UX Design: Final Project

25/09/2025- 05/01/2026 (Week 1 - Week 15)
Lizzie Tanaka (0362065)
UX Design | BDCM | Taylor's University
Final Project 


LECTURE

Week 1
Briefing on the module and task

Week 2
How to measure (measuring enjoyment, though objective)
  • Impact
  • Frequency
  • Mastery
  • Effort
  • Resources [time, energy, money] 
Can be for business, users, customers. Users and customers are different. Good designs put users first. 

What makes a good UX design:
  • Usability: discoverable, understandable. the design structure and motive of the product are clear to the user. Is the design easy to understand. 
    • Evaluate through these questions: Can the user find everything easily and can users accomplish the desired task without any hindrances. 
  • Equitable: Users with diverse backgrounds and abilities are able to use and enjoy it. Equity aims to provide resources based on the different needs. 
    • Are the needs of diverse groups considered? 
    • Is the design fulfilling the needs of historically underrepresented groups? 
  • Enjoyable 

Week 3
Qualitative: methods are interviews, shadowing, usability testing, testimonials and discovery ideation [great to discover insights and unexpected ideas from users]

goal of research: ux research find touoch points between users and business to stregnthen their business

When? early and often. anytime we're missing data -- do research

research methods
- qualitative why/how
- behavioral what people do
- attitudinal what people say
- quantitative how much/how many

research plan: a guide for logistics, a reference card, a tool to explain your research 

what:
- scopes: goals, timeline, sched, participants, methods, logistics
- prep: intro speech, questions list, outro 

Week 5 - Research Summary

What to do with data: Even it out or spread it
Why should we synthesize? 
- To funnel it down
- Finding the root cause
- To make sense of the data

When should we synthesize?
- When volume of data is too high
- When data is difficult to understand
- When it takes too long to navigate 

Affinity Mapping: Research method in order to reveal the themes and insights derived from a large set of a qualitative data. It's a thinking tool to discover new links between ideas and it supports discussion sessions, helping the team share around a topic.

Week 6 - Stakeholders
Consists of: 
1. Customers
2. Shareholders
3. Suppliers
4. Employees
5. Local Communities
6. Governments and Public Bodies
7. NPOs/NGOs
8. Global Environment

Stakeholder Map
a. Inside Organization > Primary Stakeholders
e.g. product owners, sales, developer, designer

b. Outside Organization > Secondary Stakeholders
e.g. secondary user, main user

c. Tertiary Organization
e.g. service provider

User Persona
a. Advantages 
- Bring users to the meeting
- Put us in their shoes
- Make a common framework
- Evolve

b. Disadvantages
- More time required
- Designer's puppet
- Us vs Them mindset
- Limited usage

What else to consider? 
> Try to make them 'normal': Should look like someone you'd meet in real life
> Make them local: Refrain from using English names unless relevant
> Give them problems: They won't try to find a solution if their life is perfect and your service has no purpose

In general, there should be at least three personas.
- Main persona: Most common goals from audience
- Secondary persona: Specific goals from audience that are less involves
- Another secondary persona: Performing other functions than main persona

User Scenarios
- Illustrate persona points: Showing the goals, needs and frustrations together, showing them in action
- Provide context: Give setting to the persona, their normal life, etc
- Show the stakes: the problem, what's getting in their ways
- State the problem: Clearly illustrate how the problem affects the persona and their surroundinG

Keep user scenarios short.

Week 7
User Journey Map: high and lows
> Retrospective and prospective UJMs 

Week 8
Ideation
- the process of generating ideas and solutions, involving both divergent and convergent thinking. 
- can be through graphics, written works or verbal methods

Why? 
a. Stretch the minds and help re-frame the problem
b. Explore new directions and POVs
c. Stepping back from a literal approach
d. Find features and solutions to fix the root cause
e. Collaboration with stakeholders

Week 9 - Project Management
- Initiated when the project idea has been defined clearly, evaluated and is authorized to proceed
- Planning the project management is developing a detailed roadmap around the project goals, tasks, timelines, resource and budget allocation, risks, communication strategies. Crafting a comprehensive plan so that the project runs smoothly. 
- Execute the project plan
- Closure is the last stage where all deliverables will be finalized, polished and all will be handed over.

