Acceleread Academic Research Assistant
My Role:
Product Design Lead
Project Type:
Product (App) Design
Project Date
09/2024
Prototype Link
Executive Summary
Problem Statement
Students can only sometimes commit all their time to studying for various reasons. Research papers are among the most challenging tasks for those who are neurodivergent or have jobs due to their time-consuming nature. How might we empower students to optimize their research writing process so that they can still succeed with limited time and concentration?
Solution
Acceleread is an innovative productivity App that aims to make academic research easier by breaking each research project into smaller microlearning sessions. Users can read simplified academic papers and use Acceleread as their on-the-go workplace.
Features
AI Project assistant
AI will break down projects into manageable tasks and stack up streaks as users complete weekly tasks.
Organize insights
With the build-in sticky, notebook, and blackboard, no matter where users work, their insights is always recorded and organized.
Work without limits
Acceleread AI will summarize papers to a short read, helping users find the resources they need within minutes.
Gamification
Utilize gamification elements to create a microlearning experiences with a high level of user engagement.

Research Process

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Formative Usability Testing With Wireframe
We created wireframe and conducted user tests with 6 participants. We asked them to perform key tasks of Acceleread and detailed feedback on areas of improvement. Here are all the key insights we gathered and our actions to improve our product.
Unpolished UX Writing
4 out of 6 participants had noted some confusion in the UX copy, especially the the journal section.
Our Fix
Choose more concise expressions, utilizing more natural sentences to communicated to our users.
Questionable Icons
4 out of 6 participants felt unsure about the meanings of some icons, especially for the navigation tabs.
Our Fix
Redesign those icons to reflect their meanings better and differentiate them from each other to avoid confusion.
Inconsistent usability
All participants noticed an inconsistency in usability, specifically in font and button sizes.
Our Fix
Ensure the button and font sizes are standardized and meet the accessibility standards.
Additional changes based on feedbacks:
  • More compelling gamification features;
  • Better dashboard/home page design with more core features to help users quickly get into working;
  • Shared notes within team;
High Fidelity Prototype
Get only a few minutes?
Don't worry if users only have a few minutes; our AI rewrite feature will allow them to read an article within any time they have.
Take notes with ease.
Add notes as users read, no need to grab some pen and paper.
Your portable paper workstation.
Look at recent notes, brainstorm new ideas, or even write your paper. Acceleread's notes and blackboard feature ensures that users can work everywhere with their phones.
Need a reminder?
Once project information is entered, Acceleread will help you meet the deadlines with fragmented, easy-to-achieve weekly tasks.
Have fun and stay motivated.
Complete tasks on time to rank high on the leaderboard. Achieve long-term goals by getting new badges and incentives like free membership trials.
Business Model
A great product needs a good business model to serve the users while ensuring business benefits. Here is Acceleread's business model:
Next steps...
The project is a school project where time and course requirements put constraints on what our team was able to achieve. I understand the limitations of the current design, and a further action plan has been discussed to help elevate the project even further:
  • Additional usability testing including System Usability Scale surveys;
  • Explore a more compelling and engaging gamification system;
  • Further brand visual design explorations;
  • Complete accessibility testing for neurodivergent users;
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