THE PROBLEM

Every semester, students are unaware of hundreds of available resources.

Most student resources are hidden behind links and chance, making it hard for students to make the most out of their academic experience. Most resources go unknown by students.

PROBLEM 01

Resource information is fragmented across 200+ locations e.g. websites, social media pages, and emails

PROBLEM 02

Too many clicks, searches, and decision points discourages users from completing their search

PROBLEM 03

Awareness is often dependent on chance encounters, leading to unequal access to information & support

WHY IT MATTERS

95.7% of students have missed valuable opportunities and resources.

The current approach to resource discovery has fundamental flaws, as excess friction exists between students and relevant resources. Below lies a diagram which highlights this problem through a typical student experience.

CURRENT STATE

Finding support shouldn't feel like another assignment.

Navigating dozens of links means adapting to a new mental model every few minutes, increasing cognitive load and frustration while they search across inconsistent and outdated interfaces for help.

INITIAL IDEATION

User-centered thinking from beginning to end.

From the beginning, a user-first perspective shaped our solution. Insights from our discovery survey, combined with UX principles helped validate early ideas and align our vision with what students needed most.

PLATFORM SELECTION

Pocket: The decision behind a mobile-first experience.

A mobile-first solution provided the strongest foundation for delivering the features and impact students needed most. With a limited timeline, a mobile MVP let us maximize the value students would receive.

01

Meeting students where they are

69.6% of students preferred using a mobile device over a desktop to discover university resources, making mobile the ideal platform for our MVP.

02

Support anytime, anywhere

With phones a part of students' daily lives, mobile provides the most accessible, lowest-friction way to access support.

03

Keeping students connected to support

Push notifications, sharing, and future integrations help students stay informed and take action on resources.

RESEARCH PLAN

User behavior and feedback drove each decision.

Ongoing user research kept us focused on what mattered most: key pain points and areas of impact. Both quantitative and qualitative findings guided each iteration of Pocket.

Research Process

01

Discovery survey

Week 1

We surveyed students and alumni to understand resource discovery behaviors. Findings confirmed existing methods were inefficient and unreliable, leading to missed opportunities and lack of resource awareness.

02

Usability testing - Round 1

Week 5

Using our mid-fidelity prototype, five participants had to complete nine tasks, covering discovery, and resource exploration to identify usability issues and areas of friction.

03

Usability testing - Round 2

Week 6

After iterating on the design, we retested with three new participants. Results showed improved task success, faster task completion, and a smoother overall experience.

04

Benchmark study

Week 7

We tested Pocket against existing resource-finding methods with four participants. Results showed reduced friction, improved usability, and higher satisfaction.

MVP STRATEGY

Research and insights shaped our priorities & features.

With 8 weeks to build, it was important to prioritize impact over feature bloat. MVP thinking kept the most impactful student needs and pain points at the center of every design decision.

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

Pocket: A simpler, more efficient way to discover student resources

Each user insight directly informed a feature, ensuring every feature contributed to solving a meaningful user need. Every aspect of Pocket was intentionally designed to make resource discovery simpler and more effective.

01: Smart Home Screen

Designed for High Value, Low Effort. Students wanted resource-finding to be simple and convenient. I designed the home screen to surface the most important information the moment they opened the app.

01

For You - Personal Picks

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The For You section proactively surfaces resources based on students' chosen interests, directly lowering the amount of missed student opportunities.

02

Upcoming Calendar

1

The In-app Calendar bridges the gap between discovery and participation, allowing users to see what is soon without navigating multiple pages or apps.

03

Student's Favorites - Popular Picks

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Student Favorites highlights commonly used resources, reducing the effort needed to find valuable resources. Users can choose through trusted resources.

04

One-Tap Explore

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The Explore button is positioned prominently within the navigation bar, allowing students to quickly find what they need without excess steps.

02: Resource Catalogue & Searching

Designed for students who know what they’re looking for, and those looking to discover more. The catalogue provides multiple pathways to relevant resources.

01

Categories

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The For You section proactively surfaces resources based on students' chosen interests, directly lowering the amount of missed student opportunities.

02

Search Bar

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3

The In-app Calendar bridges the gap between discovery and participation, allowing users to see what is soon without navigating multiple pages or apps.

01

For You - Personal Picks

1

2

3

The For You section proactively surfaces resources based on students' chosen interests, directly lowering the amount of missed student opportunities.

02

Upcoming Calendar

2

The In-app Calendar bridges the gap between discovery and participation, allowing users to see what is soon without navigating multiple pages or apps.

03: Resource Info Pages

Designed to consolidate all relevant information in one place.  Students want their search to be simple and efficient, so I designed the Info pages to ensure students were only a few clicks away from helpful resources.

01

Quick Actions

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Quick Actions allow users to quickly engage with resources. This includes bookmarking, sharing, adding to calendar, locating, and more.

02

Resource Information

1

Most relevant resource information is available in the app, ensuring the app connects students to relevant resources quickly and efficiently.

03

Resource Center

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Easy access to the resource’s associated center allows students who discover one useful resource to benefit from additional resources offered by the same center.

04

Related Resources

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The Related Resources section increases the likelihood of finding a resource that fits each students’ needs. Students are encouraged to keep exploring resources.

TESTING INSIGHTS & OUTCOMES

These changes led to faster, more intuitive resource-finding.

With 8 weeks to build, it was important to prioritize impact over feature bloat. The design thinking framework kept students at the center of every decision.

FUTURE PLANS

Pocket has the potential to scale across universities worldwide.

Pocket targets a common challenge experienced by students, positioning it to scale beyond a single university. Future growth and initiatives will ensure more students access the support they need.

Expanding Pocket

01

Institutional Partnerships

Adoption across institutions grows Pocket's impact and supports long-term scalability.

02

University systems integration

Enable single sign-on (SSO) with university credentials for faster, more seamless access.

Improving Pocket

03

Launch with real users

To validate adoption, usability, and whether Pocket solves the resource discovery problem at scale.

04

Cross platform integration

To make it easier for students to save resources to their preffered apps and share via messaging, email, etc.

05

Admin dashboard

For university staff and organizations to manage, update, and add resources.

REFLECTION & KEY TAKEAWAYS

A design process built on learning and iteration.