RACI Framework
- Project management tool defining the roles and responsibilities for a team project.

a. Responsible: Doing the task or making the decision
b. Accountable: Owns the task or the decision
c. Consulted: Assisting or supporting
d. Informed

Week 11 - Monetization
Why? Because creating and maintaining any kind of platforms require time, energy, and resources.

Types of monetizations:
a. User Monetizations: Remove ads, subscription, pay per use, advertising
b. Active Purchase: Sales, in-app purchases, microtransactions, affiliates
c. Intellectual Property: Licensing
d. Others: Sponsors, donations, and data

Gamification: Use of game elements in non-game contexts, motivating increase and engagement.

Octalysis of Gamification:
a. Epic meaning and calling: To become a part of something that's bigger than ourselves
b. Development and accomplishment: Making progress and developing new skills
c. Empowerment and creative feedback: Having trials and errors, feedback loops
d. Ownership and possession: Wealth accumulation, improving digital representation
e. Social influence, relatedness and envy: Acceptance and belonging, competition and envy
f. Impatience and scarcity: Wanting something you can't have such as limited access or premium access
g. Unpredictability and curiosity: Mismatched expectations
h. Loss and avoidance: Fear of losing an investment


INSTRUCTIONS

This module's brief was to create a solution for an issue based on user experience. The project is to be done in a group.

Week 1
On the first week, we were briefed on the module and the final project. We created a group of three people for this project:
- Edita
- Lizzie
- Pricillia

We started drafting and thinking of issues around us that we can try solving using UX. Coming up with a few several ideas, we settled on one issue: overcrowding in Syopz Mall. We decided on this issue as we understand it better, having experienced it ourselves. 

Then, we decided to conduct a quick online survey and so we drafted the questions. 

Week 2
We found that our project needed interviews to be done and our lecturer also suggested that we don't focus on the output, which at that time, was an app. But rather we were to focus on the issue itself and our questions were rephrased to ensure the answers were personal experience. 

Week 3
We consulted on our refined questions again and it was finally approved. We proceeded to start the interview.

Week 4
No class. This week, Edita conducted the interview on 5 people. With this data, we were to process it, doing data groupings. The end result should be 6 HMW questions.

Week 5
The questions were color-coded to clearly see the different category of problems by Pricillia. Then, per the category, it was grouped the answers to four different categories and put the answers accordingly. 

Fig 5.5 Data grouping

Then Pricillia crafted the HMW questions but since we don't really have that much issues at hand, some of them sounded similar. During class, before consultation, me and Pricillia reworded some of them and refined them. 

Fig 5.5 HMW questions

Week 6 - Determining Stakeholders Map and User Persona
This week, we were tasked to determine the stakeholder map for our project and the user persona. Below is our three personas, based on the data grouping and the user journey map. 

Fig 5.5 Main Persona

Fig 5.5 Secondary Persona

Fig 5.5 Secondary Persona

Fig 5.5 User Journey Map


Fig 5.5 Stakeholder Map

Before this, we were also given exercises to know better on how to create them. 

Fig 5.5 Class exercises



Week 7 - Stakeholders Map and User Persona
Continuing on last week, we consulted on our stakeholder map and user persona. Based on the feedback session, we had a few things to change. 

Week 8
This week, we had class exercises that helped in determining which feature and ideas we should include in the output. Using sticky notes, we poured out as much of our ideas for the features and answering the HMWs. Then we voted on which one we preferred most. We grouped them per similar ideas. 

Fig 5.5 Idea dump

After that, we used the voted categories and determined the impact and the effort of these ideas. 


Fig 5.5 Impact and Effort

This was then separated into the MOSCOW chart. This helped a lot in picking which features we will put in. 

