Course Project | Web Design
Duration
Sep 2023 - Dec 2023 ｜ 8 Weeks
Team
1 Designer, 1 Researcher, 1 PM
My Contribution
Research, Ideation, Sketch, Prototype, Design, Test.
Problem
Choosing a career path is a big decision for students
Choosing a career path is a big decision for students. Many college students feel lost because they do not have enough help or resources to figure out what career choice best fits their passion and/or academic capabilities. Other students have some idea of what they want to do, but have no idea how to get started.
Solution
Personalised mentee-mentor matching service
A platform offering a personalised mentor matching service with a focus on providing guidance to help college students about career possibilities and future paths .
Feature 1
Personalised Mentorship
Each student is matched with a mentor based on their career interests, goals, and learning styles.
Feature 2
Discovery with AI
Users can utilise AI to explore various fields and discover majors or jobs that align with their interests and skills.
Feature 3
Whiteboard Notes
Users can organise their thoughts, write down topics and plans they want to address in meetings.
Reseach Questions
What are the current obstacles students face when choosing a career path?
How do students currently attempt to find information about career possibilities?
Screener survey
Recruit undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds
Screener surveys facilitated the rapid recruitment of participants. We distributed screener survey invitations in multiple university Slack groups. We identified 5 participants who closely match our research criteria, ensuring diversity among them as well.
Different Majors
Different Schools
Different Grades
Individual Interview
Gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of choosing a career
Affinity Diagram
Data analysis and themes synopsis
Facing the large amount data, I proposed to used the affinity diagram to analyse the data collected in the interviews because it enables group collaboration and discussion.
User Painpoints
Chantria
“I was told before going to college that college would be a time of exploration and it's okay to change your major.”
Chen
“I heard that once you got into college, your life was basically set. You had a job, like, given to you, basically.”
Aleksandra
“Back then I thought it was just like either through websites or pamphlets that colleges have. But they only had the typical ones like computer science. I didn't know there were others, like careers within digital and technology.”
Persona
Define users' needs and goals
Two personas were created to define target users and to help us relate to the end-users as real people with specific needs and goals.
User breakdowns:
Difficulty in discerning relevant and accurate information.
Time and financial constraints.
Missed opportunities and career alignment.
Uncertainty in transitioning between fields.
User key requests:
Reliable guidance on college/career systems.
Exploration of options (fields, jobs, majors).
Industry-specific understanding before commitment.
Personalised assistance.
Design Challenge
How might we provide guidance to college students concerning their career possibilities and future paths so that they can obtain career satisfaction?
Brainstorm
Mentorship, discovery, career path visualisation…
Storyboard
Visualize scenarios and emphasize use cases
Updated Persona
Mentors are also important users of our product
In addition to students, mentors are also important users of our product. However, due to time constraints, we were only be able to focus on mentee's perspective in the first phase.
Devices
Larger screen facilitates better discussion and collaboration
Mentorship involves collaboration and engagement. A website offers a larger screen, facilitating better discussion forums, document sharing, and interactive features, making it user-friendly and visually accessible.
User Flow
Landing — searching — booking — meeting — Reviewing
To organise different features and provide assistance to users, we walked through the steps a user would take to land on our page, find a mentor, book a time with a mentor, prepare for their meeting, and provide feedback after their meeting.
Low-fidelity Prototype
Consider different options of layout
The low-fidelity prototypes were developed to encompass the entire process of our platform, leading to testing and iteration with potential users. We considered different options of layout.
Iteration
Are there any obstacles encountered while navigating through the website?
How easily can users find the information or features they are looking for?
Usability Tests
Prioritize possible questions
The usability tests were conducted to uncover problems, find opportunities, and learn from users. We recruited 5 potential users through our previous interviewees. All participants successfully completed the assigned tasks, signalling that our product was on the right track. We also identified challenges they encountered and compiled a list.
Changes
Mid-fidelity prototyping
"I can't find where I can go to the AI Chatbot"
Enhanced the visibility of Feature
Moved the entrance of discovery from the navigation bar to the landing page, making the user flow more reasonable.
"Starting without prompts can be challenging."
Added interactive components
"Only three mentors are insufficient to compare"
Presented more mentors
Changed from one column to two columns, allowing users to compare between mentors and make informed decisions.
"I don't really know how to use the whiteboard."
Provided guidance
Users can get an idea of how they can navigate through this whiteboard and what actions they can perform.
"Can I get match again and find previous results?"
Added the match results
The matched results can be saved in their profile, enabling users to review and book meetings again.
Heuristic Evaluation
High-fidelity prototyping
We proceeded to develop the prototype and elevated it to high-fidelity. The Heuristic Evaluation was conducted to pinpoint usability problems in the user interface design.
We believe this personalised mentor matching platform will help every student embark on their career path with confidence and clarity. Join us in empowering the next generation of professionals with the tools and insights they need for career satisfaction.
👉Check out our final prototype
Feature #1 Personalised Mentorship
Each student is matched with a mentor based on their career interests, goals, and learning styles.
Feature 2: Discovery with AI
Users can utilise AI to explore various fields and discover majors or jobs that align with their interests and skills.
Feature 3: Whiteboard Notes
Users can organise their thoughts, write down topics and plans they want to address in meetings.
Design Guidelines
Maintain consistency and enhance the brand
The design guidelines ensure a consistent look and feel across different parts of a product or service. This consistency helps users navigate and understand the interface more easily.
Next Step
Personality Match
A personality match is crucial in mentorship, fostering effective communication, trust, and understanding. It would be interesting to design tests to understand each other's personalities before selecting mentors, enhancing the potential for a successful mentorship.
Design from Mentor’s Perspective
In addition to students, mentors are also important users of our product. We also want to consider their painpoints and needs.
Business Aspect
This platform is currently free, and all mentors volunteer to provide equal opportunities for each student. However, in the future, we need to address the business aspect and generate profit to sustain its operation.
