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PRODUCT DESIGNER & UX RESEARCHER

learn & memorize
faster with ai

Designing a flashcards mobile app in 5 weeks
to help busy college students improve information retention.

THE CHALLENGE

long-term information retention

How might we help college students overcome challenges in information retention and enhance their long-term academic success?

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THE SOLUTION

create flashcards
in a flash

Mentiv allows students to quickly generate personalized decks, freeing them from creating flashcards from scratch. It offers full control to edit, delete, or add cards, enabling customization of content to suit their preferred learning style. The interactive quiz functionality mirrors physical flashcards, allowing easy tracking of progress and identification of areas for improvement. Students can engage in AI-facilitated conversations on challenging topics for an in-depth understanding beyond rote memorization. The AI also intelligently suggests decks based on previous creations and quiz results, further aiding in efficient deck organization.

FEATURES

harnessing
the power of ai

AI-Generated Flashcard Decks

Students can save valuable time by skipping the need to create their own flashcards. With the help of AI, they can effortlessly generate a deck aligned with their class topics or specific books. Furthermore, by posing a question, the AI promptly curates a concise 10-card deck tailored to their needs.

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Edit and Customize Decks

Students retain full control over their flashcards within our app. They can easily edit, delete, or add new cards, leveraging the assistance of AI when needed. Moreover, they have the freedom to customize the information, adjusting the tone from academic to a simpler language. Our app empowers students to personalize the way information is presented, allowing them to align with their preferred learning style and deepen their understanding of the subjects at hand.

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Self-Quiz and Track Progress

Students can effortlessly quiz themselves by tapping on the flashcard to reveal the answer on the back, replicating the experience of physical cards. With a simple swipe or tap, they can indicate whether their answer was correct or incorrect. Upon reviewing all the cards, they can conveniently assess their performance, tracking their progress for each deck and identifying the answers they got right and wrong.

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Elaborate on Difficult Topics with AI

Students are empowered to prioritize challenging topics and delve deeper into them by engaging in a conversation with the AI. This unique feature encourages a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, moving beyond mere keyword memorization.

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Expand Knowledge with Recommended Decks

The AI algorithm will intelligently generate recommended decks based on the students' prior deck creations and their quiz results, specifically focusing on the topics they find most challenging. Additionally, students will have the capability to efficiently organize their collection of decks.

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THE IMPACT

measuring
success

As a team of three, we collectively share ownership of Mentiv. Both my co-Product Designer and I not only prioritize the needs of our users but also consider the market success of our product. Our app is currently under development by our iOS engineer, who is also our client, and we aim to release it on the App Store no later than Fall 2023. To assess its success upon launch, we will be utilizing the following KPIs.

User Engagement
Measure the average time spent on the app per session, the number of flashcard decks created and accessed, and the frequency of user interactions with the AI-generated flashcards.

Learning Effectiveness

Assess the user's learning progress by tracking their improvement in knowledge retention and understanding over time through their quiz results.

User Satisfaction
Conduct regular user surveys to gauge user satisfaction and perception of the app's usability, usefulness, and overall experience.

THE STORY

our design journey

01

PROBLEM SPACE

learning in a
time crunch

Project Conception

Our client developed a flashcard app to create private decks for learning confidential information.

Initial Project Goal

Our client aims to make the app public, incorporating AI features to tackle information retention challenges under time constraints.

Designers' Proposed Approach

​We recommended that we first conduct research to identify gaps in existing flashcard apps and understand the specific needs of students.

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Alpha version developed by the client

02

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

understanding
the tools

Feature Analysis

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Conducted a comparative analysis of 5 popular flashcard apps and 5 apps that primarily utilize AI features.

Understanding AI

Familiarized ourselves with the capabilities and limitations of Large Language Models, specifically ChatGPT, as our developer and client will be utilizing its API.

Benefits of Flashcards

Conducted research on the advantages of using flashcards, a form of spaced repetition study technique.

03

USER RESEARCH

memorizing
vs understanding

Conducted interviews with current college students or recent graduates to gain insights into their pain points with flashcards, college-related stressors, and attitudes towards AI.

Interview Findings:

  • Creating flashcards requires ​time and effort on top of their busy schedule.

  • Lack of trust in community decks.

  • Perceived limitation of flashcards in facilitating long-term understanding.

  • Space constraints with traditional flashcards.

  • They are willing to utilize AI for educational purposes.

Based on those insights, we created a persona and journey map to represent our target users.

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04

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DESIGN STUDIO

harnessing
the power of ai

Collaborative Feature Prioritization

Worked closely with the client/developer to identify essential features for the app, leveraging our research findings. Emphasis was placed on prioritizing features that could be coded with ease to expedite product release.

From Sketches to Prototypes

Developed initial lo-fi wireframes on paper, which were then refined into a mid-fi prototype. Finally, transformed the wireframes into 2 rounds of hi-fi prototypes utilizing the Apple iOS Design System.

05

USABILITY TESTS

putting our designs
to the test

Mid-fi Prototype Usability Test

Conducted usability testing with 5 participants for our mid-fi prototype and used the insights gained to inform the changes made in our first hi-fi prototype.

First Hi-fi Prototype Test

The minor modifications made based on the mid-fi usability test led to a 20% increase in the average success rate during the subsequent round of tests with 5 participants on the first hi-fi prototype.

​Second Hi-fi Prototype Test

Conducted a third round of usability testing with 5 additional participants on our second hi-fi prototype using Maze. The results were promising, showing a significant 30% increase in the average success rate.

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06

NEXT STEPS

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crafting
in progress

After handing off our design assets to our developer, my co-Product Designer and I pivoted our focus to refining certain design elements that have lower priority.

Specifically, we are dedicating our efforts to creating the dark mode version, a visually appealing splash screen, and a comprehensive flashcard deck that will serve as an interactive tutorial, guiding users on how to navigate and utilize the app effectively.

07

CONCLUSION

what we learned

Working in a Small Team

Maximizing the resources available to us and adapt to unforeseen circumstances while working with limited resources.

Feature Prioritization

To expedite the release of our product, we are leveraging our engineer's expertise in iOS development and utilizing Apple's Design System as the foundation of our design. We prioritize features for our MVP to ensure a product launch by Fall 2023.

Working as a Product Designer

Developing our entrepreneurial skills by designing not only for users' specific needs but also for the overall success of the product in the market.

Designing for Generative AI

While the technology is still rapidly developing, we ensure that our design keeps up with standard practices, allowing our users to maximize the potential of the technology while maintaining control.

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UPDATE

making the app
come to life

As of August 22

Our engineer is predicting to finish developing our MVP in the next 2 weeks. We are currently in the process of registering the app on the App Store.

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