Speak Industry Case Study

Competitive Analysis

To begin, I analyzed 2 flash card apps to see what type of products are currently available on the market.

Simple Flash Cards Plus

This is a no fuss, user-friendly app that delivers.  Users can easily add words and definitions, along with corresponding pictures.  

You are presented with one large card with a word on it.  You tap the word to see the definition.  There is also a quiz to test your knowledge.

Major downfalls revolve around the  sorting features.  It would be nice to have a way to sort the cards randomly.

Flash Card Maker-Study Fast

The app looks fresh and fun, but then, the user is given 3 pages of arduous instructions.  After using other flashcard apps where use is easy, without a lot of instructions, this app feels bothersome.  

The positives include:  big and easy cards to read, users can make cards and definitions and can test themselves.

 

Completing a competitive analysis allowed me to see what’s on the market, what works and what doesn’t work.  It provided an opportunity to consider what would work best with Speak Industry.

User Research

Next, I created an interview script and asked 3 participants a series of questions to understand what they need.

Interview Questions

  1. How do you typically memorize vocabulary words?
  2. How many times have you used flashcards to learn new words or concepts in the last year?
  3. What do you do if you don’t understand a word?
  4. What subjects have the most challenging vocabulary words?
  5. Do you remember the last time you had to learn vocabulary words?  Were you successful?

Interview Analysis

I took notes, while interviewing the participants and analyzed their responses into doing, thinking and feeling categories.

The participants need a ay other than rote memorization to learn new words. They learn better when they can apply and practice the words in context.

Understanding the Problem

After seeing what is on the market and finding out how users would use a vocabulary app, I created a porto-persona to gain better insights into who my user would be.  I focused on creating a vocabulary app that helped people learn new industry terms.  I’ve worked in the B2B Furniture industry and there are a lot of new terms that new hires need to learn.

User Stories

I, Brandon want a way to write my own definitions, so that I can translate technical language into customer friendly language.  

I, Brandon want a way to track what I’ve learned, so that I don’t waste time and only focus on what I need to learn.

I, Brandon, need to have words and definitions easily and readily available, so that I can look words up on the job.  This will allow me to learn on the job as well.

Problem Statement

Brandon needs a way to learn the terminology of his new department, because he needs an effective way to communicate with his team members, management, sales representatives and customers.  We will know this is true when we see that he can do so on his own, by memory and by using his resources.

 

Hypothesis Statement

We believe that by creating an app that allows Brandon to learn industry terms and acronyms, we will help Brandon achieve faster retention, allowing him to communicate and know what he is talking about across the board in his new position.  

Wireframes and Prototype

Then I drew out my wireframes for 2 features:  Adding a set of words and definitions.  Reviewing words and definitions.  I used Marvel to create a paper prototype to test.

Usability Testing

I tested 5 people in the B2B Furniture Industry.

Notes

I asked questions and took notes for each participant.

Observations

I used the Jakob Nielsen error severity rating scale to get clear on my observations and the severity of those observations.  

Revisions

Check out the video below.

Conclusion

This was my introduction to UX Design ad I learned the value of keeping things simple and focusing on the function and value to users first and foremost.  

The next steps include:

  1. Adding more links to move within the app.
  2. Do more testing on the current changes.
  3. Test users on a set of words.
  4. Use Figma to transform the wireframes into a high-fidelity prototype.

Thank you for your time!

Here’s a joke for making it to the end. 

Q:  What did the mom buffalo say to her son, when he left for school?

A:  Bison.  🙂