WATERLOO'S NEXT TOP DON

Original Timeline: January 2018 - March 2018
My Role: User Researcher, and UX/UI Designer
Tools: Sketch, InDesign

THE PROBLEM 

To create a supportive student community you must have passionate student leaders (Dons) who will help to positively shape the experiences of first-year students within residences. Becoming a Don comes with many perks, such as free accommodations, food and special access to school services. As a result many people become Dons for the wrong reasons which negatively impacts the experiences of students. The following are testimony’s from two students at the University of Waterloo.

It is the Don’s responsibility to create an inviting and open environment for their students. If a Don is not held accountable and does not actively work towards doing this, their respective students may experience difficulty transitioning into student-living.

THE SOLUTION

Waterloo’s Next Top Don is a loyalty rewards program that uses the Five Ways to Wellbeing to encourage students and Dons to get involved and make the most of their experiences. The loyalty program uses gamification to reward students with points based on their participation in activities correlating to the Five Ways to Wellbeing.

Students living on the same floor will work together to earn points and cash in their points for a team prize! This system encourages team building and creates an environment where students can work towards something they can share with one another. Dons will also be able to monitor their students to ensure that they are participating in at least one of the five categories, and take action to make sure all their students feel welcomed. Likewise residence coordinators can also monitor the Dons to ensure that they are doing the best that they can!

Personas

The following three persona’s reflect the desires, needs and obstacles of users involved in student-resident communities. Priyanka is a freshman student looking to cultivate new friendships by going to events within her residence hall. Gregory is in his final year of school and is focused on studying and finding a job. He becomes a Don to reduce his living expenses but does not prioritize making time for his students. Paul is a resident coordinator whose job is to create a positive experience for incoming students. He can only do this with the collaboration of passionate Dons.

User Testing

I conducted three informal interviews with students who have previously lived at a University residence. From these interviews I wanted to gather insight about the point-prize system. Do students know how to add points? Does the point system make sense? Are there any problems in the experience that stop them from completing their desired task?

The following are sample comments from the participants:

• Meaning of the number within the ring is unclear. Users would rather know how many points they have in total rather than how many points they have towards a prize.

• Onboarding terminology should be changed to give better direction and guidance.

• Icon misrepresentation - "Point History" icon looks more like a favourites icon.

• When adding a point the app should be able to decipher what category the QR code belongs too, rather than the user

Final mockup

Retrospective

Making Assumptions:
My research was limited to students and Dons at the University of Waterloo which meant I had to make many design decisions based off of assumptions. If I had the opportunity, I would want to expand my research by interviewing residence coordinators and administrators. Because my research lacks insight from these users, I question if the proposed solution could be implemented and integrated into the current system.

Designing for All Users:
The current version of the final prototype only includes screens that are student facing. If I had more time, I would have liked to explore what information is visible to the Dons and how Dons would monitor the wellbeing of their respective students.