Major Match Mobile App Design
Major Match helps students navigate the vast and potentially confusing landscape of selecting the right college major and secure their professional futures.
Product Designer
UX Researcher
4 Weeks
Unmoderated User Surveys
Competitive Analysis
Personas
Wireframes
Branding & Identity
User Journey
Remotely Moderated User Testing
High Fidelity Prototype
Challenge
How might we assist students in selecting a college major that is right for them?
How might we encourage students to make informed decisions an explore different major that they may not be aware of?
Solution
An app designed with a clutter-free interface, making it easier for users to access all the necessary and relevant information about college majors at any given time.
Additionally I have added a feature for personalized recommendation because we expect to build credibility and increase the user engagement.
User Persona
John | Age: 18 | Freshman at Columbia University
Research Methods
Unmoderated Surveys
Affinity Mapping
Competition's Heuristic Analysis
Virtually Moderated Usability Tests
Design Process
Research & Analysis
To understand the pain points and user needs, I conducted user interviews and surveys with a diverse group of students who were undecided about their majors. I also performed a competitive analysis and heuristic evaluation of similar apps to gather insights on industry trends.
Information Architecture
Based on the research findings, I structured the app's navigation and content in a way that is easy to use and navigate. I prioritized features and information according to user needs, such as the ability to browse majors by category, read detailed descriptions of majors, and compare different majors side-by-side.
Wireframing
To visualize the new layout and navigation, I created low-fidelity wireframes. I iteratively refined the wireframes based on user feedback to ensure that the app was intuitive and easy to use.
Usability Testing
To validate the design and identify areas for improvement, I conducted usability tests with a diverse group of students. I used the wireframes to conduct the usability tests.
Style Guide
I developed a cohesive visual language for the app, including color schemes, typography, and iconography. I created a style guide to maintain design consistency in future updates.
Prototyping
I developed a low-fidelity prototype using Figma. Once I was satisfied with the low-fidelity prototype, I converted it into a high-fidelity prototype.
Final Usability Test
I interviewed 5 users with diverse backgrounds to understand pain points in the product and gather key feature enhancements that can be added to the app.
Unmoderated Surveys - Results
Most survey respondents mentioned the following as the most unpleasant things about researching college majors:
Limited Information on certain platforms.
Information Overload on other platforms.
External Pressues from peers to research about majors that pay well.
Fear of making the wrong decision.
Uncertain job prospects.
Research Synthesis - Affinity Mapping
Competitive Analysis
Guerilla Usability Tests - 5 Users
Personalization is key
Participants appreciated the app's personalized major recommendations tailored to their interests an strengths.
Clear Navigation
Participants liked easy and intuitive navigation of essential features such as "Suggested Majors", "Search" and "Bookmarking".
Information Accuracy
Ensuring accurate and consistent information about college majors and career prospects is crucial for building trust with other.
Balance of Information
Majoring of the users complained about too little information.
Factors considered during Major Selection
Common Problems Discovered during User Research
Lack of specialized resources
Several users mentioned that they use Google as their primary research tool.
Standard results from research
Users relied on aptitude tests provided in school. It only provides generic results of job roles that a user could excel in.
Blind faith in recommendations from peers
Many rely on choices that are made for them by their parents or cousins.
Career coaches were not accessible / helpful
Sometimes a career coach would only help with filling out college applications and you would have limited time with them.
Major Match App Sitemap
Sketches
Guerilla User Testing Insights
Users were left wanting more after the completion of their major research.
The users end goal was to be informed about the college major and proceed with their college applications.
Users did not start researching college majors until college application deadline was near.
Wireframes
Iterations of the App Design
High Fidelity Screens
4/5
Users would use the app for Major Research
90%
Decrease in time spent online researching majors.
Conclusion
After several iterations of the design I was able to successfully address the usability issues, resulting in an intuitive and user-friendly app experience. The app is able to provide the users with ample information about each major and has a few key features which allows the user to easily refer back to the majors when needed. Below is a list of features that would enhance the apps usability.
Features that should be added to go beyond Minimum Viable Product:
Section which recommends colleges based on the major selected.
College Application Guidelines Page
College Application Deadlines
Book Introduction calls with Recent college grads.