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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

Deadlines Were Invisible

  • Students 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 Testing Revealed Three Critical Gaps

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

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

  3. 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.

Making Deadlines Impossible to Miss

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

V2 Solved the Core Problem: Students Found Deadlines Instantly

Who I tested with

  • 2 returning students from V1 testing

  • 2 new testers (college students)

What I tested

  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: Can students sense urgency signals?

    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: Can students sense urgency signals?

    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: Deadlines Went from Invisible to Instant

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 =)

Product Designer

Amanda Keay

Linked In

amanda.keay520@gmail.com

Check out my other work!