The problem:
Being a freshman can be both exhilarating and challenging at the same time. Imagine you've just arrived at the bustling Technical University of Kenya in Nairobi. Everything is new and exciting, but also a little overwhelming. Finding your classes, paying fees, and keeping track of events can be confusing.
That's where our story begins! Having gone through the same challenges, me and three of my classmates decided to tackle this challenge. We saw how new students were struggling to find information. They were lost, and frustrated, and it wasn't a great way to start their university journey.
Research and discovery:
To understand the problem better, we ran interviews where we talked to a bunch of the senior students. They told us all about the struggles they faced as freshmen – lost in the maze of buildings, missing important events, and bombarded with information overload.
The Technical University of Kenya also wanted to help because they knew that new students needed a better way to get settled in. So, we all joined forces!
A snippet of some of the questions asked during a brainstorming session
Define:
Based on the information gathered from the Dean of Students office, 96% of the students had smartphones and laptops and access to the internet, so why not create a website or an application specifically for new students?
After analyzing all the research findings, we opted to develop a mobile application. The decision was based on the portability of smartphones compared to laptops. The proposed app would be your one-stop shop for everything you need as a freshman. It would show you where your classes are, remind you about exams, and even keep you updated on all the cool campus events. It would even have a handy checklist to make sure you're on top of everything, from fees to orientation tasks.
This app would be a game-changer for new students, making their first year smooth sailing. No more getting lost, no more missing deadlines, just a stress-free start to an amazing university experience.
The team was all hands on deck! We spent a lot of time brainstorming all the features this app could have. We wanted it to be the ultimate survival guide for new students. But with so many ideas, we had to figure out which ones were most important.
Develop:
Leading the design team, I helped organize all these ideas into a clear plan. I came up with the site map, highlighting the features that would be developed as MVP 1 and showing how everything would be connected. I also started sketching out some rough screens to get a feel for how the app would look and work.
Collaborating with the research team, we kept going back to the students throughout the process to make sure everything we were building fit their needs. They helped us fine-tune the app based on what would make their lives easier as freshmen.
Delivery and Testing:
Finally, it was time to put our creation to the test! We gathered a small group of students and teachers to try out the app. We wanted to see if it was truly user-friendly and easy to navigate.
The good news? They loved it! They said it was easy to find their way around, the menus made sense, and the instructions were clear. It felt like a big win! But even though they liked it a lot, they also gave us some suggestions for improvement. For example, they found certain parts of the navigation a little confusing, and a few of the terms we used were unclear. Additionally, we had placed ''Chat with us'' and ''FAQs'' features in separate locations. To enhance accessibility, they proposed to put them under a ''Support'' category. We took all this feedback on board, knowing it would make the app even better.
Lessons Learned:
Our teamwork paid off! Working together with the other students, the university staff, and even some professors, we learned a lot. Some of the things we learned included:
Collaboration and Communication:
It was all about making sure everyone was on the same page. We had to talk openly and clearly so our ideas all fit together and achieved the goal of helping our users. I helped make sure everyone felt heard and understood, which kept the project moving smoothly.
Time and Resource Management:
This project wasn't just about the app itself, it was also about learning how to manage everything that goes into making it happen. We had to be smart about how we used our time, the budget we had (if any!), and of course, all the amazing skills everyone brought to the table. As the team leader, I helped the team figure out what was most important to focus on first and how to get the most out of our resources.
In Conclusion:
Seeing how much everyone loved the app after we fixed those little navigation issues made us realize something important. It wasn't just one person's idea that made this project work. It was the teamwork, the clear communication, and everyone using their creativity that made this app a success story. This whole experience showed us just how powerful a well-designed app, built with the user in mind, can be for making a student's first year at the Technical University of Kenya amazing!