StudyBuddy
In my Spring 2019 semester at USC, I took a Design for User Experience course taught by one of the founders of the leading design agency R/GA. As a class, we brainstormed various app ideas, and mine was selected as one of the top 5 ideas to pursue building with a team over the course of a semester.
Our product team created StudyBuddy, born out of a need to find a simple way to receive effective peer support and collaborative studying experiences for academic success. We worked through problem identification, conducted user research that informed product features, conducted usability testing, and designed and prototyped a minimum viable product (MVP). My design work laid the primary foundation for the visual language and user flow of the product.
Work Focus
Product Strategy, Product Design,
User Research
Role
Product Manager, Product Designer
Timeline
January – May 2019
Design Question
How might we facilitate a better peer support system for academic success?
Problem Space
Our team discovered that in college, even though we live an extremely communal lifestyle through shared dorms, dining halls, and classrooms, we tend to have trouble finding peers to study with in our classes, even though that's something many often need. In large college classes where you may not know most of your classmates, it's hard to tell who would be a good study partner – in terms of similar levels of material grasp and studying styles. Of course, there's also that element of awkwardness when approaching unknown classmates.
These friction points revealed that there was clearly an unfulfilled need for college students to find better ways to study with each other, and our team set out to discover how we could best facilitate and streamline that experience.
User Research
We conducted user research on our initial MVP statement to identify key issues we needed to take into account before developed a final solution. We were cautious about not writing leading interview questions that would create confirmation bias.
Interviews were conducted with undergraduate students at the University of Southern California of diverse academic and demographic background, ages 18-23.
User Interviews 1 – Align MVP Statement with Core User Needs
MVP Statement
An app to search for study group hotspots where students can turn on geolocation settings to invite others to join their study session.
Key Findings
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Users felt that there were too many assumptions on how people find others to study. They were interested in studying with others, but not like this
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Users want some predetermined structure to it that reduces the social friction when studying with strangers
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Users wanted to avoid potential freeloaders
Insight
People want better groups studying experiences but there are social and logistical barriers – our app needed to smoothly facilitate online and in-person study experiences effectively.
Revised MVP Statement
An app that streamlines the end to end collaborative studying experience for academic success.
User Interviews 2 – Solution Space. Identify Core User Stories to Develop Corresponding Features
Key Findings & Features in Response to User Needs
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“As a user, I want to be able to find other people I could study with"
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Develop search and filter features to find peers in your classes
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"As a student, I find it difficult to find mutually available times to study"
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Develop a calendar planning and scheduling system
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"As a student, I may feel uncomfortable meeting strangers"
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Make strangers feel less unapproachable with messaging capabilities and detailed profiles
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Utilize collaborative study tools such as flashcards to reduce social barriers and generate additional touchpoints for continuous user engagement
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"As a student, I want peer that I study with to be on a similar progress level in the class as me"
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Create system to send and receive peer reviews and endorsements for skills to better indicate effective study buddies
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"As a student, I may turn to alternative sources of help (professors, TAs, friends who have taken the class before)"
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Loop in instructors/student ambassadors to help facilitate students platform onboarding and positively reinforce platform value
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Prototypes
In one tap– StudyBuddy streamlines the group studying experience. From discovering people to study with, to scheduling meetings and collaborating with study tools, StudyBuddy is the foe to your classroom woes.
Search, Schedule, and Study.
Figma
Onboarding (Signup)
Receiving Study Session Invitation & Scheduling
Home Page, Search, & Filter
Sending Study Session Invitation & Scheduling
Flashcards
Group Chat Study Session Invitation & Scheduling
Reflection
Building StudyBuddy from the ground up really helped me understand human-centered design thinking by embracing users to create products that genuinely respond to their needs.
