UX Case Study:
Redesigning Blackboard’s Calendar Page
Project Timeline.
A span of 2 weeks were spent on this project, Process followed - Heuristic Evaluation, Competitive Analysis, User Feedback, Wireframes, Prototyping.
Introduction.
Blackboard, a prominent learning management system, provides essential tools for students to manage their academic responsibilities effectively. Among these tools, the calendar feature plays a pivotal role in helping students organize their schedules, track deadlines, and manage their time efficiently. However, recent changes to Blackboard's calendar interface have led to usability issues and unmet user needs. This case study delves into identifying these problems, setting objectives, conducting research, and proposing solutions to enhance the user experience for students.
Problem Statement.
The current Blackboard calendar interface suffers from several usability issues, including cluttered design, lack of user control, and missing features such as class schedules and reminder notifications for custom events and deadlines. These deficiencies hinder students' ability to manage their academic schedules effectively and impact their overall user experience.
Objectives and Goals.
Simplify the calendar interface to reduce clutter and enhance usability.
Improve user control and freedom by providing alternative methods for date navigation.
Address missing features such as class schedules and reminder notifications based on user feedback and competitor analysis.
Enhance overall user experience on the Blackboard platform.
Research Methods.
For this project, I conducted two types of research methods - Heuristics Evaluation and User feedback. Below are the main insights received from this research. Conducted a heuristic evaluation based on established usability principles to identify existing issues with the calendar interface and found out the following issues.
Heuristics Evaluation.
Aesthetic and minimalist design
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Difficulties: One of the issues with the calendar page is that it has a lot of cluttered information in the month view.
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Opportunities: A simpler monthly calendar view with fewer details.
Recognition rather than recall
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Difficulties: There is also a lot of white space in the day view of the calendar. This forces the user to scroll to the end to view the deadline time.
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Opportunities: A simpler day view with only time stamps and details of the actual deadline to avoid scrolling.
User control and freedom
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Difficulties: The user has to click on the side arrows on the day view to change the dates. No freedom to reach the date or event in other ways or directly.
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Opportunities: Providing more ways for the users to reach their desired dates, such as, search option or date selection option.
User Feedback.
Since Blackboard updated its interface, the new calendar has a lot of things that the previous calendar did not have. However, one feature is still missing from the calendar.
This is an important user goal for students to be able to access their class schedules along with their due dates. However, this feature is missing from the calendar.
Reminder notifications.
Class schedule
Creation of custom events and tracking of due dates are possible through the blackboard, but there are no reminder notifications or the ability to set reminder notifications for custom events or due dates.
User
Persona.
Solution.
Redesigned Monthly Calendar View: Simplified the monthly calendar view by reducing clutter and presenting essential information such as class schedules and deadlines more prominently.
Enhanced Day View: Streamlined the day view to eliminate excessive white space and allow users to view deadline times without unnecessary scrolling.
Improved Navigation Options: Introduced alternative methods for date navigation, such as a search option and direct date selection, to enhance user control and freedom.
Addition of Missing Features: Incorporated class schedules and reminder notifications for custom events and deadlines based on user feedback and competitor analysis to address critical user needs.
Wireframes.
Monthly view page
Added a select month button. The original calendar did not have an option to directly select the month. The user had to rely on the arrows.
Changed colored text to colored circles.The original calendar had a clutter of colored texts used to indicate the due assignments. This was not readable. The use of circles will help the users identify the number of assignments due.
Added a search feature. This feature will enable the students to directly search what is needed.
Original Calendar page for ref.
Day/week view page
Added a select day button. The original calendar did not have an option to directly select the wanted day/week. The user had to rely on the arrows.
Removed space and eliminated scrolling. In the original calendar page, the users had to scroll down to see the due project timeline if the due time was during the later bits of the day.
Original Day/Week view page ref.
Event Page
Added a set reminder option. The original calendar lacks the feature of setting reminders for events.
Moved the placement of the section to the middle. The original calendar had it placed on the right corner. Moving the section to the middle, increases its visibility and improves the functionality.
Original Event page
Conclusion.
In conclusion, the redesign of Blackboard's calendar page offers significant improvements to the user experience for students. By addressing issues with cluttered design, lack of user control, and missing features, the new interface enhances usability and aligns more closely with user expectations and industry standards. The implementation of a simplified calendar view, improved navigation options, and addition of missing features not only improves functionality but also contributes to a more seamless and efficient user experience on the Blackboard platform.