Resume

Canvas

Learning Management System

Canvas

Learning Management System

Canvas

Learning Management System

O V E R V I E W

Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) is pivotal in digital education, yet users often encounter challenges such as a steep learning curve for advanced features, inconsistent performance across browsers, and limited customization.

M Y R O L E

Environmental Analysis, Designing and Analyzing Online Surveys, Analyzing Qualitative & Quantitative Data, Performing User Interviews, Developing Product Strategy and Architecture, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Gathering Feedback, and Implementing Iterations.

C L I E N T

Indiana University, Indianapolis

I N D U S T R Y

EdTech

D U R A T I O N

March 2024

3 Months

March 2024

3 Months

T O O L S

P R O B L E M O V E R V I E W

Understanding the struggles first.

Inefficient Visual Structure

Users navigate through a cluttered interface with poor visual hierarchy, hindering their experience.

Inefficient Visual Structure

Navigation Challenges

Users encounter confusing navigation in course sections, leading to misclicks and inefficiencies.

Navigation Challenges

Accessibility Issue

Users find inaccessible features that hinder

effective engagement in daily activities.

Accessibility Issue

Users find inaccessible features that hinder effective engagement in daily activities.

Inefficient Shortcuts

Users struggle with ineffective shortcuts

due to poor naming, size, and placement.

Inefficient Shortcuts

User Retention Issues

Users frequently switch to alternative platforms

for various tasks, disrupting overall efficiency.

User Retention Issues

Users frequently switch to alternative platforms for various tasks, disrupting overall efficiency.

D E S I G N P R O C E S S

A user-centered approach.

Our redesign process began with comprehensive research on primary users—Students, Professors, and Administration Staff. After gathering user insights, we selected one focus group. We analyzed findings, ideated solutions, designed prototypes, with multiple testing cycles before presenting our work.

U X R

We began by understanding

the problem through research.

We began by understanding

the problem through research.

A five-stage process transformed data into actionable

insights for students, professors & administrative staff.

A five-stage process transformed data into actionable insights for students, professors & administrative staff.

A five-stage process transformed data into actionable

insights for students, professors & administrative staff.

ONLINE SURVEYS: The questionnaire included 10 high-level survey questions, yielding 25 online responses, with 18 respondents expressing interest in participating further.

HEURISTIC EVALUATION

Nielsen's Heuristic Evaluation identified key issues: Information overload, excessive jargon, missing 'Back' buttons, inconsistent layouts and unclear tab functions. These insights informed our design improvements.

P R O J E C T S C O P E

As the research progressed, we had to

decide who our design should serve.

As the research progressed, we had to decide who our design should serve.

Students, Professors or Administrative Staff?

We chose Students as their interaction is task and time-sensitive. While the

platform offers many features, its cluttered interface hinders their efficiency,

making them the most affected by usability issues.

We chose Students as their interaction is task and time sensitive. While the platform offers many features, its cluttered interface hinders their efficiency, making them the most affected by usability issues.

U S E R A N A L Y S I S

Next, we brought our users to life:

Creating personas based on real data.

Next, we brought our users to life:

Creating personas based on real data.

Next, we brought our users to life:

Creating personas based on real data.

We developed two student personas to accurately capture their attributes, identifying critical themes in the user experience.

We had to know more:

What do students really think about Canvas?

The carefully crafted persona and its iterative development process enabled us to uncover key themes and insights central to the student user experience.

U S A B I L I T Y M E T R I C S

To gain a deeper understanding, we

observed real students using Canvas.

To gain a deeper understanding, we observed real students using Canvas.

We conducted 10 observational tasks with 16 students to evaluate their interactions with the LMS interface, capturing key usability metrics like Duration, Click Count, Success Rate, and Satisfaction Scores (SEQ and SUS). User performances were measured with KPIs, including Success Rate, Time on Task, and CSAT, providing a comprehensive view of user flow, pain points, and overall experience.

Get High-Res Usability Metrics & KPIs here.

4/10

tasks had 100% Success Rates

87.5

seconds total time for 10 tasks

9.72

seconds average time per task

57.5%

average Error Occurrence Rate with Tasks 2 and 6 at 100%

80.62

average SUS Score

3.47

average SEQ

50%

User Satisfaction Score

The real aha moment: Key insights that

shaped our understanding of user challenges.

