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Prototype: RamRegistration - a site for Fordham students to look for classes and then register every semester

https://www.figma.com/file/jJe45tswJxL8vA9XUB5CX7/Untitled?node-id=0%3A1

Problem: 

State of the Problem

Right now, Fordham has two different systems that students must use when planning and registering for classes. The first program is DegreeWorks, which shows students which classes they have taken, the classes they are in the process of taking, and the classes they still have to take. This program also allows them to see how many seats are left in the class sections they may want to take the following semester. The second program is Banner, which is split up in the following sections: “Plan Ahead,” “Browse Classes,” and “Register for Classes.” The “Plan Ahead” feature allows students to browse classes by department, course number, attribute, etc. and then add the class they want to their planned schedule. The “Browse Classes” feature allows students to look for classes in the same way that the “Plan Ahead” feature, except students can also narrow down by campus. Despite the fact that searching by campus can be very helpful in narrowing down options (so that students are not looking at 20 pages worth of classes), this feature’s downfall is that students cannot add a class to their plan once they have found one that they like; to do that, they would have to go back to the “Plan Ahead” section of Banner. Finally, the “Register for Classes” feature allows students to submit their pre-created plans on registration day so that they don’t have to face the struggle of looking for classes on that day. The wide array of places that students have to look when they are planning and registering for classes can make the whole process very dizzying and irritating. 

How does this design target the problem?

Through this prototype, I have tried to solve the problems listed above. I asked myself, “how can I create program that incorporates the best and leaves out the worst of Banner and DegreeWorks in a way that makes the program easier for students to use?” As a result, I created a program that is called “RamRegistration,” in which I work to make an easy-to-use combination of the best of what Banner and DegreeWorks have to offer, eliminating the excess steps that students have to take when planning and registering for classes.

Data Collection:

How I got the data

Most of my knowledge and experience came from having to use both Banner and DegreeWorks over several semesters as a Fordham student. Having to have different tabs open in different programs has led to my computer shutting down, all the tabs closing, me losing my place on the programs and having to start all over again, etc. I found myself constantly wishing that all the information I need and all the steps I had to take were in one place so that I wouldn’t get confused or annoyed with how many tabs were open at any given time.

However, I did not inly want my experiences and opinions incorporated in the prototype design. So, I collected more data through a survey on SurveyMonkey that was sent out to the rest of the class. All in all, an average of 10-15 people answered the survey. 

The following are the results of the “Yes or No” questions:

The following are the responses to the question, “What do you wish was different about Banner?”:

- “That it wasn’t so slow during registration”

- “Telling you how many seats are left in each class. Not freezing/glitching when registering.”

- “Run time when it comes to registration”

- “I wish it had the seats left on there”

- “I wish they removed unavailable courses”

The following are response the responses to the question, “What do you wish was different about DegreeWorks?”:

- “I wish I can still check how many seats are in the class even if the core/major is already fulfilled”

- “That I can still check the classes for the requirements I have already met. Also, I wish it only show me the classes that are offered in the following semester, not all the classes under the requirement even if it is not offered (eyes too hurtful to scroll down all those useless info)”

- “I wish someone had taught me how to use it literally even one time like I only just figured out how to use the what if option to see other classes outside of my major”

- “I wish it was easier to read with information about the future course possibilities”

How I used the data

According to the data, all the students who responded use both DegreeWorks and Banner when planning for registration, and over 50% of them had trouble learning how to use DegreeWorks. My data collection also led me to conclude that DegreeWorks is good for finding out which classes you have to take, what the course numbers are for those classes, and how many seats re left in the class. So, I decided that these are elements of DegreeWorks that I wanted to keep in my prototype.

The data also led me to the conclusion that Banner is good for searching for classes, learning which professors teach those classes, and then creating a pre-planned schedule to submit on registration day. Therefore, as students seemed to like these aspects of Banner, I decided I wanted to keep them in my prototype.

