Software Design: iKnowNow
Designing a mobile translation application
Project Overview
With the increasing number of increasing international students and exchange students from different countries, having an effective translation tool on their mobile devices is crucial for effective communication. In this project, our group designed a mobile translation application for students with the goal of assisting them in their academic as well as social life.
The Design Question
How might we design a mobile translation application that is accessible for students and assist them in their academics while also helping them socialize with others that speak a different language?
About the Project
Team Members
- Di-Yun Cheng (myself) - Software Designer
- Andrew Joseph Yusuf - Software Designer
- Sam Alexander Park - Software Designer
- Kevin Rogan - Software Designer
- Calvin Bui - Software Designer
Ideation
Identify Stakeholders
Goal
Identify potential stakeholders of our application.
Challenge
Due to constraints and limited time/resources, we were not able to conduct user interviews to understand our stakeholders more.
Process
Overall, our team held multiple meetings to discuss our ideas and how we should overcome our challenges. Instead of interviews, we conducted research online through articles and videos to identify potential stakeholders.
Result
Identified our main stakeholders which include: Students, Individuals with disabilities, Travelers, and Instructors.
Identify Requirements
Goal
Identify the user requirements of our application.
Challenge
No data collection from user interviews or observations to help define user needs and requirements.
Process
To overcome our challenge, competitive analyses were conducted on Apple’s translator and Google’s translator application. We identified common features and ideate additional features that can be implemented in our product.
Result
Identified our main features which include: Auto detect language, Record voice, Transcript (speech to text), Speaker (text to speech), Compatibility with Bluetooth devices, Offline mode, and General settings.
Designs
Overall, at this stage of the project, with the documents that were produced in the ideation process, our team were able to generate ideal features in which we implemented in the design prototypes created with Figma.
In this stage, I was responsible with another team member to draft the features that were required on each page. Then, we worked closely with our team designer to iterate and refine our designs using Figma.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Features
Main Translator Page Features
- A drop-down menu for preferred language
- Textbox for user input (user can edit or clear text)
- Recording with the microphone button (speech-to-text)
- Auto-Detect Language (when no preferred language is selected)
- Translation feature
- Pronunciation under translated text
Camera Page Features
- Scan now button to scan texts
- Import button to import image files from mobile device
- Dropdown menu for preferred language
- A center text square to help user aim their camera at the text
Settings Page Features
- Access to the user profile page
- Customize default settings (Accent Learning, Voice Recognition, etc.)
- Connect to Bluetooth devices
Reflections
Takeaways
1. Communication is important in team-based projects
Since this project requires multiple meetings and each member is responsible for different tasks, it is important that every member understands the goals of the project and their responsibilities.
2. Don't be shy to share your ideas
This project was my first team-based project that focuses on designing a software. At first, I was hesitant to share my ideas because I don't think my ideas were good enough. However, I realize the importance of sharing ideas and expressing my opinions as I'm also a part of the team. After the second meeting and going forward, I was able to share my thoughts and recognize the importance of sharing ideas.
3. Importance of conducting user research
In this project, we were unable to conduct user research due to limited time and resources. Therefore, our ideation process was based on our assumptions and may not be an accurate representation of our user groups.
Next Steps
1. Conduct user research through user interviews, observations, or other methods
2. Include additional features based on the data collected during user research
3. Design an interactive prototype
4. User testing and refining our application
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