I worked with a UX designer to create the wireframes, but I wasn’t heavily involved in the process (something I would change after this project since as you can guess, it caused issues). I began visual design as my colleague started user testing (another mistake). Users felt there were too many complex interactions in the experience which made simple use cases too time consuming; a great insight. But as we went to make adjustments, the wireframes were also so complicated with integrated interactions that changes were too laborious and time consuming, so they quickly became out of sync with visual mockups which were faster to update, all leading to stress and confusion for engineering and QA.
To save our sanity, the UX designer and I paired with engineers to make changes and adjustments. We launched the new app on iPads around campus to much rejoicing, as colleagues enjoyed a streamlined booking experience, accurate calendars, and reduced downtime. And I learned UX and UI cannot be done separately; a wide-known fact these days but I’m glad I got to experience it first-hand.
