Project Narrative

The project I completed focused on improving the user experience of the SETU University Library website, particularly in the book reservation process. Through detailed research, I uncovered significant usability issues that hindered students—the primary users—from successfully reserving books. Many students were unaware when books were already checked out, leading to a mere 9% success rate in reservations, mainly among university staff who were familiar with the system or had sought assistance. To address these challenges, I set out to streamline the user flow and enhance the website's overall usability. I began by evaluating the site’s interactive design and identified key issues such as poor UI elements, small text, and cluttered content that contributed to user confusion. These findings shaped my research objectives, which focused on simplifying and speeding up the user experience. I then conducted two user tests—one online and one face-to-face—where participants attempted to reserve the book Emotional Design after I removed it from the library’s inventory to simulate unavailability. Each session lasted around forty minutes, and users were generally unable to complete the reservation. I meticulously analyzed the recorded sessions, categorized the feedback, and created user journeys that highlighted the main pain points. With these insights, I developed a mid-fidelity prototype using Figma. Key improvements included repositioning the search bar for immediate visibility, streamlining the login process to follow the initial search, and decluttering the site by removing unnecessary information. I also added hover effects to provide crucial details and replaced confusing terminology with simpler language. Finally, I enhanced access to online book versions, significantly improving the overall user experience.