1 month
UX Designer
Competitive Analysis, Information Architecture, Wireframing, Prototyping, Testing
Pen & Paper, Invision
As children of immigrant parents grow up and assimilate to an English speaking environment, they tend to experience a decline in developing their native language. This ultimately reduces their ability to effectively communicate to their parents and in turn, makes it less likely for them to pass on their language skills to future generations. In light of this information, I chose to design a language learning mobile app called Let me translate as part of the Intro to UX Design course at Careerfoundry. This app aims to build on the language skills of second generation nationalities through visual and audio learning.
In order to achieve practical solutions that incorporated the users goals and needs, I implemented the design thinking process. Through this process, I was able to engage with the user and understand what was most important to them. This project was completed within a short timeline and therefore only produced low-fidelity assets for each stage.
The first step in this project was to understand the landscape for which I was designing. I analysed three main competitors within the space of vocabulary learning apps and identified the positive and negative attributes for each feature. This allowed me to identify what made them unique and how successful they were in meeting the user's needs.
I conducted remote user interviews with 3 participants who have engaged with a language learning app in the last couple of months. The main goal for these interviews was to gain insight into the users needs and challenges by understanding how they approached learning a new subject or language.
What was their previous experience with language learning apps?
What did they like or dislike about using the app?
How long did they usually spend learning new languages within the app?
What was their motivation in deciding to learn a new language?
What are some of the best ways for them to learn new language content?
Using the responses I retrieved from user interviews, I created a proto-persona called Jenny to help encapsulate the app's potential user. Jenny will be the main point of reference for all of my design decisions, by providing me a perspective into what actions potential users might take based on their goals and behaviours
From the perspective of Jenny, I was able to create user stories and identify the core features of the app that would be required for her to accomplish her goals.
TIME EFFICIENT LESSONS:
As a full time student I want to be able to learn on the go and in 5-10 minute intervals, so that I can have more time to study and hang out with my friends
VISUAL & AUDIO LEARNING
As a user I want a combination of visual and audio learning so that I can be engaged throughout the lesson
SAVE & REVIEW CONTENT
As a user I want to be able to save and revise the information learned so that I do not have to go through the whole lesson again.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
As a user I want to be able to input my own written or audio notes so that I can understand and study the information more effectively
User flows were created based on the main tasks that were most important to Jenny. This helped to visualise the initial structure of the app and outline the path that Jenny would navigate through in order for her to accomplish each task.
Entry Point: Open app
Success Criteria: Bookmarking and accessing flashcard content the user has saved during their lesson
Entry Point: Open app
Success Criteria: Successfully adding in personal written or audio notes for study revision
I started sketching out the wireframes for each pathway within the user flow and created an early blueprint for the navigational structure of the app. From there I was able to combine each sketch into a low fidelity prototype using Invision, so that it could be ready for testing.
For the homepage, I placed emphasis on how content was organised and categorised on the page. I was unsure on how to execute this at first but I knew that I wanted to ensure users could easily access their lesson material under the right category without having to go through various other screens.
Entry Point: Open app
Success Criteria: Successfully adding in personal written or audio notes for study revision
To evaluate how easily accessible and usable the features would be for the user, I put the first prototype of Let me translate through rigorous usability testing. It involved 3 participants from different ethnic backgrounds and lasted about 10-15mins each session.As the participants worked through each scenario task, I took notes of their behaviours, responses and actions. From there, I analysed the data using Jakob Nielsen’s error severity scale to help prioritise the areas that needed urgent fixing.
I have learned so much from researching and developing Let me translate, especially opening my eyes to how people organise information. What you would perceive to be logical is not always logical for others, allowing me to understand how important testing and researching is in the design process.
I also learned the value of creating a persona prior to prototyping helped give the app a purpose. It was also interesting to learn that users can feel if a design is off or doesn’t seem right, so it’s best not to mess with basic functions as the users will know.
Add in an option for users to set up a timetable and reminders to help them set up a schedule.
Develop extra quizzes that users can do in their own time if they want to test their knowledge.
Iterate designs and develop higher fidelity frames for further usability testing
