Ted Chu - Learning Intelligence Platform

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This project is a design exercise for a SaaS start up, that provides learning intelligence platform aimed to enhance classroom instruction, vocational training, and attendance for universities and educational institutions.

Role: Company: Tools Used:
UX Designer Start Up, SaaS company Invision & Sketch

THE CHALLENGE

Currently, career education schools carry out many of their processes via paper. The SaaS company sees the need for these schools to upgrade their processes digitally to pass government-mandated compliance audits, to maintain their accreditation, and to receive government funding. SaaS company strives to pass these audits by optimizing student performance with the digital process of recording service events of students, including its approval process through instructors and school owners.

My Design Thinking Process:

1. Define the problem
2. Understand who the users are
3. Analyze and Synthesize frustrations and tasks required
4. Map user flows
5. Solve the problem through wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.

1. DEFINE

Problem Statement:

Career Ed schools need a way to better track student’s service activities and highlight high risk areas of non-completion, so they can pass government-mandated compliance audits and maintain their accreditation.

2. UNDERSTAND

First, I need to understand who my users are. They are students, instructors, and school owners where their tech-savviness ranges from low to high and have an age range of 18-60 years old.

3. ANALYZE & SYNTHESIZE

Now, let’s analyze & synthesize some of what we learned from the users. I will first focus on the student workflow of documenting services they have completed and requesting approval by instructors and school owners.

• a student should be able to print for his/her wet signature and school owner’ wet signature.
• a student should be able to track approval status with time stamp of submission and approved date.
• a student should be able to track progress of completion of service event requirements.
• a student should be able to request approval from instructor and school owner.

Problem Statement for Student:

Elaine needs a way to track progress of service requirements because she is frustrated with adding hours incorrectly only to find out she has not met her monthly requirements for the course.

Technical Considerations:

• As an MVP, the product should launch on both iOS and Android, and on the Web.
• Prompt provides option to design for mobile or tablet. I will choose mobile applying good practice of mobile-first design.
• Backend administration will need to be implemented to manage forms

4. MAP

To communicate effectively with product manager and developers, I map out user flows and interactions using the following legend:

User Flow Legend

User Flows

5. SOLVE: Mobile App

Sketches / Wireframing

Courses Home Page --> Specific Course: COS101

Log Dashboard --> Request Initials for Service Activity

Prototype

Click link below to view clickable prototype in Invision:

Invision Prototype

Screenshots of Prototype:

Usability Testing

I conducted 3 live in person interviews, which led me to change the original screens below and capture their insights using the rainbow spreadsheet template.

One of the usability solutions I provided after testing:

Original Screen 1: Click “Request Initials”

Original Screen 2: Submit Request Page

I gave the task to the tester to enter a new entry to request hours for the “Facials” category. My observations were:

1. He first clicked “7/60” under the “Hours” column.

2. That didn’t work. Then he clicked “Facials.”

3. That didn’t work either.

It was concluded that the reason he did not click “request initials” was because he thought the request would be submitted right away after clicking it.

This led to the following change:

New Screen 1 - Changed to “+” button.

New Screen 2: Changed Button to “Request Initials”

I changed the “Request Initials” button to “+” button. The “+” button communicates more clearly on how to add more hours by submitting a new request.

UI Design

After usability testing, I finalized and polished the designs following Material Design Guidelines.

I would work with the developers to determine the feasibility and the time and resources required to implement this feature.

Measure Success

The final two things I would do before a launch is:

1. To make sure the solution solves the problem statement

2. Work with the product manager on determining which KPIs will indicate the success of the solution. If this solution is successful, we’ll see:

• High task success rate, the percentage of correctly completed tasks by users.
• Low task completion time, the time it takes for the user to complete the task.
• Increased retention by including the feature to record services and have them approved.

Scope:

Due to the prompt, this solution only covers the student task flow of recording what services have been performed and what services instructors have approved or denied. It includes a “printing feature” for student and school owner to sign with wet signature.

Anything outside of this task flow is not included.

Future Improvements:

If given more time, I’d test more to see if I need to add features:

• decide if viewing past monthly logs needs to be an added feature for the student. I see this feature more suitable for the instructor or school owner.
• add “notes” section while student submits request to provide additional notes about service event.
• add “sort by” function for “event date”, “description”, and “status” columns on “Detailed Logs” page.
• add “edit” function for submitted requests in case of typos or need of changing details.

ALSO, I'd consider adding chevron icon to log dashboard screen instead of expanding cards to minimize development work, while still thinking about the user.

Blindspots:

Based on assumptions mentioned by exercise, there are some blindspots:

• Assumption is made that the approving instructor has observed the student during the service event. I would conduct more survey and interviews to validate this assumption.

• The solution to the design exercise is only from student’s point of view. Does not consider the experience and interactions for the approving instructor and school owner.

• I assume the app has an onboarding process or that the career education school trains students on how to use the app.