Improving the Usability of UT Dallas’ CourseBook Platform
CourseBook is a university class searching tool utilized by 20K+ UT Dallas students.
Timeline
March - May 2024
Role
UX Research Mentee
Skills
Usability Testing, Stakeholder Communication
Project Summary and Impact
Auditing CourseBook led to shipped clarity and accessibility improvements in May 2024!
With a Samsung mentor's guidance, I lead a UX audit, 4 usability tests, and translated findings into heuristic-backed and WCAG-compliant recommendations for CourseBook's developers, influencing new, shipped placeholder text and improved contrast ratios!
Before
After
How might I improve CourseBook's class searching experience for UTD students?
Usability Testing
To determine how easy finding classes in CourseBook was, I conducted two moderated usability testing rounds with first-time users while measuring time on task and task completion rates.
So, while CourseBook is usable and learnable, I noticed opportunities to better guide and accommodate all students…
UX Audit: Usability
CourseBook doesn't convey that you can search professors alongside course names and codes!
In comparing the UTD Grades platform to CourseBook, its tooltip and placeholder text conveying what students can search for caught my eye.
Placeholder text for better clarity, efficiency, and lower cognitive load for every semester students register
New search bar placeholder text could communicate exactly what students can search for!
UX Audit: Accessibility and Edge Cases
Important copy is inaccessible to visually impaired students
CourseBook displays copy for newly released classes and accessing special classes (e.g. internship courses, often needed for graduation) in an inaccessible red shade to students with temporary (e.g. glare) or permanent visual impairments.
Adjusting color contrast ratios to ensure understanding for all
Darker red shades would allow all students to understand when new courses are released and how to access special classes; CourseBook could also meet the AAA WCAG compliance level for its copy, making it accessible to the maximum number of students.
One For the Books!
Last, thank you to my mentor and the Samsung x UT Dallas mentorship program!
Future Steps
With more time, I'd conduct deeper research into the class registration process.
I'd explore CourseBook's mobile experience and look for more opportunities to support UTD students (especially those with visual impairments) in efficiently scheduling their college classes!
Takeaways
