The University of Cincinnati (UC) Mobile App platform was being retired, a new platform was needed, and the app needed to be updated to the latest 508 and accessibility standards. We had an opportunity to overhaul the app to create personalized experiences utilizing user interviews, app data, and analytics.
UX Designer and Product Manager executed Interaction Design, Visual Design, Prototyping, and User Testing.
Persona Selector and Student Home page
The updated UC Mobile app includes personas for the different user types. Each persona has a personalized experience based on user interviews, app analytics, and user data. The app utilizes push and banner notifications with a personalized communication portal that leverages persona data, location data, and opt-in communication channels.
Campus News
The news feeds are customized based on the channels the users opt into and location data. For example, students can opt into channels about dorms, campus activities, dining, and parking. These channels gave each user personalized news and push notifications. Different notifications are also sent out based on if the user is on or off campus.
The Campus Shuttle Tracker
UC is a large urban university with multiple campuses. The campus shuttle is one of the main ways students, faculty, staff, and visitors move around campus. The Shuttle Tracker allows users to see campus shuttle routes in real-time, select routes, and see stops on each route. Traditional maps can be challenging for app voice-over assistants to read for those with a visual impairment. A list view of the stops with the times next to each stop was designed to create a better experience for those using a voice-over assistant. This change to meet accessibility standards created a better experience for all users and became the top-used screen within the shuttle tracker part of the app.
Bearcat Tracker
Bearcat Tracker is a collaboration with the Cincinnati Public Schools for students from 8th-12th grade, giving students resources and information on steps they can take to prepare themselves for College in the future. The tracker allows students to record and share their steps to prepare for college with their guidance counselors. Each year students are given new academic, financial, and social goals.
New Student Orientation
Bearcat Bound Orientation gives students and orientation leaders a single platform for information and resources during the orientation process. This section was added based on the search terms from users, to create a comprehensive tool with added personalized based on the student's major and first-year needs.
Campus Tour
The University of Cincinnati has four campuses. Tours for each campus are available as walking or virtual tours, featuring unique spots around campus, giving current news, historical context, and architectural overviews. During COVID, these tours were used on an individual basis when group tours were prohibited.
Student Web Portal
A web portal to accompany the mobile app where students could access the same data for classes, schedules, resources, grades, and registration. Having the same data available on mobile and desktop cut down on student confusion on where to access different systems, the web portal and mobile app give students one location to go to find all parts of their university life.
Road Map
Collaborated with other departments on campus to develop future app features
and roadmap. Ideas for future features are based on current user actions within the app, search data, user interviews, and data systems across campus that could be integrated into the mobile platform.
