Oscar Redesigned, 2022
A redesign of Georgia Tech's registration system to create a user-friendly student computer registration system and website
This redesign project aimed to overhaul the Georgia Institute of Technology's student registration system called OSCAR – Online Student Computer Assisted Registration. The system at the time was cumbersome, and unpleasing to look at, which frustrated students who are already stressed when registering for the classes they need to take.
My role —
ux designer/researcher + visual/branding designer
User design & research
Prototyping
Visual design & branding
Timeline —
Apr - Mar 2022
Registering for classes is stressful and complicated.
Students registering for classes for the next semester during the registration period often feel overwhelmed by the process, especially when registering using a mobile device, leading to confusion and frustration, and more importantly, missing out on classes they need to take.
As a result, students may find a delay in their academic progress, and potentially impacting their graduation timeline and their future career plans.
Our goal was to propose a redesign for OSCAR so students could complete key registration tasks with clearer information hierarchy and fewer steps, essentially lowering the cognitive load for already stressed students.
Students want an efficient registration system with a user-friendly, responsive interface with a clear sense of information hierarchy.
Our team used our insights from our own personal experience with the OSCAR system alongside online surveys from other fellow Georgia Tech students, as well as online research from students from other schools to gather qualitative data on user needs and pain points.
Student most want a better search feature, such as being able to search for a course registration number.
Student want an efficient user interface with color-coding and information hierarchy.
Students feel their experience would be improved if the registration system had a better visual and intuitive design.
Design a user-friendly, color-coded, and logically intuitive student course registration system.
Our team designed a a high-fi Figma prototype to visualize our proposed solution for redesigning the OSCAR system. We focused on only redesigning a few functions of the system due to time constraints such as Select Term, Add or Drop Classes, and Look Up Classes. In our prototype, we made sure to bring to life what we envisioned for a better registration system. For example, we aimed to decrease the information overload by compartementalizing the information. A color-coded UI with clear visual hierarchy helps users navigate the system more easily. We also decreased the amount of pages the user has to go through to complete to register. For example, we have the ability to add classes and see how the classes fit in the week in one page, rather than having the look up classes, search classes, and see weekly scheduled in separate pages.
Please select the full screen button on the top right of frame to fully experience the prototype.
In this project, our team was relied on our own creativity to design and propose a solution to OSCAR's registration system's challenges. For the ideation process, it took many brainstorming sessions and collaborative discussions to generate ideas and refine our approach. It was the most fun and a definite eye-opening experience that highlighted the importance of the ideation process in problem-solving. What I learned most from this design challenge project is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, different viewpoints can lead to more innovative outcomes, and most importantly, there are no such thing as bad ideas.
I learned the importance of communication and collaboration when working in a large group. It was essential to ensure that everyone was on the same page and that all ideas were heard and considered. This experience taught me how to navigate group dynamics and leverage the strengths of each team member to achieve our common goal. In a team that came from the same major, yet different background, every team member had a unique perspective and solution for the redesign challenge. Being able to integrate these diverse viewpoints was key to our success.