R.I.T myCourses redesign
Sudarshan Ashok / Fall 2015
How can we improve RIT’s MyCourses website?
By helping students academically succeed by enhancing access to everyday
crucial course information & by creating a better online environment for out of
classroom interaction
Current usability issues
1
This section displays less relavant
troubleshooting information which
is not something a student would
access daily
2
This section has poorly organized
information as a result of which
the user has to put in more effort
to get to their desired course
3
Presents too much past course
information to the user thereby
taking attention away from
current courses
4
Large areas in key spots hold-ing irrelevant information thereby
taking the focus away from key
features like the calendar / events
2
1
3
4
Who uses myCourses?
Mycourses is used by a wide group including students, faculty and staff.
However, the largest usergroup consists of students. To understand and
cater to their needs better, a group of students were surveyed about the
usability of the current website. Students were asked about usage
patterns, prevalent issues and suggestions
User Research
96% visited myCourses website daily
83% spend a minimum of five minutes on the website
68% usually find the information they are looking for
93% found the notifications feature to be most useful
62% found the current design to be cluttered & unresponsive
on mobile devices
User personas
These user personas help us understand students of different requirements & levels of familiarity with the myCourses website
Shufeng
Rachel
1st year intl student
2nd year Engg student
- New to the American college system
- Familiar with most myCourses features
- Motivated to settle in & get a good GPA
- Motivated to keep up her good GPA
and have a good social life
- Slightly anxious about using RIT sites like
SIS, eServices and myCourses
- Tech savvy who owns multiple gadgets
including a laptop, tablet and smart phone
- Frequents social media sites like Facebook,
Twitter, Whatsapp & Baidu
finishing up my thesis
#wheresmydiplomaat
online discussions
make me #facepalm
myCourses seems
#2overwhelming4me
- Frequents myCourses to refer to class
presentations & content
- Active on Facebook, Twitter but tries to
limit her internet time
Gary
Final year MBA student
- Completed his B.A (Economics)
at R.I.T
- Very familiar with features & glitches
but visits only when required
- Limited internet usage due to final
thesis work & job search
- Spends free time running & gaming
- Slightly annoyed that UI of myCourses
- Makes optimal use of his time on
affects her productivity & class participation
myCourses
Goals
1. An organized home page
- A page that displays the most important & relevant course info
2. Frequent updates on course content & deadlines
- Notifications when new course content, dropboxes, discussions are created
to make students feel secure about their progress
3. Better out of classroom communication
- Live chat, better discussion features that help resolve real time issues and enhance
peer, professor communication
4. Smoother accessibility across all platforms
- Better interface design to make myCourses accessible through different devices such
as laptops, tablets & smart phones
Usecase
It is week 3, Shufeng is trying to contact his Motion Graphics professor
to know about his research project’s requirements. However, he is unsure
what the quickest way would be.
1. He logs into Mycourses
2. Notices a new item in the updates feed relating
to the class
3. Selects quick chat feature in the updates feed section
4. Successfully sends a message to the professor
Userflow
Wireframes
Wireframes
Visual Direction
Innovative, Modern, Friendly, Minimal
Initial Design Direction
The initial design direction focussed on ease of use &
bringing out the spirit of the RIT community. Lack of
consistent visual heirarchy was seen as an issue
Final Design Direction
1
1
This section displays quick access to
the most important utlities such as
courses, chat, notifications & access
to google drive
2
This section provides students with
updates about latest course activity
while also serving as point of quick
communication with the instructor
3
Provides students with quick access
to course & user added links
4
This area updates with weekly course
content and submissions thereby
providing instant access to the
most relevant information
2
3
4
Compose new message
Message Sent
Grades
The final design successfully addresses key usability issues
thereby giving students instant access to everyday crucial course
information on the homepage & the visual direction also highlights
RIT as one of the leading innovative tech institutes of the country
Invision link: https://invis.io/8K5DOROG9