The Pls&Thx App
The Pls&Thx App
Type: UX/UI Design, Design Thinking
Type: UX/UI Design, Design Thinking
Team mates: Genice Chandra, Anushka Todi, Anita Zeng
Team mates: Genice Chandra, Anushka Todi, Anita Zeng
Role: Research, Design Thinking, Illustrations, UI Design, Prototyping, Typesetting
Role: Research, Design Thinking, User testing, Illustrations, UI Design, Prototyping, Typesetting
Timeframe: Oct 2018-Dec 2018
Timeframe: Sept 2018-Dec 2018
Tools Used: Figma, Illustrator, InDesign Design Thinking Research Methods
Tools Used: Figma, Illustrator, Research Methods, InDesign
How might we encourage students to help each other in a way where they all benefit from it?
The Pls&Thx App: bringing students together in times of need.
University life is difficult. Students have multiple priorities, have personal lives to deal with, and are usually low on cash. With many things on our to-do lists, most of us can go further without having to do the little things, like waiting in line at the bookstore or having to do a massive project all by ourselves.
University life is difficult. Students have multiple priorities, have personal lives to deal with, and are usually low on cash. With many things on our to-do lists, most of us can go further without having to do the little things, like waiting in line at the bookstore or having to do a massive project all by ourselves. Thus, between four curious and talented design students, a how-might-we question was born.
The Pls&Thx App is an app designed for students on college and university grounds who need help getting certain things done. The app will allow students to hire other students to run some errands for a small fee of their choice.
How It Works
Students can choose to become Requesters and/or Runners. As Requesters, students send out missions that need to be accomplished to a pool of the nearest and most appropriate Runners. The Runner then decides whether they want to complete a mission or not. Runners are students who are paid to fulfill those tasks. Missions include delivering food, waiting in line, printing documents, purchasing items from the bookstore and completing other simple jobs around campus.
Doing the Research
Prior to making any significant decisions for the app itself, it was important to determine who this app is for and what the requirements are in order to meet the needs of our intended audience. To do this, the group defined different scenarios in which a person may need help getting something done. Afterwards, we went through a PACT analysis, which later helped us determine our app's requirements through the MoSCoW method. Most of this was written work, and you can look at it the refined version of it all here.
Some Preliminary App Requirements
Two separate social spheres: one for users who want to help, and another for users to need the help. We decided to name them Runners and Requesters.
Safety Measures: Our app is likely to cause concerns about trust between users. Users should have the option to report a session if something wrong happens.
Language: Our user group consists of post-secondary students. The language the app uses should be friendly, to reflect the user group itself.
Method of payment: some of the tasks users need to accomplish may require payment elsewhere, like buying food. Runners should also be compensated for their hardwork.
User Testing
After creating a prototype, it was important to test it to make sure the app was intuitive. We tested Pls&Thx on five university students, using a few different methods. Each member was responsible for deciding on a testing method. The four methods used were: roleplaying, quick and dirty, A/B testing, and semantic differential ratings. Testing our prototype helped us discover a few key issues:
- The definition between Runner's and Receivers is unclear within the app.
- The navigation within the prototype is not user-friendly.
- The app needs onboarding screens so the users know what to expect.
- Some screens had too much information. Less miscellaneous information on the screen equates to more clarification.
The App's Style Guide
The stylistic decisions made for the Pls&Thx App are documented in the app's Style Guide. This document outlines the entire branding system for the app, right down to the different typefaces. The style guide is intended to be used by designers new to the app's system, if they need to make changes to it's current state. Take a look at the guide here!
What Users Experience
1. Category-Specific Onboarding
1. Category-Specific Onboarding
Making sure Users know what to do, with just a few screens.
Making sure Users know what to do, with just a few screens.
Onboarding eliminates any chances of confusion by thoroughly going through the steps of each part of the app.
Onboarding eliminates any chances of confusion by thoroughly going through the steps of each part of the app.
2. Distinction between Runners and Receivers
Choosing between needing help and being of help.
Colour distinctions between Runners and Receivers makes knowing who's who much easier. Yellow is for Runners, and blue is for Receivers.
3. Mission Tracking
Being in the know, with a simple and accessible tracking bar.
After sending out a mission as a runner, or accepting a mission as a receiver, users can track the progress of their mission with a tracking bar, found in the main navigation.
4. User-defined Pricing
A pay-what-you-can service.
A pay-what-you-can service.
Lightweight services shouldn't have bulky price tags. With user-defined pricing, students can control how much they spend on their missions, and they can make a little extra cash doing something helpful.