Inside.NYU
The Problem
Help NYU welcome a new incoming class to campus! Design a solution that helps new students adjust to campus life and experience a smooth transition into college. Incoming students should be able to ask questions and current students should be able to respond with their advice.
My Role
A personal project for a mobile app design challenge.
The Solution
Get the "inside scoop".
Inside.NYU is a mobile app experience that allows current NYU students and incoming NYU students to ask and answer questions in campus life forum groups. Students can respond with live videos to create more personal responses.
Tools Used:
01-Empathize
What is the problem we are trying to solve? Why does it matter?
The New York Times Stats
1/3 of college students
drop out or transfer by the end of Freshman Year and report an unsuccessful transition to college campus life
Over 1/2
of NYU students expressed interest in receiving information about how to help others in distress
"There is a positive association between relationship quality and adjustment among first-year college students who are in their emerging adulthood years."
"Students who are strongly socially connected and socially engaged are more likely to remain in school and report satisfaction with their university."
New York University Statistics
Research Guide
User Personas
Current Student
Incoming Student
Journey Maps
02-Define
The Problem
Adjusting to NYU campus life is hard!
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new surroundings (New York City!)
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limited support
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feeling lonely, stressed, & anxious
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isolated from community
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being unaware of campus resources
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increased personal freedom & responsibility
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lots & lots of questions!
Areas of Opportunity
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current students = the best resource for getting advice and asking questions
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create opportunities for "face-to-face" interactions between students
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how can incoming NYU students create connections with current NYU students?
How Might We?
How might we create an experience that allows incoming NYU students to feel informed and connected to current NYU students as they adjust to NYU campus life?
03-Ideate
Reframe & Develop
What are potential ways of solving the problem?
Insights
The "AH-HA" moments
"Without my connections to upperclassmen, I would have transferred schools or taken a gap year. I wish we had more opportunities to meet older students. "
-Sophia F. (Current Student)
Value honest answers and advice
Current students didn't receive the advice and support they needed
Prefer student-regulated rather than staff-regulated advice & information
Interactions with the NYU administration have been poor
Building connections is essential when asking for advice
Clubs are the most important part of campus life
Ideate
Brainstorm potential solutions
04-Prototype
User Scenario Flow Charts
Low Fidelity Prototype
05-Test
User Testing Sessions
User Testing Session Critiques
1. How would you describe this product using your own words?
2. What was the most intuitive part of this app? What was the least?
3. What features do you find most valuable and why?
4. What is the first thing you see yourself doing with this app?
5. What features would make this app more useful and why?
6. How would you describe your overall experience with this product?
Feedback & New Insights
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Have the option to submit a response through text (for those who don't want to film themselves)
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Loved the different forums!
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New feature request: ensure a way to get timely responses
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Being able to accept and deny a video response is a great feature
Have the option to submit a response through text (for those who don't want to film themselves)
06-Deliver
Results & Solution Benefits:
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A sense of community: current students and new students can create a community at a school known to have "no campus"
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An engaged audience: Face-to-face, vlog-style video responses are engaging
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NYU resources put to use: students will become informed about all the support services and resources NYU has to offer
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Seamless transition to college: new students will feel supported and feel safe in their transition to college at NYU
Success Metrics:
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Has there been an impact?
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Number of questions posted by incoming students
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Number of questions answered by current students
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Ratio of questions asked to questions answered
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Number of connections made
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Long Term --> How well do new students transition to campus life?
What I Would Do With More Time:
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Ensure product is accessible & usable to all (students with visual, auditory, speech, or cognitive disabilities)
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Design for communication and language barriers
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Consider VR/AR capabilities to have incoming students immersed in their new campus
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Run multiple rounds of user-testing sessions with different groups of students
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Refine, Iterate, Refine, Iterate...