Key elements for UX-based design, applied in the improvement of the academic service of Peruvian university education in the context of COVID-19

Abstract

The support systems for academic management are of vital importance for the development of activities in a higher education institution and their integration with learning platforms are key for a quality educational service, a requirement intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most universities in Peru, these applications are far from the necessary critical requirements and especially if seen in terms of user experience (UX), however, it is still observed that they do not apply the methodologies or techniques of this approach, they don't even consider the profile of the key user, the student, according to the context in which it operates. That is why a study was conducted through interviews applied to IT staff, which includes five dimensions and surveys to 611 students, with the purpose of characterizing it, based on three conditions, as well as identifying the key elements for the UX design of the academic management support system, through eight criteria with the objective of improving the service provided. The results of the evaluation raise the need to improve usability, based on the characterization of the student, identifying as key elements, that the students are digital natives, they use the various technological media very frequently, although there was a lack of mastery of digital skills. They make use of the academic management support system but not through the mobile mainly because it is not designed for that environment; in visual logic, the majority specifies that the elements of the same theme must be close to each other; regarding performance, access time should be reduced and interaction with the user should be improved; Finally, online support must be improved, as well as the immediacy in dealing with incidents, as a result of the pandemic.