Lastly, my data collection showed that almost roughly 94% of the students who responded to my survey find it irritating/confusing when classes are listed on DegreeWorks and Banner when they are not available to take the following semester. Hence, I found it integral to remove the parts of Banner and DegreeWorks that show classes that are not offered by the University the following semester.

RamRegistration

I tried to create a program, RamRegistration, that kept all the good parts and removed all the bad parts of Banner and DegreeWorks. My program allows students to narrow down their search by campus, time and day that class is offered, and semester. RamRegistration only shows the classes that students have yet to complete under their requirements (and only the classes actually being offered the following semester are displayed when the student clicks on a certain course).

I also decided that I would exclude some of the information that students find on DegreeWorks: FIDN, Major, Minor, Concentration, Credits. Instead, I would put these under a separate page in myfordham - something like a student profile that shows all this information. These pages would be linked through myfordham so that the student’s information is transferable for RamRegistration’s algorithm, but will not show up on RamRegistration (the information is not particularly pressing when it comes to actually registering).

Furthermore, Ram Registration shows recommended classes based on your requirements and current plan. This way, when registration day comes along and a student doesn’t get into a class they wanted, they have options from this “Recommended Classes” section; they don’t have to actually search department and course number to find a class they might be able to take.

As for the “Plan” portion of RamRegistration, I decide to reduce the number of plans to one instead of three. I normally tend to use the three plans just to have classes as backup. However, I did not believe that the backup options are no longer necessary since the “Recommended Classes” option exists (I would be willing to revisit this concept in a new iteration, though).

I have also added a section to search for classes that are not a part of the student’s requirements. The student can search based on department, course number, and/or attribute, and only the classes that are actually offered the following semester will show up as options to add to their plan.

Lastly, I am assuming that the smaller volume of data on RamRegistration will reduce the lag that students face while registering. The extra classes that are not really being offered and the ones that do not pertain to the students’ needs are either eliminated by my prototype or by their filters at the homepage of RamRegistration. It is my intention that the site no longer crashes as a result of registration day. 

Universal Principles:

I tried to use as many of the C.R.A.P. Principles as possible when creating this prototype. Below are my explanations of each

Contrast

I tried to stick to the colors that Fordham typically uses in an effort to stay true to the spirit of the University. The banner across the top of each page is maroon and the text is white. The background of the page is white with black text and any other accents are grey. The text headers are maroon. Additionally, all the text is consistent in size, with the headers being a little larger than the rest of the text/information on the page. 

Repetition

As aforementioned, the entire prototype is based around four main colors - maroon, white, black, and grey - to pay tribute to the school colors. There is also a consistent font used called “Gupter.” I decided to use the same font the entire time to emphasize a sense of order in the design. Also, at the top of each page is a maroon banner with the word “RamRegistration”; this is done in an effort to create a consistency within the program so the students know the application.

Alignment

Throughout this prototype, I did my best to use edge alignment to create more visually appealing web page for the students to look at when using RamRegistration. Incorporating alignment throughout the prototype was important because if the program isn’t organized then the registration process isn’t either. Right now, the students suffer through the registration process because Banner and DegreeWorks are poorly designed. It was my intention to make RamRegistration as clean and concise as I could.

Proximity

I worked to effectively space every piece of text in the prototype so that it has both visual appeal and good translation of information. I grouped all the information that was relevant to each other together. For instance, all the incomplete requirements are together at the top left of the page and the recommended classes are together right underneath. Then, I placed all the information on each page that goes more in-depth into the class offerings together. 

First Iteration and Prototype:

Below is the first draft of my prototype:

Originally, I was going to include all the classes that students have taken, are in the process of taking, or have yet to take. However, during my feedback session, a classmate of mine suggested that I only include the classes that the students still have to take; otherwise, there is too much unnecessary information clogging up the page. 

After the feedback session, I also added a “Recommended Classes” section and a place to search for classes that are not part of the students’ requirements. I believe that these are two of the most important sections of my prototype because they give students more options without having to leave the webpage they are looking at.

