Virtual Lab Mobile App

MOBILE APP DESIGN

A remote science lab application for high schoolers

SUMMARY

A few months into the pandemic, Taanga Studios was approached by the owner of a large group of schools, to help him solve problems he had run into in the business of education post Corona. With no access to school labs, students had no means to practice experiments contained in their science modules. Our client approached us to explore the possibility of a mobile application that could create an experience replicating the same environment.

Design a virtual science lab app where students can perform experiments to learn concepts as they would in a physical laboratory without constraints of time and space. The experience has to be one that is fun, satisfying students' inquisitiveness and encouraging learning beyond the prescribed curriculum.

Mobile App Design

UX Designer (Research, Visual Design, Usability Testing)

1.5 months

Zoom (User Research),Adobe XD (Whiteboarding and Prototyping)

PROCESS

I used the design thinking framework to execute the project.

1. Empathise

The first step in understanding the problem was to be aware of what was in the market. I set out to study what most educational apps in the Indian market offered. Following that, I categorized their strengths and weaknesses to see what would work and what wouldn't for our app.

After gaining a fair understanding of popular educational apps in the Indian market, I set out to interview potential users of our product. An interview questionnaire was created. I interviewed 9 participants from high school to understand their experience and paint points associated with virtual learning.

To group and consolidate findings under common heads, I created an affinity map.

I found that my target users were two categories of students- the 'learner for life' and the 'happy to just clear exams' type. Ambar personifies the first category of competitive and inquisitive students while Betsy personifies the category of average, laidback, unmotivated students who go to school for the fun, games and socializing.

2.Define

Now that I understood my users, their needs and also gained insights from interviews, I created Point of View (POV) statements. POVs allow me to ideate in a goal oriented manner. With a clear statement of the problems, I framed How Might We (HMW) questions to get me into a solution oriented mindset from a challenge focused one.

I outlined the product goals after assessing user goals and business goals. User goals were finalized from the persona while business goals were framed from the project brief.

Users find virtual labs inaccurate (substance measurement) and rigid (only few possibilities are covered)

Users are troubled by long hours of screen time

Users lose interest if a classroom session is passive

Users look for practise exercises

Users approach their faculty for additional support

Users are bothered by net connectivity issues while attending remote classes

Users face several distractions onscreen

Users miss the liveliness of real classrooms

Users need a virtual lab to recreate the realism of a physical lab

Users need to take short breaks from the screen from time to time

Users need to interact with fellow students and teachers

Users need sufficient practise to cement concepts in their heads

Users need to connect with their faculty

Users need a seamless browsing experience

Users need to stay focused when they sit down to learn

Users need a stimulating learning environment

Users need a virtual lab to recreate the realism of a physical lab because users find virtual labs inaccurate and rigid.

Users need to take short breaks from the screen from time to time because users are troubled by long hours of screen time

Users need to interact with students and teachers because users lose interest if a classroom session is passive

Users need sufficient practice to cement concepts in their heads because users look for practise exercises

Users need to connect with their faculty because users approach their faculty for additional support

Users need a seamless browsing experience because users are bothered by net connectivity issues while attending remote classes

Users need to stay focused when they sit down to learn because users face several distractions onscreen

Users need a stimulating learning environment because users miss the liveliness of real classrooms

How might we ensure that users find a virtual lab as realistic as possible?

How might we ensure that users take adequate breaks from the screen?

How might we ensure that users get to interact with fellow students and teachers?

How might we ensure that users are given sufficient opportunity for cementing concepts?

How might we ensure that users can connect with their faculty for support?

How might we ensure that users have a seamless browsing experience?

How might we ensure that users stay focused while attending online classes?

How might we ensure that users stay stimulated during virtual classes?

3.Ideate

I brainstormed some solutions to the HMW questions and arrived at a collection of features for the app. As not all features aligned with business goals, some features had to be ruled out. The final list of features is given below.

With the features finalized, the next step was to lay the structure of the app. I created a sitemap to help me visually organize the primary screens and subsidiary screen options.

Now that I had a clear structure, it was time to don the user's hat, come up with user scenarios and subsequent navigation channels. I created a user flow to help me think through the various ways a user may navigate from page to page in a given scenario.

