01 / Background

Khoury Kalendar is an app designed to help computer science students find and access office hours for their classes. With multiple websites, times, locations, and TAs, it can be challenging for students to keep track of all this information and find the help they need. The app aims to simplify this process by providing a single, user-friendly experience. Students can view wait times, assigned TAs, and even add their name to the help queue for all their computer science classes.I was appointed lead designer on this project and given 3 months to build the experience.

02 / User Research

To understand the needs and pain points of computer science students, we conducted user research through surveys and interviews. We found that the main issue for students was the lack of a central place to find information about office hours. 60% of students reported having to spend an excess of time searching through each class’s website and syllabus to find the relevant office hours information. Additionally, students often complained that the available office hours didn't align with the actual scheduled times, making it difficult for them to get the help they needed at the times they needed it.

03 / Design Process

Building the Lo Fis

Based on this user research, we designed Khoury Kalendar to be a simple, easy-to-use app that would provide all of the relevant information in one place. We started by creating low-fidelity screens to outline the main features of the app. These included a calendar view that would show all of the available office hours, a queue feature that would allow students to add their name to the waitlist, and a notification system to alert students when it was their turn to receive help.

Pitching to Northeastern

Next, we created a presentation board to pitch the idea to the school. This included our research findings, the main features of the app, and a high-level overview of the design.

Creating the Final Hi Fis

We received positive feedback from this presentation. The idea resonated with the school, but they had two concerns. First, they wanted the app's branding to align better with Northeastern Khoury's brand identity. Second, they wanted us to look into a web experience for the project. We decided to focus on a mobile app experience first and consider a web version in later months, given the scope and timeline.

Finally, we created hi-fidelity mockups and a clickable prototype to demonstrate how the app would work in practice. This allowed us to test the design with users and gather feedback to make any necessary improvements.

The layout of the screens can also be viewed below.

Prototype

Open in new tab

04 / Conclusion

Khoury Kalendar streamlines the office hours process for computer science students, providing all relevant information in one place. User research and design ensured the app met user needs and provided an intuitive experience.

The team conducted a flash poll, and the results were super impressive - over 92% of students who tried out the Khoury Kalendar app had a positive experience. This showed us that the app is really hitting the mark in terms of improving the office hours experience for computer science students. Our test users were excited about the ability to take control of their office hours experience and manage it all from their phone. However, they also mentioned that they'd love to see a web version, since not everyone wants to download yet another app on their phone.

Currently, the team is still working on improving and developing the app, and we can't wait to see how it helps students get the help they need at office hours. Stay tuned for the official launch!