Application Design I : Task 2
Application Design I : Task 2
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13.5.2026 - / Week 4 - Week 8
Dave Christian Moniaga / 0385630
Interactive Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 2
Table of Contents
- Lectures
- Instructions
- Feedback
Lectures
Week 4
What is User Research?
We research the people, their behavior, the context, & the market. Doing
research will help to understand the connection between user and the
problem, alongside its root cause. In a company setting, research will also
help to align the team & save resources.
- Quantitative Data: data that is measured, numbers. it is good at testing prototypes to see what is better.
- methods could include surveys, A/B testing, NPS scores, and performance metrics.
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Qualitative Data: data based on feelings, observations, and
opinions. great to get insights and discovery from users.
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methods are interviews, shadowing, usability testing, and
testimonials.
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| Fig 1.1 List of research methods |
For our current project, qualitative data is more important to do as it
helps to better cater the audience, something that we don't know and we
don't expect.
The goal is to find the relationship between user and the product /
brand.
Research Plan, it's like a to-do-list before you travel. It cam also
be used as a tool to explain your research.
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| Fig 1.2 Research Plan Template |
Example as a Toy Company
- Goal: What do 10 yo girls want for Christmas?
- Target Audience: 10 yo girls.
- Research Method: User interview with permission from school & parents.
- Timeline: 2 weeks (depends on the prerequisites)
- Budget: Rewards for people doing the interview (snacks, candy, etc)
User Interview is one of the discovery methods that is aimed to gain
insights / get surprised for the user's perspective.
Conducting a live interview is information as it gives stuff such as passive
information; body language, expression, & tone. A live interview allows
us to dig deeper about the questions compared to a survey, helping us to
develop empathy as well.
Interview Tips
- Open ended questions that go beyond yes or no
- Be flexible & able to improvise
- Remember to bring them back on track
- Don't ask what they want, ask what the problem they are facing.
- Avoid leading questions
- Wait for an answer & can use silence
Week 5
The data we get needs to be evened out, find patterns from it, and then
find outliers. From this, information that we get will be easily digestible
and can be easier to find the root case.
Affinity Mapping is the method to reveal insights and connection
between ideas inside qualitative data. In a team setting, this allows good
discussion between member's opinions.
- Take 1 main idea per note, indications such as and, but, so, are indications of when to split the note.
- Use 1 color per user / interviewee, this will make it easier to see the distribution of info once its grouped up.
When to split/merge groups?
The name of the themes can even be based on adjectives that describe the
overall idea. Example: "I hate waiting", "I want to eat healthy"
Week 6
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Week 7
User Persona is an archetype created from the best bits of user
interviews. It is a new person made up specifically to help stakeholders
understand who this design is for.
The pros, it summaries the research. It aligns the team's vision, think
beyond what they are looking for, focusing on their target audience. It
keeps the target user alive, making them a mental landmark which allows
designers to easily mention them, bring them around, refine them, and evolve
them.
The cons, it requires extra time, it's hard to get out from treating them
as "designer's puppets", it also can be used for a limited time.
Persona requirements:
- Name & Place
- Goals
- Needs
- Pain Points
- Social anchors
- married, single
- Relevant anchors
- Details for their pets (for an app about pet care
- Mastery
- beginner / expert
It's important to make them the everyday joe, local to the case, and
have their problems. Having three personas allow for a main and
secondary users
Once "I statements" are made, create a persona based on them. Create
three personas
that have varying wants and needs, with different background. Make sure each
of them have 3 of their needs / gains & 3 of their frustrations / pain
points. For example:
Persona #1
Leisurely Stroll
- They like
- have a lot of time
- trip down memory lane
- They don't like;
- crowds
- rushing
The reason for 3 personas is to put a filter on them later. When given a
solution, it can then be placed on the view of each persona to see how they
would utilize it and how they will use it.
User Scenarios is useful for the user journey at illustrating
persona points, giving context, showing the stakes and stating the problems.
