STUDY SPACE - a UX focused project
We live in a time where agile work environments, get more and more attention and is being used in a lot of companies and school. Group work is therefore a big thing in people’s lives.
In collaboration with the Aarhus based company Lix, this project focused on the user group students. To hit a lang range of students, the team sought out to a lot of different educations. This was to find patterns trough out the different educations, so the team could build a value-creating concept. In this project group work, on higher educations, became the focuspoint.
Methods used:
Mental Models
Honeycomb Model
UX Patterns
User testing
Log-in
When the software opens, the user meets a log-in page, where the user is introduced to the platform. In the sign-in proces, the user is choosing important information as education and more. With that, their email, name etc. and a competence profile. This is so the classmates can find group members trough competences and ambitions, as we learn from user insights.
Competence profile
When groups are formed, the students have two options. They can search directly on their peers names or competence profiles, that they match with. This is to form groups that will work great together, and expectations alignment are made.
Group contract
In this step, the groups are encouraged to make a group contract. Here they can choose from a pre-made contract or to form their own from templates. This is to insure expectations alignment and to prevent potential conflicts.
Dashboard
On the dashboard, the user have acces to add different tools for the group work. This is done by pressing the cross.
On the right side, the projects are grouped and here the user can quickly see key points for deadlines, tasks, task in progress and completed tasks. At the bottom is the chat window where the user can chat with his group or a single classmate. In addition to this, the bar at the bottom is made so that the user can quickly find his classmates or see their profile. In the top left corner there is the opportunity for live chat with the group in the form of video or audio.
Tools
The platform has a number of features that should solve the user’s needs and problems. These features are based on the Mental Model that was developed in the initial phase of the project. Among other:
Document – The first feature the user can select is a blank document. Here all members can write their report together and share thoughts and ideas.
Shared calendar – Here the group can share their calendars so that students can plan meetings more quickly and easily based on private chores.
Task board – The task board is made to create an overview of tasks the group must accomplish. Here the group can keep an eye on new, ongoing and finished tasks.
Deadline calendar – This calendar aims to keep track of important deadlines such as mid-term seminars, meetings with the supervisor, submission, etc.
Shared document
The first feature the user can select is a blank document. Here all members can write their report together and share thoughts and ideas.
Group dynamics
Group dynamics is a tool for maintaining good group dynamics. This tool keeps an eye on the group, with daily small questions group members must answer and thereby facilitate daily stand-ups, with topics, based on the members’ answers. These standups will be optional and the group can adjust the frequency of the meetings themselves.
Celebrations
An important recurring element in the user survey was that the students wanted to celebrate the small victories. Therefore, an element has been made in this project, where there are small celebrations on an ongoing basis – whether it is that the students have reached a deadline, handed in or something completely third. The small celebrations show that there is progress in the group work, and this should serve as a motivation to continue. With further development of the platform, the possibility will be implemented for the groups to create the celebrations themselves. This creates the opportunity for team members to create them for each other, by doing a good job or simply as a little reminder to continue the good work.
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