Application Design I Project 2: UI/UX Design Document

Zhang Wan Ru 0368214

21/05/2025—25/06/2025 (Week 5—Week 10)

Application Design I / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylors University

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Instructions

2. Lecture

3. Project

4. Feedback

5. Reflection

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Instructions

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Lecture

Week 5: Introduction To User Experience Research

1. UX Research

The process of UX research is what matters, not how beautiful the final product looks.” For our redesign, the focus was on who the new audience for the “new” app is. An app is better with a niche target audience than for the general public. User research seeks to understand the behaviors, needs, and feelings of users.

2. Purpose of UX Research

• Understand users’ behaviors, needs, and emotions to create effective, user-centered products.

3. Importance

• Enhances user satisfaction, improves sales, builds brand loyalty, and reduces design errors.

4.5 Steps of UX Research

• Define the goal
• Create hypotheses
• Choose research methods
• Conduct research
• Synthesize findings

5. Types of Research

• Qualitative: Explains why (e.g., interviews, observations)
• Quantitative: Measures how many/how often (e.g., surveys, usage data)

6. Common Methods

• Interviews
• Surveys
• Usability Testing
• User Personas
• Card Sorting

7. Benefits

• Better product decisions
• Higher user satisfaction
• Lower development cost
• Increased loyalty and profits

8. Avoid Bias

• Ask open-ended, neutral questions to gather honest user feedback.

Week 6: UI/UX Design Document—User Persona

1. Introduction

• Define the document’s purpose.
• Identify the target users.
• Present a clear problem statement.
• Analyze existing UX/UI issues in the current app.

2. User Research

• Conduct surveys and interviews to gather user insights.
• Create at least 3 user personas based on findings.
• Include a user journey map to visualize user steps.
• Explain how research findings guided design decisions.

3. Information Architecture

• Use card sorting to organize content logically.
• Present an information architecture map (app structure).
• Include a user flow chart to show how users navigate the app.

4. MVP Features

• List all features intended for the product.
• Clearly identify which ones are part of the MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

Week 7: User journey map

A user journey map is a visual timeline showing the steps a user takes to achieve a goal, including their actions, emotions, touchpoints, needs, and pain points.

It’s important because it helps teams understand user behavior, identify frustrations, and improve the overall experience. It also gives the design team clear guidance.

To create one:

• Define the user persona, scenario, and goal.

• List the stages of the journey (e.g., Discover, Plan, Book, Travel, After Travel).

• Add user actions, emotions, touchpoints (e.g., app, website), needs, pain points, and possible solutions.

Tips: Always refer to the persona, be specific about feelings, and use tools like Canva or Miro to design the map.

Week 8: MoSCoW and 2x2 matrix

MoSCow

MUST: Unique

SHOULD: Functional and usable

COULD: Nice to have

WON'T: Not going to do

Using MUST and SHOULD, make a 2x2 matrix

Week 9: MoSCoW, 2x2 Matrix and User Flow Diagram

This week, Mr. Sylvain reviewed the MoSCoW method and the 2x2 matrix again. He also showed us an example of how to create a user flow diagram. And the most important point of choosing one of the solutions is the user persona.

Week 10: Sketching

This week we brought paper and pens to draw different application layouts in class. Mr. Sylvain gave us a limited time to draw simple drawings of different screens and different application layouts.

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Project 2: UI/UX Design Document

Description:

After we decided on our app idea, we moved on to UX design. This document helps us understand what users need and how to make the app easier to use.

Instructions:

• Determine and verify their target audiences.
• Outline the content elements of their app, and exercise the card sorting method to achieve optimum information architecture.
• Listing the app features and identifying the application's Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
• Create wireframes for main screens
• Plan the user interaction and interactivity (flowchart).

Week 5:

After locking down their app concept and idea, students are now ready to proceed to UX design. The students are required to produce a comprehensive UX design document, which will provide better directions for them to design the app.

Based on the information gathered in task 1, we will determine and verify their target audiences.

So I used the interview format to answer the questions.

Fig. 2.1 Google Docs 

Then I started asking questions during the interview based on my concerns. 

Week 6:

This week, we took those five interviews and organized the data into an affinity map using sticky notes in Figma to group similar user insights and identify key themes. Based on the themes of the apps we chose, we created three personas to represent different types of users.

Fig. 2.2 User person

Week 7:

This week we started by creating a user journey map for each persona of our choice.

Fig. 2.3 User Journey Map

Week 8:

Choose the most important solution among the three as the main one. And do a user flowchart.

Fig. 2.4 User Journey Map

Week 9:

This week we continued to analyze the users from last week, using the Moscow chart.
2x2 matrix and user flowchart.

Fig. 2.5 2x2 matrix

Fig. 2.6 Moscow chart

Week 10:

 This week, I will complete a user flow diagram to show how users can use Duolingo to learn.

Fig. 2.7 User flowchart

Then we also practiced drawing some application page layouts in class, just the simplest wireframes.

Fig. 2.8 App page layout sketches

                                                                      Fig. 2.9 Figma

The Figma: https://www.figma.com/board/87Oi6h6SlKgzx9hG7samRC/Application-Design-I?node-id=0-1&t=TjORDHyRVrjkSloE-1

Access the final proposal on Canva [HERE]

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Feedback 

Week 5:

1) Regarding ads and Duolingo PLUS being the way Duolingo developers make money, this is not a weakness.

2）Try to ask more questions about why you like it and why you like it. For example, "Do you think Duolingo Plus is useful?" Why is it useful? Why is it not useful?"

3) The animated style is its unique style and is not a disadvantage.

Week 6:

No feedback.

Week 7:

1）Change the first language learning purpose; write down the goal requirements. 

2）Write down the second user; you can put forward the learning requirements from the professional requirements and point out the financial problems.

3）To learn the language, the third user can write in their free time.

Week 8:

1) A user represents the existence of a specific problem.

2) Add an extra line to write the solution for the user's needs and pains.

3) For each expression, explain the mood it expressed.

Week 9:

1) Select the most important main ideas as solutions

2) Keep working on the flowchart for users.

Week 10:

1）Duolingo Business Customization

• Develop a Duolingo Pro version specifically for business users
• Abandon the childish interface and cartoon elements
• Design a more professional and serious language learning platform

2）Key requirements:

• Simulate real business conversation scenarios
• Provide professional meeting and business negotiation language training
• Create an immersive learning experience for enterprises

3) Core action items:

• Redesign the Duolingo Business version from scratch
• Develop team learning packages based on business interests
• Design real conversation simulation functions
• Develop a detailed product proposal

Create a language learning tool for professionals to help users improve their language skills in a business environment.

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Reflection 

Through the UX design process and analysis, I have a deeper understanding of the real needs and challenges of working people in using language learning platforms. Although existing tools such as Duolingo already have a good user base and interactive design, their functions are not targeted enough for business users, especially in course customization, team management, and performance support.

This user experience process made me realize that corporate users value the practicality, professionalism, flexibility, and traceability of learning. They expect the platform to be not only a "learning tool" but also a capability improvement assistant closely integrated with the work scenario. Therefore, in the subsequent design, I will focus on building a more personalized, more commercial, more scenario-based functional structure that integrates team mechanisms to enhance the motivation and long-term retention rate of corporate users.