Journey Maps - GPA Calculator Micro SaaS

Journey Map 1: Dasun, the College Student

Overview

Dasun, a 26-year-old sophomore, needs to calculate her Semester 2 GPA (~3.64) and track progress to maintain her scholarship. She discovers the GPA Calculator online, uses it offline, and integrates it into her study routine.

Stages

Awareness:

Actions: Searches “GPA calculator online” on Google during a study break. Finds GPA Calculator via Vercel link (https://gpa-calculator-git-feature-enhanced-landing-page.vercel.app). Emotions: Curious, hopeful. Pain Points: Overwhelmed by ad-heavy competitor sites. Touchpoints: Google, social media (e.g., Reddit posts about GPA tools). Opportunities: Improve SEO with keywords like “offline GPA calculator”.

Consideration:

Actions: Lands on homepage (app/page.jsx). Explores hero section, feature cards (GPA tracking, offline support), and “Get Started” button. Emotions: Impressed by modern UI (navy-teal-orange, Poppins font). Pain Points: Unsure if app works offline without testing. Touchpoints: Landing page, feature cards. Opportunities: Add a demo video showcasing offline mode.

Decision:

Actions: Clicks “Get Started”, navigates to calculator (app/calculator/page.jsx). Tests with one course (IT: A+, 3 credits). Emotions: Relieved (intuitive form), confident (GPA displays correctly). Pain Points: Initial confusion about weight options (Regular vs. Weight). Touchpoints: Calculator page, course form. Opportunities: Add tooltips explaining grade weights.

Usage:

Actions: Inputs Semester 2 courses (IT: A+, 3 credits; MATH: A, 3 credits). Calculates GPA (~3.64), saves semester as “Fall 2025” (saveSemester). Clears history (clearSemesterHistory) to test reset. Uses offline during study session (LocalStorage).

Emotions: Satisfied (accurate, fast), empowered (tracks progress). Pain Points: No exportable PDF report for sharing. Touchpoints: Course form, GPA display, save/clear buttons. Opportunities: Future: Add PDF report generation (AWS S3). Future: Sync data across devices (AWS DynamoDB).

Retention:

Actions: Bookmarks app, uses weekly to update grades. Recommends to peers. Emotions: Loyal, trusting. Pain Points: No reminders for grade updates. Touchpoints: Browser bookmark, peer chats. Opportunities: Future: Add push notifications for grade input. Future: Gamify progress (e.g., GPA improvement badges).

Metrics

Success: Calculates GPA in <1 minute, saves semester, uses offline. Engagement: Returns 2x/week, recommends to 3 peers. Churn Risk: Stops if UI becomes clunky or data is lost.

Journey Map 2: Dr. Patel, the Academic Advisor

Overview

Ms. Amarasooriya, a 45-year-old advisor, needs to verify student GPAs and generate reports for advising sessions. He adopts the GPA Calculator for quick calculations and hypothetical scenarios.

Stages

Awareness:

Actions: Hears about GPA Calculator from a student during advising. Visits Vercel URL on desktop. Emotions: Skeptical (prefers university systems), curious. Pain Points: Distrust of non-official tools. Touchpoints: Student recommendation, university email. Opportunities: Partner with universities for credibility.

Consideration:

Actions: Reviews landing page (app/page.jsx). Notes clean design and feature cards (GPA calculation, report generation). Emotions: Cautiously optimistic. Pain Points: Unclear if tool supports multiple students. Touchpoints: Landing page, “Get Started” button. Opportunities: Highlight multi-student use cases on homepage.

Decision:

Actions: Navigates to calculator, inputs a student’s Semester 2 data (IT: A+, 3 credits; MATH: A, 3 credits) to test GPA (~3.64). Emotions: Pleased (easy to use), reassured (accurate). Pain Points: Grade system table unclear without context. Touchpoints: Calculator page, grade table. Opportunities: Add inline grade system explanation.

Usage:

Actions: Inputs data for multiple students, calculates GPAs. Saves semesters (saveSemester) for reference. Downloads text report (downloadReport) for one student. Tests “what if” scenarios (e.g., B+ instead of A).

Emotions: Efficient, satisfied. Pain Points: Text reports lack professional formatting. Touchpoints: Course form, report button, LocalStorage. Opportunities: Future: Generate PDF reports (AWS S3). Future: Multi-user support (AWS DynamoDB).

Retention:

Actions: Uses app during advising sessions, shares with colleagues. Emotions: Confident, reliant. Pain Points: No cloud backup for data across devices. Touchpoints: Advising sessions, email. Opportunities: Future: Cloud storage for advisor accounts. Future: Analytics for student trends (Datadog).

Metrics

Success: Calculates GPA for 5 students in <5 minutes, downloads report. Engagement: Uses in 80% of advising sessions. Churn Risk: Abandons if data management becomes cumbersome.