The Problem

"How might we help YU students save time, money and stress in acquiring their course materials?"

Shopping for course materials at the YorkU Bookstore usually means long lines, big crowds and high prices. Many students opt to shop for second hand materials online instead. However, although students may be able to find better deals, the process is complicated, tedious and involves multiple platforms.

Building Empathy

User interview insights

We interviewed undergraduate students who bought or sold used course materials online to gain a better understanding of their experiences, needs and pain points. We used thematic analysis to identify trends in their responses.

competitive analysis

We conducted a competitive analysis of the existing user journey using Facebook as the main platform. Using data from our analysis and information gathered from the user interviews, we created a current state customer journey map.

user Journey Map

Personas

Data from the two stages of user research were analyzed and consolidated into three user personas that acted as representations of key audience groups.

Hogan Kanu

Second Year, Business

"I want to get my course materials as cheaply as possible and sell my old materials to cover the costs. My priority is staying on budget"

Hogan is on a very tight student budget. He's also resourceful and business-savvy. He wants to stretch his budget by selling his old course materials to cover the costs of the new ones. He doesn't mind putting in effort to save money but would like if it was easier to find a deal.

Goals

Get the cheapest deal possible on his course materials
Easily compare prices of different options
Sell his used course materials, ideally at a high price to cover the costs of new materials

Personality Traits

Frugal
Resourceful
Business-Savvy
Analytical

Pain Points

Checking multiple platforms
and groups is tedious and
time-consuming
Comparing prices in multiple groups is not convenient

Jessica Perl

Third Year, Chemistry

"I want to sell my course materials and I need the process to be efficient since I'm really busy"

Jessica is a busy high-achiever. She's got a lot on her plate preparing for classes and extra-curriculars. She wants to get rid of her old course materials to make room for her new ones but doesn't want to distract herself from her packed schedule. Money is a factor for her but she is happy as long as she sells.

Goals

Get rid of her old course materials to make room for her new ones
Spend as little time and effort as possible on selling her course materials
Cover some of this semester's course material expenses
Needs time to focus on her studies and other commitments

Personality Traits

High-Achieving
Multi-Tasker
Organized
On-The-Go

Pain Points

Posting to multiple platforms takes too much time
Having a hard time finding buyers but not sure why

Ryeong Lee

First Year, Humanities

"I want the process of getting my course materials to be as straight-forward and simple as possible"

She is new to school and is feeling overwhelmed with beginning her first semester. She isn't even sure where to get her booklist. She'd like to save on her course materials but she isn't sure where to start.

Goals

Feel organized and prepared for her first year of classes
Get more familiar with York and the YU community
Obtain her course materials without stressing out

Personality Traits

Eager
Tentative
Optimistic
Beginner

Pain Points

Obtaining list of course materials is not straight-forward
Waiting for access to groups she is not a part of is stressful
Knowing which books are essential or optional

MVP Features

Browse Listings

Users will be able to see and browse items that are for sale

Search

Users will be able to search for specific course materials

Post Listings

Users will be able to post their used course materials for sale

Message Users

Users will be able to message each other for product details or to make offers

Site Map

Initial Designs

Low and mid-fidelity wireframes

Low and mid-fidelity wireframes were created based on the screen map and user scenarios of key functions. Below the user scenarios are displayed as mid-fidelity wireflows.

Key Features

Login with passport york

Users will require a Passport York ID to register. This ensures they are a York student, verifies their identity and also allows the app to access their course list.

Browse your courses

The app is able to find and display a user's personalized course materials list, which it displays under the search bar for quick access.

Messages

The message inbox is organized into buying and selling categories. Recent offers are displayed for quick reference in the inbox along with offer status.

User reviews

Users can review each other. A user's rating and response rate is listed at the top of their profile in order to give an idea of their response activity and general trustworthiness.

Add a listing

Users can add a listing easily by filling in the designated fields manually or by scanning the barcode to autofill. Form fields were determined by what buyers reported as crucial information during our user interviews.

Research Plan

research goals

Understand the overall user experience and usability of the Booked app
Investigate user needs and goals with a broader range of target users, specifically graduate and post-graduate students
Gauge the popularity of online course materials in our target user groups

research methods

Surveys
Moderated Usability Tests
User Interviews

For usability, I would like to conduct a 30 minute usability test to evaluate our user’s experience of our app. Users will be given a set of specific tasks to complete in a moderated setting. A secondary method will be to conduct one-on-one user interviews to better understand our user's needs and pain points.

I would also like to conduct a survey of York University students to have a better understanding of the popularity of digital course materials. Some questions to consider:

Are students using digital textbooks?
Do students prefer digital texts over physical copies? Why or why not?
Have students tried to sell digital textbooks?

Target Users

York university students in undergraduate programs
York university students in graduate and post-graduate programs
Of any age or gender expression
Taking at least 2 courses that require course materials
Have either bought or sold used course materials in the past two years, ideally online
Moderate level of technical literacy, should be comfortable operating mobile apps

Visual Language

The two goals of the visual language was firstly for the app to feel straight-forward and clear, and secondly, for the app to feel a part of the YorkU ecosystem. Colors were kept to a minimum with York's official red color used for accents only. For type I used a well-structured, readable sans serif with a strong type hierarchy.