— The University of Washington, Husky Union Building—
— The University of Washington, Husky Union Building—
University of Washington Dawg Prints
Redesigning the UW printing system to better support intuitiveness and efficiency
Dawg Prints is the centralized printing service provided by the University of Washington, designed to offer students, faculty, and staff a convenient and efficient way to print documents across multiple locations on campus. Despite its widespread availability and the fundamental importance of printing services in academic settings, many users have reported experiencing significant challenges with the current system. With our team of three, we found an opportunity for design to combat the current challenges.
TIMELINE
March- June 2024
(3 months)
ROLE
User Researcher
UX Designer
TEAM SIZE
3 Researchers
1 Designer (Me)
TOOLS
Figma
Miro
PROBLEM
The current printing process lacks clarity.
Despite the University of Washington's Dawg Prints service being designed to provide an efficient and accessible printing solution for students, faculty, and staff, many users encounter issues primarily due to unclear and lack of instructions. The instructions are often perceived as inadequate or confusing, leading to mistakes and inefficiencies, hindering the overall user experience.
SOLUTION
An intuitive interface design where there is a progress bar and visual indicators to show the printing status as well as guiding users through each step.
Ultimately, Dawg Prints is a system used to easily print. With this, I wanted to redesign the Dawg Prints user interface to be more intuitive and user-friendly. This includes simplifying the file upload process, clearly labeling print options, and streamlining the payment process. With this, the Dawg Prints service can reduce user confusion and frustration, leading to a more efficient and satisfying printing experience for all users.
USER RESEARCH
Understanding pain points.
After determining the problem space we wanted to address, we conducted research to understand the desires and challenges that users face within the Dawg Prints service.
INTERVIEWS
"I think as a first time user, it can be really hard to navigate and know what you're doing. I think the whole process needs to be a little bit more intuitive and definitely somehow incorporate clearer instructions somewhere".
As a group, we interviewed nine UW students with different demographics, majors, and class standing to understand their personal experiences with the printing service. We covered topics such as printing processes, user preferences, and challenges faced to find insights about their pain points and their experiences interacting with the system and process.
Desire for Clearer Instructions & Signage
Many students emphasized a significant demand for clearer instructions and signage. They expressed confusion and frustration with the current instructional materials, indicating that the resources provided do not effectively help them throughout the printing process.
Distribution of Printing Issues Across Steps in the Printing Process
Common difficulties expressed by participants included uploading files, followed by challenges with selecting print options and color printing.
Preference for Personal Devices
Many students prefer printing from personal devices, regardless of how frequently they use the printing services. This trend indicates a strong inclination towards convenience and the ability to print directly from one's device.
Main quotes from interviewees regarding signage, difficulties and device usage.
SURVEYS
Address the primary pain points.
In addition to interviews, we surveyed over thirty people to gather insights on the printing experiences of UW students at Odegaard Library and identify areas for improvement. Gather detailed quantitative data to inform specific design recommendations, solidifying our interview findings.
Some main questions were:
1) What specific challenges have you faced while using the printing services?
2) How would you rate the clarity of the current printing instructions and signage?
3) Where in the printing process do you typically experience the most printing issues?
83.3%
of participants rated a three or lower on the clarity of current instructions provided.
80%
of participants want improvements regarding signage, system redesign, and easier file uploading.
71%
of participants had a preference from printing on personal devices compared to school desktops.
CURRENT PROCESS
What's wrong?
While interviewing, I asked my interviewees to show me the pain points they encountered when using the current interface of Dawg Prints. This helped me understand what features were needed to be implemented (or not) for the redesign.
"What's with this 10?"
"So time consuming, I have to select each one seperately to fix the options print"
"So outdated and why do I click separately to see my orders, I want to see everything on one page"
"Always confused on this refresh"
Current Dawg Prints Interface
OPPORTUNITY FOR REDESIGN
How might we improve the printing experience at Odegaard Library to better meet the needs of UW students, particularly in terms of simplifying the printing process, providing clearer instructions and support, and enabling direct printing from personal devices?
USER FLOW
The user flow helped me to identify the key points that the user will take when entering the Dawg Prints system.
Dawg Prints User Flow
LOW FIDELITY
Using the user flow that was created, I created low-fidelity frames that demonstrate the main tasks that will take place. The low-fidelity frames helped me to rapidly think of ideas which I then iterated on for the final design.
Low-fidelity wireframes for Dawg Prints
FINAL REDESIGN
Here is the newly designed Dawg Prints system. This system focuses on three main task points; uploading files, selecting print options, and making payments. A progress bar has been included to guide users through the process, providing clear visual feedback.
Sign In
A simplified login screen that allows you to sign in with your school-associated NetID and password.
Location
When printing from one's own device, they will choose the location they will be printing to.
Upload
Easy drag and drop or select upload feature that supports many file types.
Select
A selection screen where the document is next to the select options for easy viewing and correlation.
Pay
Users overlook their order summary which includes the documents they want to print before pressing "Pay & Print".
Thank You
Users will receive a release code in which they will enter into any printer at Odegaard Library to obtain their documents, providing a quick and easy process of printing from personal devices and or school devices.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
Interact with the new flow!
REFELCTION
What I have learned from this experience.
User research is key.
Without thorough user research, it would have been impossible to identify the core issues and pain points that users experience with the Dawg Prints system. The insights gained from interviews and surveys were invaluable in shaping our understanding of user needs and preferences.
Active listening & empathy.
Actively listening to interviewees allowed us to pick up on subtle cues and details that might have been missed. It involved not just hearing their words but understanding the emotions and frustrations behind them. Also, when conducting interviews, being empathetic and truly trying to understand your interviewee's problems creates a more meaningful conversation resulting in greater results.
Follow-up questions.
Listening carefully enabled us to ask pertinent follow-up questions. These questions often led to more detailed insights and a better understanding of the specific challenges users faced. For example, when a user mentioned having difficulty with file uploads, we could ask them to describe the exact steps they took and where they encountered issues.