Baobab

Research and gamification

Introduction

Audit

Interviews

Tests

Insigths

Outcome

Introduction

Introduction

Desktop and mobile revamp

UX Research

UX Design

Overview

Educational app for 11–12 year-old students

Educational app for 11–12 year-old students

Users

  • First-year middle school students (11–12)

  • Limited attention span, requiring simple and focused interactions

  • Need for clear guidance to support task completion

  • First-year middle school students (11–12)

  • Limited attention span, requiring simple and focused interactions

  • Need for clear guidance to support task completion

Role

UX audit, user interviews and user testing,
Planned and conducted user testing with children and parents to identify friction points and inform UX improvements,
With the goal of creating a clearer and more intuitive experience.

UX audit, user interviews and user testing,
Planned and conducted user testing with children and parents to identify friction points and inform UX improvements,
With the goal of creating a clearer and more intuitive experience.

Frictions

Navigation and comprehension issues limiting user autonomy
Friction in key user flows
Hesitation and task abandonment
Engagement decreasing over time despite an initially positive experience

Navigation and comprehension issues limiting user autonomy
Friction in key user flows
Hesitation and task abandonment
Engagement decreasing over time despite an initially positive experience

Goals

Improve usability, clarity and gamification for children aged 11–12
Strengthen engagement through simple, age-appropriate gamification
Enhance the experience while working within the constraints of the existing MVP

Improve usability, clarity and gamification for children aged 11–12
Strengthen engagement through simple, age-appropriate gamification
Enhance the experience while working within the constraints of the existing MVP

Challenges

Audit

Challenge

The audit was conducted upfront to identify structural usability, accessibility, and consistency issues, and to inform the testing scenarios and interview guides.

Objectives:

The audit was conducted upfront to identify structural usability, accessibility, and consistency issues, and to inform the testing scenarios and interview guides.

Objectives:

Objectives

  • Identify structural usability issues across key user journeys

  • Assess accessibility barriers impacting inclusive use

  • Evaluate visual and interaction consistency across the platform

  • Inform test scenarios and interview guides with evidence-based findings

  • Identify structural usability issues across key user journeys

  • Assess accessibility barriers impacting inclusive use

  • Evaluate visual and interaction consistency across the platform

  • Inform test scenarios and interview guides with evidence-based findings

User Interviews

Approach

Semi-structured interviews with parents to explore how they and their children use the Baobab app for homework support, uncover pain points, understand routines, and gather expectations around usability, clarity, and learning effectiveness.

Semi-structured interviews with parents to explore how they and their children use the Baobab app for homework support, uncover pain points, understand routines, and gather expectations around usability, clarity, and learning effectiveness.

Objectives

  • Understand homework routines and usage contexts

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit

  • Explore trust and safety expectations

  • Identify unmet needs in homework guidance and motivation

  • Understand homework routines and usage contexts

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit

  • Explore trust and safety expectations

  • Identify unmet needs in homework guidance and motivation

User Tests

Approach

Scenario-based usability tests with parents and children to assess clarity, ease of use, and error prevention when completing homework-related tasks in the Baobab app.

Scenario-based usability tests with parents and children to assess clarity, ease of use, and error prevention when completing homework-related tasks in the Baobab app.

Problem statement

  • Observe how parents and children complete homework tasks in the app

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit under real usage conditions

  • Assess clarity, feedback, and ease of use of key features

  • Identify friction points and unmet needs in daily homework workflows

  • Observe how parents and children complete homework tasks in the app

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit under real usage conditions

  • Assess clarity, feedback, and ease of use of key features

  • Identify friction points and unmet needs in daily homework workflows

Insights

Key pain points

  • Lack of guidance and visual consistency, causing navigation hesitation (observed during usability testing)

  • Insufficient system feedback during loading and image processing, creating uncertainty about system status

  • Gamification elements (achievements) lacked context and visibility, reducing perceived value

  • Limited personalization options, weakening emotional engagement over time

  • Lack of guidance and visual consistency, causing navigation hesitation (observed during usability testing)

  • Insufficient system feedback during loading and image processing, creating uncertainty about system status

  • Gamification elements (achievements) lacked context and visibility, reducing perceived value

  • Limited personalization options, weakening emotional engagement over time

Key recommendations

  • Harmonize illustration and icon styles to improve consistency and reduce cognitive load

  • Improve iconography for key actions (e.g. clearer “add course” icon) to support faster recognition

  • Add contextual onboarding for first-time actions and unexplored pages

  • Provide informative feedback during loading and image processing

  • Reinforce gamification by clarifying achievement meaning and visibility

  • Introduce personalization options (avatars, subject colors) to support long-term engagement

