Mobile App: BookIt
an app to find and schedule tutors
Role | Team Lead, Visuals, Interaction
Project Duration | July 2024
Project Vision
BookIt is a mobile app for students and/or their parents to find tutors in their area and book either single or recurring sessions in whatever subjects in which they need assistance.
Challenges
-
Design a cohesive interface for users
-
Search for tutors in specific locations
-
Provide a seamless booking experience
Kickoff
In this project, I used a goal-oriented approach. I utilized qualitative research methods which I found to be most useful. I began by asking some initial key questions:
"What is the product and who is it for?"
"Is there a need for this service?"
"What challenges could we face moving forward?"
"What is most important to our users in this design?"
Meet the Users
Primary
Primary
Name: Melanie
Age: 18
Education: College Freshman
Goal: "I want an app where I can find tutors for the subjects I need help with, and book everything all in one place."
Frustrations: "It’s hard to find tutors for college-level courses. I didn’t stop needing help just because I turned 18!."
Melanie just started her first year at college. She's always struggled with English and Math. There was some help available from teachers in high school, but she hasn't had much luck finding anything at the college level.
Name: Justin
Age: 24
Education: PhD Candidate
Goal: "I love teaching, and want to join an app that allows me to schedule and organize so I always know who, when, and where!."
Frustrations: "I’ve offered my services to lots of kids in the neighborhood, but it’s mostly word of mouth and I have to write in each time someone requests my services."
Justin is studying for his PhD, and wants to be a teacher. His specialties are geometry, algebra, and pre-calculus. He loves teaching pre-teens especially.
Primary
Name: Emma
Age: 42
Education: Bachelors
Occupation: Office Workser
Goal: "I want somewhere I can book tutors for my middle school-aged child, and I can organize the schedule."
Frustrations: "It’s hard to keep everything straight when I schedule tutors offline. Having an app where I can book and pay would make so many things easier!."
Emma has two kids. The youngest has been having trouble with match and science. She's looking for somewhere to find tutors in her area that can help out on a regular basis. The school has some resources available, but it's all "offline", and nothing regular.
Preparing the Journey
I constructed a basic user flow of what a start to finish journey would look like when searching for and booking a tutor. This helped in understanding ways users can interact with the product as well as allowing me to see a navigation path.
Iterations
After creating the low-fidelity prototype, I performed a usability test to determine the flow, what worked, and any issues to address and solve during the next set of design iterations.
Makes sense.
Navigation was easy to follow through all the pages
Calendar.
There should be a calendar feature, not just a drop down with dates. Users should be able to select how often the recurring session can be booked.
Multiple students.
If parents have multiple children in need of tutors, being able to have that listed in a profile and being able to select which student you're booking the tutor for would be helpful.
Integration.
It would be nice to be able to add sessions automatically to whatever calendar the user utilizes for their own scheduling.
Addressing Challenges
Cohesive interface
This app is designed to be used by everyone, from parents who are booking for their kids, to teenagers and college-level students who are managing their own schedule. Navigation is easy to manage and whether the user is looking for new help, booking an old favorite, or needs to send a message to their tutor, it's all right there at their fingertips!
Location, location, location
Users can search by zip code to find tutors in their area. Tutors will be able to set a radius for how far out they'll accept students. By searching with zip code, there's no risk of having to sort through tutors too far away to find the perfect match.
Seamless booking
Getting through the search and booking process is easy with this app, each screen follows the previous one in linear fashion. Users don't need to try and figure out where to find anything, as it's all right there in the app.
Style Guide
Takeaways
I really enjoyed this project. Because of the subject I was able to go a little more "fun" in the colors, fonts, and design. This kind of design is also really versatile: it's applicable to a lot of different scenarios. While the subject may be specific, this kind of booking service app can be used in many different settings. Booking a dog walker, a house sitter, or plant waterer - sky's the limit!