CoursesAround
Comparing and selecting the most appropriate MOOC
Insert Your Design Here
Macbook Air
A course directory to compare MOOC courses and choose the right fit for you based on your interests and expertise.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Design and Web Design
Duration
Aug 2023 - Nov 2023
Tools
TEAM
Naishi Shah (designers)
+ 5 software engineers
Introduction
What are we trying to solve?
Ample MOOCs are available for each field on different platforms and users often get confused and can not choose the best one according to their interests, price and time duration. It is tedious to manually compare courses on multiple MOOC platforms. Sometimes users compare the courses on different sites but cannot decide which one is best for them according to their level of expertise in the subject. The users also might need some guidance on how to proceed further.
How might we design a user-friendly website and dashboard for MakerGhat, effectively showcasing their impactful work?
Our Solution
Roadmap
research
Competitive Analysis
There are multiple MOOC providers but there aren't many platforms that provide such comparisons and help users choose the best course for them. The existing websites allow the user to search for courses but don't help them decide which one to enrol for. They provide no way to compare courses or choose one based on their level of expertise.
Competitive Analysis
The apps available in the market are either to maintain mental health or to manage menstrual health. Since there is a gap in mental health-specific technologies that serve a wide demographic of menstrual tracking users, we have chosen to focus our efforts on building a solution targeted towards women with PCOS.
Surveys and Interviews
In order to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, we conducted a survey with 24 participants.
To understand user's pain points and frustrations with the existing apps, issues related to PCOS and mental health, we conducted semi-structured interviews with an OB-GYN with 30+ years of experience and 5 patients.
challenge #1
Should we have separate pages for each section or a single page with navigation support?
no
Pros
Cons
Separate Pages
easier to organize information hierarchically
easier to index, potentially boosting SEO rankings
provide a scalable structure as the organization grows
consistent design across different pages is more challenging
longer loading times when navigating between pages
users may need to click through multiple pages to find the desired information
Single Page
straightforward and streamlined user experience
cohesive visual identity and user interface
ideal for a continuous and engaging story
information-rich content may be challenging to organize, potentially overwhelming users
search engines may find it harder to index content
layout may become less practical, affecting scalabilty as content grows
Single-Page Website with Navigation Support was a more suitable choice.
By leveraging a single-page website with well-implemented navigation support, MakerGhat can effectively showcase its projects, maintain a consistent visual theme, and offer an immersive user experience that aligns with its mission and values.
Ideation & deisgn
Design Principles
Visibility
Visibility is the basic principle that the more visible an element is, the more likely users will know about them and how to use them. Prioritize what interface elements are by far the most important for the user experience and prioritize their visibility.
User control and Freedom
Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process. Making it easy to back out of a process or undo an action fosters a sense of freedom and confidence. Exits allow users to remain in control of the system and avoid getting stuck and feeling frustrated.
Features that solve user problems
Feature 1
Take a quiz and get course
recommendations
Users can get course recommendations based on a skill test. A course listing that matches the user’s interests and skill level is displayed to the user. This feature helps users choose a course that matches their requirements.
Feature 2
Compare courses side-by-side
This feature allows users to compare 2 or more courses based on their different attributes and then choose the one that fits their needs best.
Feature 3
Filter and sort course listing
Users can sort and filter the course listing according to their needs or priorities. The system will display a revised course list with matching courses from across all the platforms that offer a course in the specified subject.
UI Design
Login and Signup
Landing Page
Home Page
Course details
Compare courses
Compare courses
reflection
Learnings
1. Lack of user research costs a lot in the long run
Skipping user research costs the project heavily in the long run. Due to the limitations of time and resources during the semester, user research could not be conducted and design opportunities had to be drawn from competitive analysis and user task flow alone. Since user research and usability testing were out of the scope of the course, they were not conducted. From the informal usability testing I conducted with users, I found that the project lacked in details that could've been captured if user research had been conducted.
2. Building a design guide
Building a design guide makes the UI design process drastically easier and faster. Having elements and components designed and at my disposal whenever I needee them was a great improvement from my previous design projects.