The ask was quite simple: give students everything they need in one place, from timetables to grades. It also has to connect to multiple systems and departments at the University of Amsterdam, all with some pretty complicated back end components.
We unlocked the data of seven different institutional bodies and made it work with newer technology. Facilitating communication and interaction between the students and the university faculty.
UX played a very big role in an app’s success. This was only achieved by involving the user directly during the development and design process. 150 students put themselves forward to participate in the process. From the conversations with students, we learned that the app should breathe the mindset of the students, not necessarily the institutional structure of the university. Everything had to be a bit more free and playful.
“We had to see how far we could drift away from the university’s standards. It had to be clear that it’s a university app, but with a fresh look”.
– Bas, Lead Designer
Timetables were a central part of the application, however, this data didn’t come from just one party. Seven different parties had to be involved in order to unlock and use all the relevant information in the app.
Our lead developer Léon Smit advised that we use the React Native framework. This hybrid technology makes communication possible between web and native applications. New features could be added even though dated systems had to be used. This reduced costs, keeping the university happy and providing the student with a fast and elegant app that could they expect to have on their phones.
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