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SALIX
SALIX is an app 'bron' during the pandemic in response to University of Toronto students struggling with numerous messages from the school and difficulties in booking office hours. It provides functions such as an office hour booking system and a Q&A block to reduce students' stress from difficulties in getting help.
User Research
Persona
Name: Anna Lee
Age: 24 years old
Status: Current graduate student from University of Toronto
Obstacles:
1. Having school in this pandemic period.
2. Hard to book appointment with professors.
3. Hard to learn how to communicate properly. (e.g. emails, etc.)
Pain points:
1. Being bombarded by emails from every class and school
2. Get stressed with booking meeting with professors in this pandemic period
3. Worried about how to communicate properly with professors.
4. Afraid of meeting time is not enough.
Goals:
1. Working for a better academic standing.
2. Questions for class could be answered.
Requirement Analysis
Needs Statement of Anna
1. Anna the graduate student is looking for a method to book one-on-one meeting with her professor to solve her problems.
2. Anna the graduate student is looking for help on how to use proper words to communicate with professor to have a meeting with her professor.
3. Anna the graduate student needs a way to get in touch with her professor efficiently to get her answer back before deadline of the assignment.
4. Anna the graduate student needs a plan on what to ask on the meeting to make sure the meeting time is being used properly and her questions are all being asked.
5. Anna the graduate student needs a platform to receive and send messages for classes so that she won't be bombarded by messages from different apps.
Professors are also users of this platform. To consider what professor needs would help to create a more direct and more efficient communication.
What Anna needs
1. A function that help to correct inappropriate words/usage of word Anna used in her email.
2. A questionnaire template for Anna to write down her questions and being saved by the platform.
3. A program for Anna to book appointment with her professors and check their next available date for meeting.
4. A direct platform for Anna to contact her professors (to send and receive messages with her professors).
Low-Fi & Mid-Fi prototype
Evaluation & Next Steps
User Test
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To evaluate this design, three user tests have been done, participants are asked to fulfill three different tasks by clicking on the link of medium-fidelity prototype of Salix.
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Tasks are:
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To book appointment with Professor Smith at 10:00 am on Mar.4th, 2021.
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Find out the next Live Q&A session with Professor Smith for INF4135
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Check when will the next meeting with Professor Lee being held.
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Participants: Current graduate students from University of Toronto.
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Data being collected:
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How much time participants used to finish every task.
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Did participants achieve the right goal.
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Feedback from participants
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Data being collected are convert into affinity diagram to get the results .
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Results being collected:
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Wish to read details about next meeting by click on the next meeting in Things to do page (Dashboard page).
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It is a useful tool not only in this pandemic period but also for the future school life.
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Make the service more direct. (e.g. a reminder for the next meeting)
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Next Step:
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Do more user tests.
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Make a more logical and clear layout for Next Meeting Reminder.
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Leave a space for students to make a note during meeting and the note would be saved by the platform (Salix).