Capstone Progress

User Testing the LISTA App

Conducting one-on-one user testing on the app’s initial design

As I have made significant progress on developing the LISTA app, it was time to test that progress with the real world through user testing. As part of my Capstone, students are required to user test their projects with the real world. User testing is an essential part of the research behind the LISTA app design because it will help confirm, reject, and bring out questions I may have on its design. I tried to conduct one-on-one interviews with as many people as possible who were close to my researched market group. I will not disclose their names for privacy reasons, but it consisted of three people: a financial aid counselor, a senior college student, and a professional product designer. Each one brought a very unique perspective to the table.

To learn more about Capstone, check out my post What is Capstone?

The Users in the Individual User Testing Interviews

Specific Findings from the User Testings

Design/Development Assumptions that were confirmed

• Users would “very likely” use the app to connect with a LISTA counselor to help them through their college application process.
• The drop-down bars revealing their agenda for each category helped them understand what they had to complete in their applications.

Assumptions that were countered or that I thought would work

• There were specific onboarding screens whose tone of voice could be toned down a little, with fewer exclamation points at the end of the sentences. Example: “Read Up on the Latest News!”
• Progress bars successfully let users know how far they are in their applications, but my bar designs were not initially clear that they revealed more until the users played around the screen.

• The News Section is the first screen users are taken to after the onboarding, but users were not too interested in that screen compared to the others.

Areas that posed difficulties for the users

• The “View More” in the News Section lead a user to the question of “What else is there?”

• Users were a bit confused about what the different colored progress bars meant.
• The Connect page was a mixed debate. One user expected to immediately connect with a LISTA counselor, while another tester said that some users may not be ready yet to dive into a conversation.

Elements that Worked Well

• In the LISTA chat, regardless of what to expect when clicking the Connect section, users were satisfied to have the option to chat one-on-one with an actual counselor.
• There were positive reviews on how the To-Do section has different categories to sort out the progress bars.

Broad Insights

• Two out of the 3 user testers were not aware of the Common App, the website that would hypothetically be partnered with the LISTA app. While having an account with the Common App is not required to use the app, having one would help do a lot of the heavy lifting for users.
• Creating a user test script can be a long process because you are researching what else can be done to improve the user experience.
• User testing has helped me feel more confident in what’s working and where to improve the app.

Re-design

From the user test results, I will be adding, removing, and redesigning a couple of elements:

• Add some animation feature to the progress bar that helps users instinctively know to click on them to reveal their agenda.
• Remove a couple of unnecessary information questions from the sign-up screen for privacy reasons.
• Rearrange what the first screen is after the onboarding, probably the Connect or FinAid screen
• One user recommended a walkthrough screen that informs users understand what each section features.
• Enlarge text size

I can’t wait to start incorporating the user testing results to improve the LISTA app.

Wish me luck!