UT registration plus

Turning user insights into a more intuitive experience for 60,000 students

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Introduction

PROBLEM

solution

research

Insights to action

Design solutions

reflection

Role

Lead Product Designer

Team

3 Designers

4 Devs

2 Product

skills

Visual Design

Prototyping

Leadership

Timeline

May - Nov 2025

Introduction

UT Registration Plus (UTRP) is a Chrome extension that allows students to easily register for classes.

UTRP is a Chrome extension used by over 60,000 UT Austin students to make class registration easier. It provides enhanced course information, professor data, grade distributions, and lets students build mock schedules, which are features not offered in the university’s native system. The tool is maintained by Longhorn Developers, a student organization that creates products for the UT community. In May 2025, I stepped into the role of UX Lead to guide UTRP’s first formal design and research strategy.

Course modal from UT Registration Plus

Problem

Despite being well-established, UTRP has never had formal UX research

Despite its large user base, UTRP had never undergone any UX research. Most improvements were made by frontend developers based on assumptions, quick fixes, or surface-level feedback from students. A feedback form existed, but like many products, users often requested features that didn’t address their underlying problems.

Video walkthrough of UT Registration Plus

Solution Preview

Two major usability fixes addressing key problems, plus a dark mode extension for enhanced usability

1/3

Surfacing visibility of multiple schedule feature

During usability testing, we discovered that 60% of users skipped the feature to change schedules from the extension popup, instead navigating to the main page. To improve visibility, we redesigned the popup layout to make this feature clearer and easier to access.

BEFORE

AFTER

2/3

Clarifying button hierarchy and calendar access

During usability testing, we noticed that 40% of users overlooked the calendar button on the course modal. To address this, we made the button more visible while also simplifying the existing button hierarchy. We also surfaced key metrics such as Rate My Professors scores and course evaluation data so users can see important information at a glance without navigating to external sites.

BEFORE

AFTER

3/3

Dark mode with design system updates

Many users have consistently requested dark mode. I designed a full dark mode version of UTRP along with new dark mode tokens for the broader Longhorn Developers design system.

Research

Tackled research from three directions to build a comprehensive picture

Given the resources available and the unknowns we wanted to uncover, I conducted competitive analysis to understand the market, affinity mapped existing feedback, and ran a usability test.

Usability testing with five users on key tasks

I moderated five usability tests, evaluating participants on success criteria for key tasks. Through this, we identified a critical task where UTRP was falling short.

Affinity map with 50+ feedback requests

UTRP has maintained a feedback form for over a year, with some suggestions already addressed and others still outstanding. I organized over 50 pieces of feedback into key themes to identify what issues still needed attention.

Survey of similar platforms

I selected a variety of platforms, including a direct competitor, platforms from similar universities, and more experimental solutions, to gain insights and identify best practices.

Insights to action

Consolidating findings into an actionable plan

To turn our research insights into actionable results, I summarized the findings in a table and collaborated with the PM to create a prioritized roadmap.

Synthesizing findings from all research methods into a table

To make informed decisions about what to prioritize, I created a chart that compiled the main problems, the research supporting each, and used t-shirt sizing to estimate the scope of each project.

Creating a roadmap with PM and technical lead

Using my research table, I met with the PM and technical lead to assemble a roadmap and plan three sprints for the semester. We maintained and tracked progress on this roadmap through Linear.

Design solutions

Moving from ideas to design solutions

Now that we knew what to prioritize, we began addressing the core problems in our first sprint.

Leading my design fellows

As the product design lead, I organized and guided all design efforts for the project. I worked closely with two design fellows, assigning each a project that aligned with their interests and strengths. I checked in regularly, provided feedback throughout each iteration, and ensured our work stayed aligned with our research insights and product goals.

Cross collaboration with developers and our Design Director

We met weekly with our full team, including developers, to share our design progress and check feasibility early. While working on the dark mode design system, I collaborated closely with our design director to create a token framework that could scale beyond UTRP and support other Longhorn Developers projects.