GOAL: To design a vocabulary app to facilitate learning new languages effectively. The idea is to build a native app for convenient access on mobile phones such that it would enable people to learn on the go. 
PROBLEM STATEMENT: How Might We Develop a Vocabulary App that Enables Users to Recall in Context by Taking Control of Their Own Learning Style?
MY ROLE: UX research, Design and Usability Testing
DURATION: 3 months


Process in a Nutshell
Market Research & Discovery
User Interviews
Next, I searched for potential users and interviewed 3 users. Below is an example persona. Based on the data gathered from each user, I listed what each user was thinking, doing & feeling

User Flows 
I created 2 user flows, 1 for creating a new lesson and another one for creating a new flashcard deck. ​​​​​​​
Ideation
Paper Sketches
I sketched out the first user flow to show how a user at beginner level would navigate through the app ton learn new words or conversations. From my own experience of learning French language through in-person classroom teaching I know that short conversations can really help expedite the learning process as they help you to recall words and phrases in context. I wanted to mirror the same approach in a vocabulary learning app.
Usability Testing 
Testing the Low-Fi. Paper Wireframes
I uploaded the paper sketches into Marvel and assigned hotspots on individual screen for the first user flow- Creating a Lesson. The flow basically started with- Selecting Words or Conversations-- Choosing and item to 'Add to List'--Creating a Lesson from the List. I conducted tests with 3 participants. Each session lasted for 10-15 min. For measuring the errors, I used Jacob Nielsen's Error Rating Scale.
Direct Tasks:
1.  Onboarding & Sign In
2. Click on the Available Categories to start Learning Words/Phrases
3. Save Liked Items to List
4. Create a New Lesson
Metrics:
0 = I don't agree that this is a usability problem at all 
1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project 
2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority 
3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority 
4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released

Revised Sketches
Based on my observations of user interactions with paper prototypes, I made the following key changes to my paper wireframes. 
Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
The next step was to transfer the drawings onto a higher fidelity version. I used Balsamiq to develop mid-fi prototypes based on each of the 2 user flows.
Welcome to Linguit
Welcome to Linguit
Sign up page
Sign up page
Select Language
Select Language
Select Level
Select Level
Confirmation
Confirmation
Sample Lesson
Sample Lesson
Exit Sample Lesson
Exit Sample Lesson
Video-clip of testing Mid-fi Wireframes
Observations

- There should be a "Back" button at the end of the Sample Lesson.
- Having both- the 'List' and the 'Lesson' were confusing. Most users felt that the two could be combined.
- A few users did not understand the significance of ‘My Flashcards' vis a vis 'Create New Decks' on the home page.
- All users would like and easier and quicker way to practice the items that they have saved.
- All the users loved how they were asked to select 'levels' at the time of Onboarding.
- They liked how learning was split into 3 main categories- Words, Phrases and Conversations
- Pictures and visuals could be helpful and make the app more interesting and attractive.​​​​​​​
High Fidelity Prototypes
Onboarding
Next Steps
- Flesh out the remaining user flows in high fidelity
- Continue testing them out with more users
- Hand-off to developer

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