining credits requirements.
I conducted a prototype validation test with 4 participants, which took place in-person and lasted approximately 30 minutes per participant. The task assigned to each user was to Log in to the dashboard and create a new degree plan.
Percentage prevents student from understanding their credit requirements.
Breadcrumb Navigation was added. No more wondering how long each step will take.
Reflection
Observing students planning their degree may help with the research process.
Making them show how they usually plan their degree may give me more insights on how they actually do it! Interview answers alone might not cover everything, since there might be a chance people forget small steps they might have taken!
Another prototype validation after the update.
Due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to re-validate my prototype. Be able to do so in the future project will help with the design process tremendously.