  • Harmonize illustration and icon styles to improve consistency and reduce cognitive load

  • Improve iconography for key actions (e.g. clearer “add course” icon) to support faster recognition

  • Add contextual onboarding for first-time actions and unexplored pages

  • Provide informative feedback during loading and image processing

  • Reinforce gamification by clarifying achievement meaning and visibility

  • Introduce personalization options (avatars, subject colors) to support long-term engagement

Outcome

Benefits

  • Reduced navigation errors and faster completion of key user flows, observed during usability testing

  • Improved user confidence through clearer hierarchy and consistent system feedback

  • Increased interaction with core features, especially progress tracking

  • Enhanced motivation supported by visible progress indicators and light, non-intrusive comparison elements

  • Reduced navigation errors and faster completion of key user flows, observed during usability testing

  • Improved user confidence through clearer hierarchy and consistent system feedback

  • Increased interaction with core features, especially progress tracking

  • Enhanced motivation supported by visible progress indicators and light, non-intrusive comparison elements

Let’s work together

Let’s elevate your project

ebecca

olombel

About me

Projects

AFD

School transports

Services

UX Research

UX Design

Wireframe

UI Design

Prototype

Illustrations

My artistic Journey

Socials

Baobab

Research and gamification

Introduction

Audit

Interviews

Tests

Insigths

Outcome

Introduction

Desktop and mobile revamp

UX Research

UX Design

Overview

Educational app for 11–12 year-old students

Users

  • First-year middle school students (11–12)

  • Limited attention span, requiring simple and focused interactions

  • Need for clear guidance to support task completion

Role

UX audit, user interviews and user testing,
Planned and conducted user testing with children and parents to identify friction points and inform UX improvements,
With the goal of creating a clearer and more intuitive experience.

Frictions

Navigation and comprehension issues limiting user autonomy
Friction in key user flows
Hesitation and task abandonment
Engagement decreasing over time despite an initially positive experience

Goals

Improve usability, clarity and gamification for children aged 11–12
Strengthen engagement through simple, age-appropriate gamification
Enhance the experience while working within the constraints of the existing MVP

Challenges

Audit

Challenge

The audit was conducted upfront to identify structural usability, accessibility, and consistency issues, and to inform the testing scenarios and interview guides.

Objectives:

Objectives

  • Identify structural usability issues across key user journeys

  • Assess accessibility barriers impacting inclusive use

  • Evaluate visual and interaction consistency across the platform

  • Inform test scenarios and interview guides with evidence-based findings

User Interviews

Approach

Semi-structured interviews with parents to explore how they and their children use the Baobab app for homework support, uncover pain points, understand routines, and gather expectations around usability, clarity, and learning effectiveness.

Objectives

  • Understand homework routines and usage contexts

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit

  • Explore trust and safety expectations

  • Identify unmet needs in homework guidance and motivation

User Tests

Approach

Scenario-based usability tests with parents and children to assess clarity, ease of use, and error prevention when completing homework-related tasks in the Baobab app.

Problem statement

  • Observe how parents and children complete homework tasks in the app

  • Validate usability issues identified in the audit under real usage conditions

  • Assess clarity, feedback, and ease of use of key features

  • Identify friction points and unmet needs in daily homework workflows

Insights

Key pain points

  • Lack of guidance and visual consistency, causing navigation hesitation (observed during usability testing)

  • Insufficient system feedback during loading and image processing, creating uncertainty about system status

  • Gamification elements (achievements) lacked context and visibility, reducing perceived value

  • Limited personalization options, weakening emotional engagement over time

Key recommendations

  • Harmonize illustration and icon styles to improve consistency and reduce cognitive load

  • Improve iconography for key actions (e.g. clearer “add course” icon) to support faster recognition

  • Add contextual onboarding for first-time actions and unexplored pages

  • Provide informative feedback during loading and image processing

  • Reinforce gamification by clarifying achievement meaning and visibility

  • Introduce personalization options (avatars, subject colors) to support long-term engagement

Outcome

Benefits

  • Reduced navigation errors and faster completion of key user flows, observed during usability testing

  • Improved user confidence through clearer hierarchy and consistent system feedback

  • Increased interaction with core features, especially progress tracking

  • Enhanced motivation supported by visible progress indicators and light, non-intrusive comparison elements

Let’s work together

Let’s elevate your project

rebecca.colombel@hotmail.fr

+33606740954

ebecca

olombel

About me

Projects

AFD

School transports

Services

UX Research

UX Design

Wireframe

UI Design

Prototype

Illustrations

My artistic Journey

Socials