All beginnings are easy – with UXMA

With the new progressive web app “Moin CAU”, Kiel University wants to provide students with a virtual “study buddy” to help them get started with their studies at CAU. The goal is to make the new app as handy and intuitive as possible so that all students can use it. The app is intended to help students gain a quick and informative overview of studying at CAU Kiel. Especially in the current times, this digital support should help students to familiarize themselves with university life and to get helpful tips, as direct contact to students in higher semesters is not currently possible.

The application bundles the most important information for the start of studies at CAU – from the essential contact persons and online platforms to important tools and tips for studying and online lectures. With individual applications, the app can also serve as a useful tool for students in higher semesters. For example, the interactive campus map provides all important information on locations and accessibility. In addition, the map tool offers a comprehensive list of abbreviations for better orientation on campus. Another feature of the app is the ready-made to-do lists that are designed to help students work through all relevant topics about studying at CAU step-by-step and discover many more exciting activities in Kiel. Students can also create their own checklists in the web app.

In just three months, we were able to take this project from greenfield to finished product. After an extensive product field analysis, we worked out the visions and requirements for the product together with our customers in a one-day kick-off workshop. The exact user groups were determined and use cases defined. From these, we were then able to derive app features that we implemented in the Progressive Web App in the following three months. A user experience test was then conducted, in which students were surveyed after using the app for the first time. Their feedback was then implemented in the final version. In addition to the focus on the user experience, we were keen to find a user-friendly content management system (CMS) for the editorial content maintenance and a catchy visual language based on the existing corporate identity (CI) of the university. 

The development of the app was supported by funds from the Ministry of Education and Research as part of the project successful teaching and learning (PerLe) and in cooperation with the central university library of the CAU.

We are pleased to provide new and already active students at CAU Kiel with an app that can help them study and find their way around the university. The web app will be available as of April 15 at moin.uni-kiel.de.

• Kick-Off Workshop

• UI Design

• Software Development in Front- and Backend

• Content Management System

• User Testing

• Map integration from OpenStreetMap

• Graphical animations