I sketched rough drafts of what I wanted the app to look like.

4.Prototype & Test

I created mid fidelity prototypes for client feedback and usability testing with users. A mid fidelity prototype is essential for two reasons. Firstly, it lets the client see the barebones of the product in all clarity. Secondly, it is sufficiently complete to elicit reviews from users without getting too much into detail.

A quick usability test was carried out in-person with 5 participants to identify bottlenecks in the user experience, if any. Three major tasks were outlined for each user to perform. Patterns in pain points were noted down, insights were uncovered and recommendations were made. Observations were as follows:

Patterns Points

Insights

Recommendation

Changes were made to the design in line with recommendations.

The final version of the app after incorporating changes was created. Mockups were made to help visualize how the design would look on the product.

MOBILE APP DESIGN

A remote science lab application for high schoolers

SUMMARY

Mobile App Design

UX Designer (Research, Visual Design, Usability Testing)

1.5 months

Zoom (User Research),Adobe XD (Whiteboarding and Prototyping)

PROCESS

I used the design thinking framework to execute the project.

1. Empathise

The first step in understanding the problem was to be aware of what was in the market. I set out to study what most educational apps in the Indian market offered. Following that, I categorized their strengths and weaknesses to see what would work and what wouldn't for our app.

To group and consolidate findings under common heads, I created an affinity map.​

2.Define

I outlined the product goals after assessing user goals and business goals. User goals were finalized from the persona while business goals were framed from the project brief.

Users find virtual labs inaccurate (substance measurement) and rigid (only few possibilities are covered)

Users are troubled by long hours of screen time

Users lose interest if a classroom session is passive

Users look for practise exercises

Users approach their faculty for additional support

Users are bothered by net connectivity issues while attending remote classes

Users face several distractions onscreen

Users miss the liveliness of real classrooms

Users need a virtual lab to recreate the realism of a physical lab

Users need to take short breaks from the screen from time to time

Users need to interact with fellow students and teachers

Users need sufficient practise to cement concepts in their heads

Users need to connect with their faculty

Users need a seamless browsing experience

Users need to stay focused when they sit down to learn

Users need a stimulating learning environment

Users need a virtual lab to recreate the realism of a physical lab because users find virtual labs inaccurate and rigid.

Users need to take short breaks from the screen from time to time because users are troubled by long hours of screen time

Users need to interact with students and teachers because users lose interest if a classroom session is passive

Users need sufficient practice to cement concepts in their heads because users look for practise exercises

Users need to connect with their faculty because users approach their faculty for additional support

Users need a seamless browsing experience because users are bothered by net connectivity issues while attending remote classes

Users need to stay focused when they sit down to learn because users face several distractions onscreen

Users need a stimulating learning environment because users miss the liveliness of real classrooms

How might we ensure that users find a virtual lab as realistic as possible?

How might we ensure that users take adequate breaks from the screen?

How might we ensure that users get to interact with fellow students and teachers?

How might we ensure that users are given sufficient opportunity for cementing concepts?

How might we ensure that users can connect with their faculty for support?

How might we ensure that users have a seamless browsing experience?

How might we ensure that users stay focused while attending online classes?

How might we ensure that users stay stimulated during virtual classes?

3.Ideate

I brainstormed some solutions to the HMW questions and arrived at a collection of features for the app. As not all features aligned with business goals, some features had to be ruled out. The final list of features is given below.

With the features finalized, the next step was to lay the structure of the app. I created a sitemap to help me visually organize the primary screens and subsidiary screen options.

Now that I had a clear structure, it was time to don the user's hat, come up with user scenarios and subsequent navigation channels. I created a user flow to help me think through the various ways a user may navigate from page to page in a given scenario.

I sketched rough drafts of what I wanted the app to look like.

4.Prototype & Test

5/5 participants did not know if they were on the paid or free version of the app.

3/5 participants missed the swipe arrow (>) to reveal details of the experiment on on the training lab page.

4/5 participants clicked on 'Leaderboard' to view their performance and course progress.

​

To group and consolidate findings under common heads, I created an affinity map.