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Making Deadlines Impossible to Miss

Making Deadlines Impossible to Miss

My Role: Volunteer UX Designer

Company: Prototyp3, an EdTech platform connecting students with real company projects

The Team: 4 designers, 2 developers on 0→1

Target Users: College Students

My Contribution: Led independent iteration on 1→2, redesigned progress tracking, validated with 5/5 confidence

Case Study Timeline: 8 weeks

"We were in the second-to-last week and I didn't realize we were so close to the deadline."
— Student who didn't finish

The Problem

Why students couldn't track deadlines

  • Couldn't find deadline dates on the dashboard

  • Didn't know their timeline position (Week 5 of 8? Week 7 of 10?)

  • Milestone tracker buried below company info they'd already read

  • No urgency signals when deadlines were approaching

How can we make deadlines impossible to miss so students can confidently finish their cohort?

Before

After

V1 Usability Test Findings: Why Students Missed Deadlines

Key Issues identified:

  • Information architecture: Milestones buried below company info (3/4 participants affected)

  • Progress tracking: No visible dates or timeline position (3/4 participants affected)

  • Urgency signals: No accountability system for deadlines (2/4 participants affected)

Taking ownership of the next iteration cycle

After synthesis, I scoped the work into a focused 8 week iteration cycle I could own independently: redesign progress tracking and validate with users.

Designing the Solutions

1

Increasing Timeline Visibility

Before

After

2

Impossible to Miss Milestones

Before

After

3

Display Deadline Info First

Improving the information hierarchy

  • Moving non-urgent items below timeline and milestone tracker

  • Students see deadline and urgent items first

Usability Testing: Can students find deadlines instantly?

Who I tested with

  • 2 returning students from V1 testing

  • 2 new testers

What I tested

The original problem was deadline visibility where students couldn't find deadlines fast enough to act on them. I needed to prove V2 actually solved this.

How I tested

Instead of a clickable prototype, I showed 3 static screenshots representing different project scenarios:

  1. Week 1 (9 weeks ahead) - Can students find their first deadline?

  2. Week 5 on-track (milestone due in 2 days) - Does urgency register?

  3. Week 5 overdue (missed deadline) - Does the warning state grab attention immediately?

How I measured success

  • Time to find next deadline (<10 seconds = students can act on it)

  • Whether overdue state grabbed attention (<5 seconds = creates urgency)

  • Confidence in tracking deadlines (4-5 out of 5 = solution works)

  • Test 1: Can students immediately see their timeline and deadlines?

    In V1, students reported deadline info buried below company details - this tests if they can now spot it immediately

    Summary of test 1 findings

    • 4/4 students found deadlines <10 sec

    • One student missed "Week 1 of 10"

    Changes for next iteration

    • Increase prominence of timeline position to achieve 100% visibility.

  • Test 2: Can students identify what needs their attention next?

    In V1, students had to do mental math for dates. This tests if "Due in 2 days" and milestone states make urgency obvious.

    Summary of test 2 findings

    • Showing "2 days away!" eliminates mental math

    • Progress and urgency are now immediately visible

  • Test 3: 1 overdue milestone at week 5 of cohort

    In V1 students reported lack of overdue reminder. This tests if the red warnings grab attention in under 5 seconds

    Summary of test 3 findings

    • Red warning icon creates immediate urgency <5 sec

    • Bias: Participants who've seen earlier screens remember where deadlines are

    • All students gave 5/5 confidence rating

    Changes for next iteration

    Test this screen first to eliminate learning bias from previous screens

  • Test 1: Can students immediately see their timeline and deadlines?

    In V1, students reported deadline info buried below company details - this tests if they can now spot it immediately

    Summary of test 1 findings

    • 4/4 students found deadlines <10 sec

    • One student missed "Week 1 of 10"

    Changes for next iteration

    • Increase prominence of timeline position to achieve 100% visibility.

  • Test 2: Can students identify what needs their attention next?

    In V1, students had to do mental math for dates. This tests if "Due in 2 days" and milestone states make urgency obvious.

    Summary of test 2 findings

    • Showing "2 days away!" eliminates mental math

    • Progress and urgency are now immediately visible

  • Test 3: 1 overdue milestone at week 5 of cohort

    In V1 students reported lack of overdue reminder. This tests if the red warnings grab attention in under 5 seconds

    Summary of test 3 findings

    • Red warning icon creates immediate urgency <5 sec

    • Bias: Participants who've seen earlier screens remember where deadlines are

    • All students gave 5/5 confidence rating

    Changes for next iteration

    Test this screen first to eliminate learning bias from previous screens

Summary Results: V2 iteration solved the core deadline visibility problem

4/4

Found next deadline in <10 seconds

4/4

Noticed overdue state in <5 seconds

5/5

Confidence rating on deadline tracking

"Due in X days" format eliminated mental calculation:

"Due in two days is infinitely more useful than due November 30, 2025. I don't need to do mental calculation. Step 1: look at date. Step 2: figure out today. Step 3: calculate difference. With 'due in 2 days' it's one step."
— Justin, Masters Engineer/Mentor

Fast onboarding confirmed:

"When I looked at test two, I instantly have an idea of where everything is now. The barrier to entry or onboarding process is very fast."
— Justin, Masters Engineer/Mentor

Overdue state grabbed immediate attention:

"Wow, I really like that it grabs my attention right away. It is pretty urgent and is the first thing that I need to address."

— Somto, Engineer Student

Information architecture fix validated:

"Yes absolutely. With it moved down the page and now that the milestone, resources are at the top, I feel like I have what I need to complete my deliverables on time."

— Teresa, Student

What I learned

  • Relative time ("2 days away") drove urgency better than absolute dates - students don't do mental math

  • Sequential testing created bias - participants learned UI from earlier screens, skewing overdue scenario results

  • Urgency requires both deadline AND timeline position, not just deadline visibility alone

  • Solo iteration meant no design critique - missed timeline position prominence until testing

What needs refinement for next iteration:

  • Timeline position visibility (3/4 saw "Week 1 of 10" immediately. Timeline needs refinement to reach 100% visibility)

  • Testing methodology (sequential bias in overdue scenario: show the overdue page first in the test rather than last)

Thank you =)

UX/UI Designer

Amanda Keay

Linked In

amanda.keay520@gmail.com

Check out my other work!