A self initiated mobile app for Middlesex University Dubai that makes booking campus activities and joining clubs fair, simple and stress free.
THE STORY
Hub19, our campus gaming hub, was the place everyone wanted to hang out. But there was no way to book it. You had to wait around in person, and if you stepped away for a minute, you could lose your spot. It felt unfair and pretty chaotic.
A mobile app where students can book a time slot at Hub19, join and keep up with clubs, and get notified about their bookings. Staff get a simple way to add games and clubs and manage schedules. Simple, fair and no more hovering by the door.
THE BIGGER CHALLENGE
It wasn't just Hub19. My friends and I also found it hard to keep track of clubs and actually join them. That told me there was a chance to improve how the whole student activities department worked, not just one room.
OBJECTIVES
Understand the deeper issues in the student activities department
Find out what students struggle with in the current booking process
Research and define clear personas
Design low and high fidelity prototypes
Test the solution with real users to make sure it meets their needs
THE PROCESS
Secondary researchSurvey and interviews
Personas and journey mapsUse case diagram
Sketches and wireframesHigh fidelity prototype
Usability testingFindings and redesign
SURVEY & INTERVIEWS
Before talking to anyone, I read up on student motivation and how gamification can encourage people to take part. I then sent students a quick five minute survey to understand their needs, motivations and frustrations. To go deeper, I interviewed students and faculty in the department about the issues they faced and what they thought of the systems already in place.
“I'd rather book online”
Hub19 game times aren't clear
QR codes and the website don't always work
Club meetings are too late at night
“Why do I log in every time?”
The booking site is hard on a phone
Anyone could show my confirmation screenshot
No reminder when my slot is ending
“The paper register can be faked”
Game times are tracked by hand
Club sign ups are scattered
Daytime activities would keep members
KEY INSIGHTS
Students much preferred an online system for booking games and joining club activities.
Nobody was quite sure when Hub19 games were on, which was the biggest frustration.
Websites and QR codes existed, but they didn't always help people actually sign up.
Many found evening club sessions hard to make and asked for more daytime activities.
PERSONAS
I grouped participants with similar answers in a spreadsheet, and two clear personas came out of it: Joe Sanders, "The Enthusiast", a social final year student who lives at Hub19 between classes, and Maria Khan, "The Intellectual", who wants to join activities but keeps leaving clubs because the timings clash with her studies.
USER JOURNEY MAPS
Next, I storyboarded a typical Hub19 visit and turned it into a journey map, from making plans with friends to booking a table and returning the equipment. It showed exactly where things broke: logging in every time, a booking site that didn't work well on phones, confirmations that could be faked and no reminder when a slot was ending. To pin down who does what, I also drew a use case diagram covering students, club coordinators and staff.
SKETCHES & WIREFRAMES
I hand drew all my first sketches, working through how each screen could meet the personas' needs. Then I moved into Figma to create wireframes, which helped me choose the right design patterns, shape the menu bar and decide where everything should sit on screen.
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
I designed the high fidelity screens in Figma and linked them into a clickable prototype. Early feedback showed students needed an easier way to browse games and clubs, wanted their booking status and time to be obvious, and wanted to book, cancel or change bookings remotely. So I added recommendations and a status bar to the home page, and a manage booking option.
USER TESTING
Once the prototype was ready, I tested it with the same students I had interviewed at the start, plus two faculty members. Each person worked through realistic scenarios: students booked the earliest Hub19 slot before a cancelled class, joined the book club and tracked their hours, while staff added a new PlayStation game, fixed a game description, updated a club schedule and opened bookings for the cricket club.
FINDINGS & REDESIGN
I logged every issue in a table with its priority, then redesigned the areas where people struggled. Staff asked to see how many people registered for each event, wanted music and dance clubs to be bookable too, and suggested adding bus timings, while small wording fixes like "captain" instead of "coordinator" made the sports clubs clearer. I also refined screens like messages based on feedback.
OUTCOMES
MDX Hub proved to be a useful app for both faculty and students, based on the results of the usability tests. Overall the process went well, and the feedback on the project was very positive.
FINAL THOUGHTS
One app for work, life and everything in between across Dubai's financial district.
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