Fig 5.5 MOSCOW Chart

Week 9
This week, we focused on working on our research slides as we needed to submit it first before moving on to the prototype design. 
Fig 5.5 Research Slides

By this point, our idea was clear. It was to create a one-stop app to order meals in Syopz Mall. This is to reduce the main issue which was overcrowding and long waiting time. According to our interviews, this has caused people to skip lunch and even avoid Syopz Mall during peak hours as it can get too busy to navigate. 

While Syopz has a QR code that allowed people to pre-order, it wasn't a one-stop solution. Scanning the QR leads you to a website that will then preview all the restaurants. Each restaurants use different platforms for the online ordering system. We thought that our app can stand out in this area: One application for all vendors in Syopz Mall. 

Customers could either self pick-up their orders at the restaurant or have it sent to lockers placed across the campus. This was the rough system we had and we had to think about how it would work. 

Week 10
Starting off the project, we divided the task into two parts:
  • Application Design: Lizzie, Pricillia
  • Campaign Design and Logo: Edita
This week the logo is finalized, the color palette is chosen as well. For the campaign, it will be consisting of three posters and a digital banner to be displayed in Taylor's app. We also listed down the pages that we need to do and discussed a bit on how the layout could start. 

Week 11 - Submission of research slides
This week, we focused on finalizing our research slides and submitted it. Then, we began doing the prototype. We started by brainstorming some sketches together and then we did the lo-fi prototype. 

Fig 5.5 Lo-fi Prototype

Week 12 - Week 13
This week onwards, me and Pricillia focused on developing our lo-fi prototype with our determined set of color palette. 

Designing the UI meant thinking about how the ordering system works, especially since we introduced a new system, the kiosk drop off system. It works by having lockers assigned to blocks and floors across the campus and can be accessed by inserting the pin generated for the customer. We utilized having student helpers as it also provided an opportunity for students to work part-time and earn extra money. 

Fig 5.5 Progress

During consultation on week twelve, our lecturer advised us to make the app UI for the restaurant side as well. However, this meant double the work and we also need to think of the system of the restaurant side.

We also had to think a lot about how the kiosk pick up system works. 

Fig 5.5 Designing process

After that, I was in charge of prototyping the interactions. 

Fig 5.5 Prototyping

Fig 5.5 Prototyping

Fig 5.5 Prototyping

Meanwhile I was working on the interaction, Pricillia helped finalizing the presentation slides. Then we presented our work and got feedback from our lecturer. 

It was pointed out that the font in the restaurant side was too small so we had to fix it. Then we were also suggested to make the restaurant side in a tablet instead of a phone, as it is much more efficient during busy hours. The scenario was also suggested to be improved. 

From the campaign side, we were also advised to add mockup of the locker for the kiosk pick up system we had. 

Week 14-15 - Refining and Submission
After that, me and Pricillia worked on redoing the layout for the tablet UI. This proved to be quite difficult since we've never designed an app for a tablet. 

Fig 5.5 Tablet progress

Submission was nearing and juggling other deadlines too, me and Pricillia both worked as efficiently as possible to finish the app design for the restaurant side in the tablet device. Then, we refined our final slides. 

FEEDBACKS

User Persona:
- Give the personas problems. 

App:
- Restaurant side: Font is too small, do make it bigger and more visible
- Can change the restaurant side to a tablet device as it is more efficient when operated during busy hours rather than using a phone. 

REFLECTIONS:

Overall, this project has been very eye-opening in teaching me how the research and design thinking works prior to executing the project. It taught me how to prioritize user's experience more than anything else.

This project was quite challenging as this is an area I'm not so used to doing; UI/UX, especially in designing an app. The process of the design, for me, was basically learning as I go through it. In the end, I also learned a lot about UI/UX design, something that I haven't got much experience at. 

I'm also grateful that while doing the prototype, my partner was cooperative and helpful all the way throughout the process. It definitely was a pleasant experience despite the challenges and difficulties. 


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