PLUS
Helping student tutors and researchers to collect better quality data
UX/UI, DASHBOARD, USABILITY TESTING
2024
Introduction
PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared,
PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared, is a tutoring platform that combines human and AI tutoring to boost learning gains for middle school students from historically underserved communities. The platform supports over 3,000 students and 500 tutors, completing more than 90,000 hours of tutoring each month.
I redesigned the Tutor Reflection Form for student tutors, tutor supervisors and data researchers, as part of a larger initiative to improve both the quality and utility of data collections.
TIMELINE
JAN 2024 – MAR 2024
ROLE
Product Thinking
Features Roadmap
Usability Testing
TOOL
Figma
Interactive Demo
PROBLEM
The existing reflection form was usable but not useful, as it did not facilitate the collection of high-quality data.
Redesigning the tutor reflection form presented a challenge due to ambiguous requirements focused on enhancing data quality rather than mere usability. Initially uncertain why the existing easy-to-fill form was ineffective, we reset our project goals to explicitly address stakeholder needs.
Product goals
Redesigning a better form to enhance data quality and increase users' feasibility
When setting up key metrics for the success of the redesigned Reflection Form, we chose indicators that would directly measure both the efficiency and effectiveness of the new design in achieving its intended outcomes.
Completion Rate
Boost the completion rate to ensure comprehensive data collection.
Data Accurancy
Current form often yield incomplete or inaccurant data.
User Satification
Streamline and lead to a guide experience for tutors.
UNDERSTANDING from current stage
Before building solutions... what we learned from {Design Audit}?
We did a design audit and collected user surveys to identify current bottlenecks related to feasibility and usability issues. From our evaluation of the current workflow using the Reflection Form, we learned several issues that impeded its effectiveness and usability.
01 | Limited Usability
Tools like Google Forms provided broad content capture but lacked the depth needed to gain actionable insights.
02 | Data Collection Inefficiency
Supervisors and researchers struggled to collect high-quality data, tutors found data input cumbersome.
user research
UNDERSTANDING from testing
What we learned from {Usability Testing}?
After the design audit and data analysis, we conducted usability testing to identify current bottlenecks related to feasibility and usability issues.
user research
design decision
How might we make changes to {varies stakeholders?}
Considering the diverse needs of various stakeholders, I aimed to balance providing better efficiency for data providers and ensuring high-quality data for recipients.
stakeholers
The Brief
How can we redesign the form to collect high-quality data while making it easy for tutors to complete?
A
For student tutor
"As a student tutor, I want the form to be easier to fill out...."
Problem we faced
Student Tutors Want an Easier Form to Fill Out.
During the usability testing, we discovered various use cases for tutors filling out the form.
quotation from users
Approach
Revamped Session Navigation Flow to accommodate various tutor use cases
To fulfill their needs, we made changes to the conditional progression and flexible navigation to ensure our design accommodates these different use cases.
design iteration
design iteration
Accommodate edge use cases
For instance, as one researcher noted, there are scenarios such as needing to step in unexpectedly for a colleague or when a session isn't recognized by the system.
For instance, as one researcher noted, there are scenarios such as needing to step in unexpectedly for a colleague or when a session isn't recognized by the system.
quotation from users
design solutions
Redesigned Entry Button to accommodate
We redesigned the UI to include double entry buttons, allowing users to initiate a new entry or access an existing one under special conditions without disrupting the normal workflow.
design features
B
For supervisors and researcher
"As supervisors and researchers, we want to easily identify and address the challenges faced and access session data effortlessly..."
Problem we faced
Supervisor & Researchers Want Easy & Direct Data to Analyze.
During the usability testing, we discovered various use cases for tutors filling out the form.
Approach one
Revamped Information Architecture for Direct Stakeholder Relevance
We redesigned Information Architecture to tailored each session's structure to align specifically with its stakeholders' needs.
design features
Approach two
Enhanced UX Writing for Stakeholder-Specific Questions
Questions have been updated to align directly with the specific needs of stakeholders, ensuring that each query is purposeful and clear.
design features
C
For developer
"As a developer, I want to find workarounds for technical constraints to ensure seamless data management...."
Problem we faced
the new 'Add' buttons.
However, after we delivered the final design to the developers, they identified additional design problems with the new 'Add' buttons.
Developer feedbacks
Approach
Redesigned Entry Button to balance user needs and developer capabilities in Database
We changed the primary 'Add' button to a secondary button to reduce its prominence by minimal design changes to fulfill developer's needs, encouraging users to first go directly to the data table.
This adjustment aims to decrease duplicate data entries while still accommodating the use cases that address developer concerns.
design features
Final Design Solutions & Feedbacks
Design Doc w/ Prototypes
The final design, along with detailed documentation, can be accessed through the following links.
PLUS prototype
future steps
Validating with users along the way
To improve data quality and usability for student tutors, supervisors, and data researchers, supporting a larger initiative to enhance data-driven insights.
Collect and monitor initial usage data to measure success.
After launching the platform, it is essential to deploy analytics tools to track user engagement, completion rates, and overall satisfaction to offer valuable insights into how the platform is being utilized.
Plan for further iterations based on analysis and tutor feedback.
The feedback loop, combined with data analysis, will drive iterative updates that enhance the platform's functionality, ultimately leading to a more efficient and impactful tutoring experience.
Working closely with various stakholders
Working closely with student tutors, supervisors, researchers, and developers, I learned the importance of balancing user needs, technical constraints, and research objectives, ultimately ensuring the redesigned form delivered actionable, high-quality data.