Our insights highlight the need for strong user support from the beginning. Improving interface organization and navigation boosts usability, while clear feature access increases engagement and retention.

Challenge 1

Enhancing Visual Hierarchy

Challenge 2

Reducing Navigation Cognitive Load

Challenge 3 & 4

Optimizing Feature Accessibility & Shortcuts

Challenge 5

Improving User Retention

I D E A T I O N

What if everything you needed was right in front of you?

Too many useful features were hidden. We surfaced the best features so students could focus on what mattered.

W I R E F R A M E S

Low-Fidelity

Mid-Fidelity

Further development improved the course landing page and streamlined the messaging system, introducing shortcuts to reduce task time and clicks.

Hi-Fidelity

Low-Fidelity

Mid-Fidelity

Further development improved the course landing page and streamlined the messaging system, introducing shortcuts to reduce task time and clicks.

Hi-Fidelity

I S T H E R E D E S I G N E A S Y T O U S E ?

To make sure our ideas worked, we

ran usability tests with real students.

To make sure our ideas worked, we ran usability tests with real students.

The usability of the new designs was tested in an unmoderated setting with 12 participants. The results are summarized below.

6 hours spent on testing

10 tasks per person

95%

Easiness rate

96%

Success rate

What were the issues?

A list of most frequent and most severe usability issues that the testers faced.

10/12 found the Dashboard cluttered with too many widgets.

12/12 were confused by different colors for subjects in the calendar.

10/12 were confused about finding and messaging people.

U S A B I L I T Y C H A N G E S

We refined our designs based

on feedbacks and testings.

We refined our designs based

on feedbacks and testings.

Before - Dashboard

After - Dashboard

R E S U L T S

Finally, how our results stack

up against the current LMS.

The following metrics are based on a comparison with the existing LMS platform and are focused on a selected number of tasks.

Get High-Res Canvas Optimization Blueprint here.

36.2%

increase in Average Success Rate from 65% to 100%

14.1

seconds reduction in overall task time

2.37

seconds average reduction per task

average Error Occurrence Rate with 57.5% improvement

91.13

average SUS Score with a 13% rise

+2.1

improvement in SEQ

100%

User Satisfaction Score

F I N A L S C R E E N S

Fixing What Slowed

Students Down.

Fixing What Slowed

Students Down.

F I N A L S C R E E N S

Fixing What Slowed

Students Down.

C HA L L E N G E 1

Sharper visual hierarchy.

C H A L L E N G E 1

Sharper visual hierarchy.

The design enhanced visual hierarchy by employing a vibrant color palette and clear section delineation for visual hierarchy, customizable widgets for task prioritization, and intuitive navigation elements, enhancing usability and accessibility while aligning with heuristic principles.

Improved dashboard with customizable widgets.

Improved dashboard with

customizable widgets.

Designed different dashboard variants for customization.

3-Course Dashboard

6-Course Dashboard

C HA L L E N G E 2

The design optimized course navigation by consolidating tabs into a list layout, enhancing accessibility and reducing navigation time through clear labels, visual hierarchy, and intuitive design, while feedback mechanisms keep users informed and minimize misclicks.

Smarter course navigation.

C H A L L E N G E 2

Smarter course navigation.

C HA L L E N G E 3

C H A L L E N G E 3

Quicker reminders.

Enhanced accessibility with a personalized reminders shortcut and a "+" icon for quick To-Do additions, boosting visibility and engagement.

C HA L L E N G E 4

C H A L L E N G E 4

Focused shortcuts.

Improved shortcut effectiveness with clearer naming, larger buttons, and strategic repositioning based on user task flows.

The shortcut icon for quick submission, bypassing the lengthy conventional process.

Improved shortcut effectiveness with clearer naming, larger buttons, and strategic repositioning based on user task flows.

C HA L L E N G E 5

C H A L L E N G E 5

Better communication,

stronger retention.

Better communication,

stronger retention.

The redesign improves usability by effectively integrating messaging and collaboration tools, enabling seamless peer interactions and access to course histories, which fosters a supportive learning community and drives higher user satisfaction and retention on the platform.

Reflection

Key Learnings &

Take-aways