Student Experience Research

A UX research project exploring ways to strengthen the Michigan’s app relevance for students.

Tools
Figma, Qualtrics

Role
Research & Design

Timeframe
4 months

Two smartphones displaying the University of Michigan mobile app, with one showing the welcome screen and the other showing emergency alerts, events, upcoming classes, and a nature break schedule.

26k users, 50k+ downloads, but most users open the Michigan App less than once a month

“The app gets downloaded, then forgotten”. The Michigan app had become idle on users' phones as they find better alternatives.

Challenge: Strengthen the app's relevance without a full rebuild.

Research: 30 surveys + Heuristic Analysis revealed 3 critical gaps

1. Different users = different needs, yet everyone saw the same homepage.

“I’m a student, why am I seeing staff parking?”

  • Students prioritized: Bus (54%), Dining (54%), Class schedule (46%)

  • Staff prioritized: Parking (53%), Bus (40%), Events (40%)

  • 0% overlap in priorities

2. Discoverability crisis. Useful features were buried 3-4 taps deep.

"I didn't know the Michigan app could do what the listed applications could do"

  • Users maintained 4-5 separate apps for features already in Michigan app

  • Competitor analysis showed that the Penn State app surfaced similar features more effectively

  • Our OOUX method revealed buried features

3. Scattered navigation creates cognitive overload. Features were not where users expect them to be.

“Tapping on the stops doesn’t show arrival times but rather requires a separate screen”

  • Bus feature required navigating 3 different screens

  • Heuristic analysis revealed 8 inconsistent interaction patterns

  • Information architecture showed 15+ features competing for attention

Solution: A modular, personalized homepage

1. Personalized based on user roles. Having an onboarding process that asks: Student, Staff, Faculty, or Guest? The homepage adapts automatically.

2. Modules users can rearrange, hide, or collapse. Each feature becomes a standardized “module” that are automatically arranged according to their user roles from onboarding. But if they’re not satisfied, they have the freedom to customize what matters most to them.

Developer benefit: Modular design means updating one feature won’t break others, reducing technical debt.

2. “Places consolidation. Bus routes, dining halls, parking, all in one interactive map.

Impact: From intern project to requesting executive support

Our findings catalyzed executive support to prioritize the app's strategic importance, which hadn't been updated in 7 years.

We presented our solutions to the Assistant Vice President and multiple leadership teams, leaving behind:

  • Effort-impact prioritization graph for immediate fixes

  • OOUX framework for scalable development

  • Figma prototype and implementation roadmap