I'm a
Designer
EchoSpace
EchoSpace is more than just a (project management tool) for uni students.
It represents resonance, inclusivity, and influence in team collaboration. Our product allows your team to integrate into this vibrant and creative new era, collectively creating a more brilliant learning experience.
Overview
Exisiting office software does not efficiently meet the needs of uni students for planning, managing and completing projects. We wanted to enhance project productivity with the integration of artificial intelligence, assisting students in making decisions about their study habits, time management and task prioritisation.
Here're the three key selling points of EchoSpace:
Project planning
Guide students in project preparation by breaking down projects into smaller segments manageable within a reasonable timeframe
Customisation
Allowed to modified their board template by choosing widgets from the panel based on their needs.
Task tracking
When problems arise (e.g., deadline clash and heavy workload from other unit),
EchoBot will automatically address the problem and provide alternative plan.
My roles
UI/UX Designer (group)
Design tools
Figma
Duration
August 2023 - November 2023
Problem
statement
University students often struggle with emerging office softwares for project management due to complex interfaces, software compatibility issues, and task tracking difficulties. They need a comprehensive solution to assist in project planning and task prioritisation.
Before moving into the final design, we wanted to understand how people felt about using exisiting office software. We conducted a few research methods (surveys, interviews, competitor analysis and SWOT analysis) to better understand the exact user needs across different age group.
Key
findings
In order to understand exact needs, we conducted four research methods with different age groups
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18-25 years like uni students use office software frequently for studying and working purpose.
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Commonly engage in document editing, with a focus on real-time collaboration and multi editing. Cloud sharing and data analysis are considered crucial.
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The needs for clearer user navigation and easy access for information sharing within the team and more flexible subscription options.
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Desire for user-friendly and modern UI design. Users seeking the features of personalisation in customisable interfaces and personalised settings.
from (Surveys)
from (Interviews)
in terms of (interfaces)​
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Unappealing and complex interfaces, particularly when inviting multiple individuals, the intricacy will have the potential to destroy user experience.
in terms of (features)​
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Seek more interactive features in team communication tools for instant feedback, note lag issues with large data sets, desire AI integration for enhanced functionality,
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Challenges with document hyperlinking, desiring smoother linking methods.
from (Competitor analysis)
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Google Workplace dominates the project collaboration industry with a 67.11% market share,
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Followed by Microsoft at 11.78% and Slack at 8.77%.
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Atlassian's team collaboration software holds a 4% market share.
from (SWOT analysis)
(Strengths)​
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Comprehensive task tracking solutions, schedule arrangement and interface that is easy to understand.
(Weaknesses)​
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Incompatibility with uni tasks, difficulty in lacklustre design system, limited customisability, and a demand learning curve in interface and interaction.
(Opportunities)​
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Enhancing workflow capabilities and team collaboration, customisation and incorporating artificial intelligence.
(Threats)​
-
Alternative product occurs
How might we help university students to (plan), (manage), and (organise) their assignments, overcoming issues like complex interfaces, software compatibility, and task tracking ?
Persona
According to our findings, we created a persona that specifically focus on university student.
Mary Jane
22 years old
An uni Student in Sydney
"...the process of establishing workflows in Jira can be overly complex, potentially requiring time and effort to create workflows that suit teams."
She frequently uses office software for teamwork collaboration.
Pains
-
The cost of the software is too high for students.
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The compatibility of the software across various platforms.
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it's hard to organise and manage timing for each of the assignments.
Goals
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To easily access the management tools
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Check their projects in daily basis, ensuring all assignment are well-settled and run smoothly.
Motivations
The product are straightforward and attractive, the workspace allows personalised functions. A clear and user-friendly guidance can be found for project planning, task management, and prioritisation.
Journey
map
Here is an experience map when user navigate the product.
Information
architecture
Here is the structure of our product to help users find information and complete tasks.
Design
system
Here is the design guideline of our product EchoSpace
Colour palette
#0052CC
R0 G82 B204
C100 M60 Y0 K20
#FF7A01
R255 G122 B1
C0 M52 Y100 K0
#FFBC00
R255 G188 B0
C0 M26 Y100 K0
#FFB0BB
R255 G176 B187
C0 M31 Y27 K0
#A888F9
R168 G136 B249
C35 M48 Y3 K2
Typography
.png)
Shapes
Final
prototype
Here is the final design come along with user navigation for each task.
1. Project planner
Assist students in preparing for projects and help breaks down projects into manageable parts for timely manner.
1.1 Starting page
Including all course folders
1.2 Create planner via EchoBot
User need EchoBot to help plan upcoming assignments
1.3 Create planner via EchoBot
by entering project info and uploading assignment file, EchoBot can
help you break down the assignment into small tasks. In addition, user can also ask bot to send invitation to other group members
1.4 Loading page
This is where building trust and loyalty to our
product: user will need to wait for EchoBot to generate a detailed plan
1.5 Course board is created!
It contains 6 parts (course challenges, outcomes
& projects etc.) However, user have the options to modify the template by clicking the edit button
2. Customisation
This is the customisation page where showcases how does users customise their workplace with dashboard and task modifications.
2.1 Widget editing page
Users has the ability to modify, reorganise, and adjust the size of widgets from the panel in order to prioritise essential elements.
2.2 Content editing page
Here is the page where user tailor
details, labels, and categories to the board.
3. Task tracking
This is the page where your tasks will plan ahead. EchoBot analyses the schedules, alerts users if clash and overloads are potentially arises, the Bot will provide alternative plan.
3.1 Task tracking page
The strategic task board allows students to see tasks visually, notice details, and plan effectively by organizing them into different categories.
3.2 AI-powered foresight
Using EchoBot to predict conflicts before they happen, rearrange task, and deal with challenges before they become bigger issues.