I also decided to add a specific section where students can narrow down by campus, time, day, and semester: that way, they will only get the results for the classes they actually want. A big problem with Banner and DegreeWorks now is that there is an excessive amount of unnecessary information that confuses the entire registration process: classes that are not actually being offered the following semester, classes at a campus that the student does not want to be at, etc.

The “Bubble Burster” is an app that will be created to help us get out of our filter bubbles. To clarify, “a filter bubble is “a situation in which an Internet user encounters only information and opinions that conform to and reinforce their own beliefs, caused by algorithms that personalize an individual’s online experience.” 

Below is the prototype for the “Bubble Burster” app:

Below you can see a fake PSA for a Fordham University fire drill.

The PSA incorporates the C.R.A.P. principles in the following ways:

Contrast

* There is a contrast in colors: the clip art is bright red, orange, and yellow, whereas the background is a more pastel pink.

* There is also a contrast in fonts: the word “ATTENTION” is written with a font called ‘Bangers’ and is “Fordham Red,” whereas the other words are written with ‘Pragati’ in black. The most important information (i.e. the date, time, and location of the fire drill) are bolded.

* Also the heading is larger (size 44) than the information displayed (size 18).

Repetition

* The same two fonts are used throughout the whole PSA.

* The small flames are used four times as bullet points for the important information.

Alignment

* The first line of information in the PSA is aligned with the center of the clip art of the fire alarm bell.

* The bullet point flames are aligned with one another, showing consistency through the PSA.

Proximity

* I have grouped together the information on the PSA that should be with each other; they are placed closely together. 

THE PSA:

In my last post, I explored the idea of universally designed elevators; these are elevators that work for all people - short, tall, overweight, blind, handicapped, etc.

In order to dive deeper into this idea, we must first identify the target spaces for our future research. This entails breaking the information down into several subsections:

(1) FACTS: the facts we know about elevators:

* elevators take people from place to place, up and down buildings = means of transportation

* doors open and close rather quickly and forcefully

* a lot of elevators are poorly designed

* users: students, workers residents, workers, visitors, etc.

(2) ASSUMPTIONS: what we can assume about the elevators/situation:

* assume that they are efficient and in working-order

* discriminatory design - discrimination against elderly, handicapped, blind, overweight, claustrophobes, mothers with strollers, etc.

(3) PROBLEM SPACES: where do we see a problem?:

* the speed with which doors open and close

* the size of the space

* the attention it pays to details that can be useful for handicapped/disabled/blind people

After gathering all this information, we can now start creating our “how can we” we statements; these address the user, the behavior, and the space. Here are some examples:

(1) HOW CAN WE make elevators more usable for handicapped people?

(2) HOW CAN WE design elevators to have slower opening/closing doors to help the elderly get on more easily?

(3) HOW CAN WE make elevators easier to use for blind people?

(4) HOW CAN WE make elevators more comfortable for claustrophobes?

For those of you reading this who don’t know what universal design is, the term refers to the idea that design should be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. With universal design, designers work to minimize inequalities in design and maximize the amount of people who can use the product.

I believe that all products and experiences should be universally designed - or at least try to be (sometimes it’s hard to get a totally universal design). In order to get the best, most universal version of a design, the group of designers working on the project must be as diverse as possible. Having multiple people working on a design allows ideas to come in from different angles; different people foster different concepts about how a design can best work for the user. For instance, a group of straight white men might do little to represent women,  LGBT+ people, people of color, etc., whereas these minorities might be better represented if people who looked like them were on the team of designers. Universal design strives for inclusivity, and in a world that is getting more divided by the day, it is integral that we strive towards creating designs that work for all, not just a few. 

Seeing as I consider it important that designers actively work to universally design their products, I want to talk about something that should always be universally designed: elevators. What follows are my propositions:

(1) To start off, elevators should open and close their doors slowly so that elderly and disabled people can step on and off with ease. A lot of elevators open their doors for a few seconds and then proceed to shut quickly, leaving the elderly and disabled waiting for the next elevator ride. A truly universal design would allow time for all people to get on the elevator. 

