BEAR BUDDIES
Discipline
UX Research, UI Design
Timeline
4 months
Team
Jennie Van, Sekar Setyanto, Larissa Yee, Becky Xin
Bear Buddies is an app that helps students on college campuses find and connect with potential study partners.
Bear Buddies is the culmination of a semester-long project created for UC Berkeley’s DES INV 198: Human-Centered Design. My first exposure to UI/UX research and design, the project allowed me to creatively solve a problem while simultaneously learning various design methodologies and techniques!
Context and Problem Space Overview
70% of undergraduate students reported thinking that study groups increased motivation, and 60% reported learning more in study groups.
✢ However, regardless of identifying these benefits, only 20% preferred working in study groups.
✢ Only 14% always worked in groups, with many students meeting once then quitting, or only making a study group late into the semester.
Clearly, there is a gap in accessibility when creating and regularly using study groups—While students are aware of the benefits of collaborative education techniques, they are not utilizing them.
Ultimately, the problem being explored is:
How might we make the process of forming study groups more effective?
Research
Current Process
Uncover the current methods and tools that
college students use to form study groups
Existing Challenges
Identify the challenges college
students face in the process
Ideal Process
Determine what the ideal process of
finding study groups would look like
After surveying 40 UC Berkeley students and conducting 1-on-1 interviews with 8 students, key insights began to emerge:
Synthesis
Ideation
Familiarity & Sociability
Study groups are more often than not formed for both academic and social purposes, with students preferring to work with those they have common ground with
Perception & Personality
Students often feel anxious and intimidated to be perceived as less smart, under-preforming, or not contributing
Structure
Study group dynamics are often unpredictable and unfair, discouraging students from forming groups
With a focus on our two specified user groups, we delved into the emotional aspects of interacting with the visual interface.
Option 1 is an app wherein students would input their preferences for study groups and then be shown people in their classes with similar preferences.
Students will be able to make their own groups, or be added to a completely randomized group with people with similar preferences. Integrated chat features and schedulers make it easy to work either digitally or in-person after the groups after the groups are made.
Option 2 on the right is a web-based platform that would help students share documents and coordinate their availability. This option is more geared towards students who prefer to do the majority of their work online, or those who are not too interested in meeting up in person with their study group.
To break down the problem scope and begin solving the problem, I began by conducting research with the goals of uncovering:
Final Solution and Designs
A mobile application that allows users to create profiles, input their study preferences, share documents and schedules, and create effective study groups!
Custom Preferences
One of the largest pain points when creating effective study groups was the varying needs of different types of learners. Thus, as students have different learning styles and preferences, I developed a solution that enables you to create custom profiles and search for study partners based on a wide set of parameters. These include academic year, major, preferred study times, and other personality preferences. All preferences and shared classes are also displayed on users’ individual profiles to be viewed at a quick glance.
Users can also search for a specific individual, allowing you add friends and chat in-app for a comprehensive studying experience.
Collaborate and Share Files
To reduce social friction, BearBuddies encourages the use of collaborative study tools. Users can send messages in-app and link other applications including Google Drive to share flashcards, notes, and other essential documents quickly and efficiently.
Coordinate Schedules
Another one of the largest pain points was conflicting schedules and difficulties during coordination. Thus, BearBuddies features an in-build scheduling tool to help effectively identify open study session times for users. Users can also share their calendars with added friends and groups.
Reflection
Embarking on this project marked my inaugural step into the world of UX Design and the HCD process in college!
Reflecting on it now, I've realized the pivotal role that thorough research and creative brainstorming play in laying the groundwork for innovative ideas. If I were to revisit this project, I'd place a higher emphasis on the ideation phase, and strive to forge solutions that align more directly with research insights.
Understanding that the perfect design solution isn't always the most practical one, I've come to appreciate the delicate balance between idealism and reality. It's essential to discern between a user's desire and a feasible, implementable solution while considering the broader product and business implications.
This project has been instrumental in fueling my passion for UX design, and I am truly so thankful for my team!
