ONLINE FORUM
An accessible online student forum
PeerSpace is an online student forum that fosters a strong sense of belonging and community by providing a space for socialization, peer support, and collaboration and academic support. This design implements WCAG 2.2 Guidelines and OS Accessibility Guidelines.
Timeline
From explorations to final designs in 12 weeks
Background
Online education platforms are essential for learning but often lack accessibility features, creating barriers for students with disabilities. Adherence to WCAG guidelines is needed to make these platforms inclusive and accessible
Problem Statement
There is a critical need for an accessible student platform that fully complies with accessibility standards, enabling equal access to educational and campus resources for students with disabilities by addressing visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive barriers.
Key themes
Socialization and Peer Support, Enhance Academic Life, Inclusive and Collaborative platform
Understanding
Define
User Personas
Empathy Map
User Journey
Ideate
User Flow
Information Architecture
Design
Wireframe
Hi-Fi Designs
Prototype
Test
Feedback
Conclusion
Future Concept
Solution
Some key steps to solving the problem
Competitor Analysis
Similar products were assessed to identify user needs and gaps for insights of were others fall short
User Personas
Personas were tailored to features of the product based on literature reviewed and survey conducted during the research phase
User Flow/ Journey
This was created by identifying user goals, mapped out key steps and iterations were made as the project progressed through testing and evaluation
Here, the outcomes and achievements of the project are highlighted after user testing including qualltative and quantitave user feedback.
Qualitative
85% of particapants found some accessible features well implemented
80% of participants found the community feature most useful
80% of participants like the visual design of the product.
65% of participants think a gamification approach will increase product engagement.
Quantitative
Average SUS score of 81. Standard deviation of 5.2