(2) In a similar vain, all elevators should open their doors as soon as they feel any pressure from someone trying to get on. This is one concept that the Lowenstein elevators have got down; as soon as someone tries to hold the doors with their arms or put their foot in the middle of the sliding doors, the elevator retracts the doors and allows the people to walk in. This is not the case, however, with the elevators in the dorm buildings, leaving residents with the impossible task of trying to keep the packed elevator’s doors open for just a few more seconds. If the design were universal, the elevator would really take into account the people trying to get on it.

(3) To continue, all elevators should be designed to make sure that the blind can use them. There should always be braille written underneath all the numbered buttons so that if a blind person finds themselves alone in an elevator, they can push their own button. Furthermore, I think it would be beneficial if elevators announce what floor they have stopped on. If the elevator does not say what floor it is on and the person is blind, they most likely will not know when they have to get off of it. So, universally designed elevators would take into account the blind.

(4) Lastly, it is important that all elevators are designed to be big enough to fit a wheelchair and/or a stroller. Designers must consider parents and disabled people when they are creating designs for new elevators. If not, these people will never be able to make it up past street level. Any design that doesn’t take care of these needs is not universal.

Therefore, elevators are just one of the many things that should be universally designed. When a diverse group of designers works together to design something that works for everyone, the world becomes a much more inclusive place. Universal design should be the ideal that all designers strive for, regardless of the difficulties that they may face in the designing process.

The first of my two graphs portrays the times and days when I do my homework. The graphs below will attest to the fact that I spend no more than 10 hours a day (on a bad day) doing my homework. Mondays (8 hours), Thursdays (about 8.5 hours), and Sundays (10 hours) are when I have to get the bulk of my work done. I don’t have classes on Mondays and Thursdays so I have the opportunity to do a lot of my homework on those days. Tuesdays I have classes from 10am to 2:15pm and work from 2:30pm until 4:30pm, so when I am done with that, I do homework for about 5 hours. Furthermore, on Wednesdays, I have classes from 11:30am until 5:15pm, which means I normally do my homework for about 4.5 hours those nights. Since Saturdays are part of the weekend, it is more likely that I do less homework than during the weekdays (a total of approximately two hours). Lastly, Fridays are the only days of the week during which I don’t do any homework. Below is the graph showing this data:

I also graphed the places in which I do my homework and when I am usually there. From 10am until noon, I am normally doing my work in my bedroom. Then at noon, I migrate to the living room in my apartment, and I stay there until about 2pm. Any homework that I do in the middle of the day - 2pm to 5pm - I do in a quiet lounge, Argo Tea, or the library. However, after a certain amount of time spent outside my room, I return to the living room in my apartment to do my work (this is normally from about 5pm-7pm and is also when I typically eat dinner). I migrate back to my bedroom at around 7pm and stay there until 10pm, but I go back to the living room for my last hour or so of doing my homework. Below is the graph showing this data:

Time and time again, designers have made decisions that have led to the unequal treatment of the users of the design. The most prominent example of discriminatory design that I can think of can be found on airplanes. Anyone who has ever been on an airplane can attest to the poor design of airplane seating, which - be it intentionally or unintentionally - discriminates against a certain group of people: the overweight.

According to a CNN article that came out in 2013, the average seat size on airplanes has been getting smaller despite the fact that, in recent years, more people have begun falling into the overweight/obese category. Since the ‘90s - a time when the average airplane seat was 18.5 inches wide - the size of seats has decreased to 16.5 inches. Two whole inches! The width isn’t the only problem, though; the space in front of the passengers seems to be decreasing, too. It went from 31-36 inches in 1985 to about a maximum of 30-32 inches in 2014. This leads to little space and much discomfort for people who are not of the average human build. Therefore, while these designs are meant to create more space to carry a larger amount of people on the aircraft (more seats!), the actual outcome is hundreds of cramped flyers. 

