This project examines methods of evaluating the quality of digital UI/UX design including the McKinsey Design Index, heuristics, and design principles.
The habit loop underlies this whole process. First, someone has a craving--food, happiness, stress relief, anything. Next, they experience a cue in the environment--a sight, sound, smell, or piece of information that prompts them to act. Then they perform the routine, which is the most visible part of a habit. Finally, they are rewarded, whether the reward is good for them in the long run or not. We perform habits all the time without realizing it, so having even slightly more awareness and control of our habits can have a disproportionate benefit for our personal improvement.
In its earliest iterations, “habit trackers” were paper tools for measuring and motivating daily progress. Many competitors are still paper, like journals and calendars. Others are apps with the same functionality. In my competitive analysis, I chose to focus on competitors that included a behavioral change component along with habit tracking.
Inspired by "A Work-Centered Approach to System User-Evaluation" by Roth (2021) and UX design principles, this thesis project aims to determine the usability levels of the ASU Class Search System to locate pain points and provide appropriate recommendations. The ASU class search system allows students to complete the necessary tasks, but the user experience is frustrating due to unnecessary scrolling, clicking, and searching. The user evaluation confirms that some improvements could be made to the class search system to improve its utility and usability. The main improvements suggested in this work address filter and navigation inconsistencies, an overwhelming amount of scroll real estate, minor design inconsistencies, minor jargon and content inconsistencies, scroll stoppers, and guide support.