Overview

Our team at Parangat Technologies developed an intuitive mobile app for the Zero Investment for Innovative Education programme (ZIIEI) to make their resources more accessible and user-friendly. This app amplifies ZIIEI’s impact by enabling teachers across India to more easily access resources, connect with one another, and share best practices—wherever they are.

Developing an Intuitive Mobile App for Zieei

The end product provides an excellent user experience with intuitive navigation, visually appealing screens, and smooth performance. Since launching, the app has received outstanding user reviews and achieved the core goals set by Zefoo

Understanding ZIIEI’s Goals

ZIIEI works with teachers spread across India to empower innovation in education. Their mission is to collaborate with educators to identify needs, surface solutions, and harness the power of zero-investment innovations.

We saw an opportunity to magnify their impact by creating an easy-to-use mobile app

At the outset, we took time to understand their specific goals:

  • Make educational resources readily available for teachers
  • Enable networking and sharing of ideas between educators
  • Allow teachers to showcase and find zero-investment innovations
  • Streamline access so teachers can easily utilize ZIIEI’s offerings

Optimised for Teachers

With ZIIEI’s goals in mind, our focus was designing an intuitive interface optimised for teachers. The app needed to fit into their busy lives and provide value without friction.
We conducted user research including surveys and interviews with teachers across India.

This provided critical insights into their needs and pain points which informed the app’s development. Key findings:

  • Access on low-bandwidth networks is crucial
  • Streamlined workflows for resources and sharing
  • Ability to connect with other teachers
  • Offline functionality a plus

Armed with these user insights, we designed the app experience around seamlessly meeting teachers’ needs.

An Impactful Opportunity to Innovate

Maximizing Reach & Accessibility

Developing this app for ZIIEI presented an exciting opportunity to innovate in a meaningful way. Our goal was to maximize their reach and accessibility for teachers across India.

We focused on building an app that would work well on low-bandwidth networks, essential for rural areas. Our development approach concentrated on optimization and performance to ensure reliable access.

The app was designed responsively for seamless usage across smartphones, tablets, and basic mobile devices. This improved the experience for teachers with varying levels of technology access.

We also implemented offline functionality to enable access even with intermittent connectivity. Teachers can download resources when online and continue accessing materials offline as needed.

User-Friendly Design

Throughout the process, user-friendly design was central to our approach. We wanted teachers to instantly feel at home in the app and be able to intuitively navigate it.

Through rapid prototypes and user testing, we refined the information architecture and interface elements. Clear navigation, thoughtful menus and flows, and a clean visual design all contribute to the app’s usability.

We also implemented thoughtful UX touches like progress trackers, saved drafts, and reminders to create a frictionless experience. These details help the app fit seamlessly into teachers’ workflows.

What we did

We at Parangat Technologies collaborated closely with ZIIEI to deeply understand their mission, objectives, and pain points of their users. With teachers’ needs at the core, we designed and developed a mobile-first experience that simplifies access to resources, connections with peers, and sharing innovations. Thoughtful design choices, rigorous testing, and rapid iteration resulted in a highly intuitive app that users love.

Parangat Technologies handled the full application development lifecycle for this project. Our development team built super-fast, accessible native apps tailored specifically for teachers’ needs.

Conducted User Research

Surveys Across India

  • Created survey questionnaires covering pain points, needs, and feature desires
  • Distributed surveys to thousands of teachers across urban and rural areas
  • Received over 1,500 detailed survey responses for analysis

Focus Groups in 5 Cities

  • Conducted focus group discussions with 40 teachers
  • Asked open-ended questions to uncover challenges and frustrations
  • Probed on workflows, tools, and barriers to innovation
  • Uncovered key insights around limitations and needs

Stakeholder Interviews

  • Interviewed 12 educational stakeholders via phone
  • Spoke with principals, administrators, and school board members
  • Gathered perspectives on innovation barriers and suggested solutions

Developed a High-Performance App

Built An Android Apps

  • Developed native apps on each platform for optimal speed and responsiveness
  • Leveraged platform-specific APIs and capabilities on iOS and Android
  • Created reactive, performant interface with framework

Accessibility Best Practices

  • Implemented proper AA contrast ratios, screen reader support, and keyboard shortcuts
  • Conducted accessibility testing to uncover areas for improvement
  • Updated designs and code to improve experience for all users

Rigorous QA Testing

  • Performed extensive testing across devices, OS versions, and use cases
  • Fixed critical bugs prior to release to ensure stability
  • Continued minor bug fixes and optimizations post-launch

Designed a Mobile-First Experience

Mobile-First Information Architecture

  • Organized features and content hierarchy for in-the-moment mobile use
  • Designed navigation optimized for quick access and minimized taps
  • Created flexible IA that can expand as future features roll out

Intuitive Mobile Workflows

  • Wireframed smooth workflows for key teacher tasks
  • Minimized steps required to complete critical actions
  • Included progress indicators and reminders for mobile context

Visual Design for All Device Sizes

  • Developed responsive visual design working across phone, tablet, and desktop
  • Implemented flexible layouts and UI elements that adapt to any screen
  • Optimized interactions and navigation for touch on mobile devices

Launched and Iterated

Robust Native App Development

  • Built native apps on Android to provide best performance
  • Leveraged native APIs and platform capabilities on each OS
  • Implemented advanced features like offline access and notifications

Internal Testing and Bug Fixes

  • Conducted extensive internal QA testing across multiple deviceser support, and keyboard shortcuts
  • Fixed bugs and polished flows based on internal feedback
  • Performed final UX and UI refinements prior to launch

Phased Launch Process

  • Managed app store publishing and rollout
  • Started with a phased launch to 1% of users for testing
  • Monitored performance, bugs, and feedback from early access users
  • Expanded to 100% after confirming app stability and quality

Crafting a User-Friendly App Experience

Leveraging Parangat Technologies years of expertise in mobile app development, we were able to craft an exceptionally intuitive and user-friendly app experience.

Simplified Workflows

We analyzed teachers’ key tasks and optimized the information architecture and workflows to make these actions seamless. Core workflows like accessing resources, sharing innovations, and connecting with peers are incredibly straightforward.

Clean Visual Design

Following visual design best practices, we implemented clear hierarchies, ample white space, and an interface aligned with ZIIEI’s brand. This creates a delightful experience.

Thoughtful Design Details

Thoughtful UX touches guide teachers through workflows and enhance engagement. Elements like progress trackers, reminders, and saved drafts reduce friction.

Built for All Levels of Technology

By optimizing performance and implementing offline functionality, the app delivers a smooth experience for teachers on low-bandwidth networks with limited technology access.