When building it, make sure to place all of the core persona into the
story.
Week 8
Journey maps are created to show the various emotion that users
experience throughout their the journey / activity.
Types of Journey Map
- Retrospective: how users do things before the app helps
- Prospective: how users do things with the app's help
This example of the journey map includes a more descriptive journey for
shopping a new car. With each section providing a different phase
including the duration of that phase.
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| Fig 1. Example of Customer Journey Map |
User journey maps should have different stages and different expectations between users. Some things to note are:
- Don't focus on making a nice chart
- Extend as much as needed
- Focus on important points / moments instead of writing everything
- how important they are is dependent on the project you are doing
User Flow allows for a visualization of many different outcomes
from decisions based of the same journey. The branching path only comes
from decision points of "Yes" or "No".
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| Fig 1. Example of User Flow |
Try to make it as straight as possible to make it readable & easy to
understand. If it becomes too long, try to separate it into different
sections instead.
Some rules for user flow:
- One way only
- Steps, not screens / pages (from the user pov)
- Stay at the same level / depth of info
- Titles on everything
- consistent
- one verb, one subject
- Yes/No decisions only if possible
Week 9
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Week 10
Card Sorting is a method that aims to understand how users group
& categorize information. A mental model that determines organization
scheme. For example, for books in could be sorted by color of the spine,
alphabetical, theme, size, etc.
Types of Card Sorting:
- Moderated
- Unmoderated
- Open card sorting, participants create their own categories with no predefined categories, no guidance.
- Close card sorting, participants sort cards into predefine categories
- Hybrid card sorting, there are predefined categories but participants are allowed to create more.
The benefit of this method are to capture user's language, identify gaps
and enhance creativity.
Wireframes
The flow should combine all of the user research and competitor apps that
has been done to focus on making on six screens:
- Log in
- Home
- Search Results
- Detailed View
- Review Screen
- Review Submitted
Instructions
Task 2
5 user interview, 10 minutes of interview, 1 hour recording. record the
audio & transcript (can use AI & figjam). 5 is the most useful
usability qualitative data number, 3 at the minimum.
problem statement should short & engaging to the interviewee.
opening questions should consider multiple answer, such as if the
interviewee gives unexpected answers to your questions
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Goal: This project focuses on gathering information and research
about what kind of services do visitors of Sunway Malls would want and
need that would be helpful for them in their journey map.
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Target Audience: The target audience will be visitors of malls,
specifically under the Sunway branch. Someone who has visited the mall
/ uses the app a lot. A secondary one would be international visitors
that are visiting a Sunway Mall for the first time. Posting a notice
regarding this research with the option of the reward would be
ideal.
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Research Method: This research would be done by conducting user
interviews.
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Timeline: The whole process will take around 2 weeks; to conduct
interviews, transcription, and analysis.
- Budget: RM 25, RM 5 given per person for an interview.
Problem Statement:
Sunway Malls users have difficulty finding stores, in addition to confusing navigation, and dull
designs
within their app.
Interview draft:
Opening questions,
- When was the last time you went to a mall?
- For example: 1Utama, Pavilion
- Do you go often?
- What do you do there?
- Why do you go there?
- Do you go with anyone else?
- What was your experience?
- Any recommendations for others?
Specific questions,
- What do you use to go there?
- Do you have issues regarding this method?
- Parking / overcrowding
- What shops or places do you go to?
- Why these shops in particular?
- How do you feel about the shops' deals / promotions?
- Why? (yes or not)
- What payment type do you use when buying?
- Any type you wish to be implemented more universally?
- Do you have any memorable experience bad/good?
- How do you feel navigating around malls?
- Any notable moments for you?
- Why do you choose this option to find it?
- Have you ever visited any of the Sunway malls?
- Which one do you go to the most?
Open questions,
- What are your thoughts on your ideal Mall?
- Anything you think malls here can improve with?
The important part is to show the findings, not the progress.
Final Task 2 UX, UI, IxD Design Document
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