Below is the diagram of how the seating width has changed over the years (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/feeling-cramped-battle-airline-seat/index.html):

Also, here is a a video describing the seat size and space changes:

Today, I will be describing the Yahoo! joining process. In the following images, I have done my best to map out the process:

After researching the joining process, I have come to the conclusion that is rather easy to join the emailing website. However, it does not seem as simple as joining some other websites like Tumblr and Instagram, which only ask for a username and password (and maybe sometimes an email or phone number to verify that the account was made by a real person). Yahoo! wants to know the person’s name, phone number, and birthday in order to effectively set up the account, and then the account must be verified. 

I want to note, however, that it is not possible to set up a Yahoo! account if you do not have a mobile phone number; the website does not accept landline numbers. This might be a problem for people who do not have cell phones but wish to create email accounts. Even though this scenario seems a little far-fetched for people living in technologically-developed countries (i.e.: America), there are places in the world in which some people are not fortunate enough to have a cell phone. Sadly, those people cannot create an account with Yahoo!

Nonetheless, it takes maximum five minutes to go through Yahoo!’s joining process. Then, once you have created your account, you can go back to the Yahoo! home page, which looks like this:

I was born and raised in New York City... but only 11 months out of every year. For one month every summer, I go to Greece to visit my family and - as Greeks call it - the “motherland.” For as long as I can remember, my favorite part of the year has been getting off the plane or the boat and smelling the fresh Greek air. 

This summer, however, was more special than any of the ones that came before it because last year I didn’t get to go to Greece. Not going made me miss the country even more than I could possibly imagine, but this year made up for everything that I had missed last summer. 

We started off our journey with family friends in Milos, a little island in the Cyclades region. The best part of being on that island - an island that I hadn’t visited before - was exploring with friends that are as good as family. Together, we explored different beaches (Kleftiko, Sarakiniko, etc.), ate new and exciting foods, and walked through the town of Adamantas. Milos made me learn to appreciate the Greek islands in their purest, most untouched form. It’s an island that is still very much unbothered by tourism and commotion, and it embodied all of the loveliest features that Greece has to offer. 

Below are pictures of Milos’ beaches:

Next, we made our way Santorini - my second favorite island in Greece. It was my fourth time there and my second time staying with the family friends who we vacationed with in Milos. They are from a wonderful village in the center of the island, about 10 minutes from either end of it. Our days were spent at the beaches, and our nights were spent in Fira, the main city, which is located on the caldera (the cliff-like structure that was left after the island’s volcano erupted). In my opinion, it’s the most magical place on Earth, and everyone should go there at least once in their lifetime if the opportunity arises. I think about Santorini every single day; that island makes me grateful to be Greek.

Below are pictures of Santorini and the caldera:

Video of the caldera:

Last but not least, we went to the island that my family is from: Crete. My little village on a mountain is my favorite place on the planet; it’s been filled with the same old people for as long as I can remember... even the scents are the same. It’s my second home - a place my family goes to escape the hustle and bustle of New York City life. All my cousins, uncles, and aunts visit during the summer, along with the kids I’ve been friends with since I was three years old. Crete is known for being one of the loveliest places to visit in Greece; there’s so much to do and so much to see. Fun fact(!): Crete is known for being the location for the film Zorba the Greek!

Listen to Zorba the Greek:

 https://open.spotify.com/track/30Lj5KKGd8IUEK0s5N3ccN?si=fPYj_7y3RouKymt-n3vczw

My favorite part about going to Crete, though, is always the celebration for August 15th (one of Greece’s most celebrated holidays). Every year on that night, Cretan musicians play their music for the whole village until the early hours of the morning while the youth dances along and the older villagers watch. It’s the liveliest party that the village throws every years, and - in my opinion - the most enjoyable.

Maleviziotikos (Traditional Cretan Dance):

A Cretan song by Nikos Zoidakis:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4TJzgyfcAwDpliXnvKUr4d?si=v_6Zo8D6QNeUmbSvxYlqbw

Now that it’s September, I am back in New York for school, but I am missing Greece more than ever. All I can do is reminisce about the time that I spent there, and look forward to the next time I visit!