Helping student tutors and researchers to collect better quality data
User engagements
Input efficiency
Jan. 2024 – Mar. 2024
2 Product Designers,
1 Product Manager,
1 Product Lead,
2 Developers
Lead product designer from concept research to product final launch
Product Thinking, Features Roadmap, Usability Testing
OVERVIEW
PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared, is a tutoring platform that combines human & 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.
INITIAL PROBLEMS
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
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.
Boost the completion rate to ensure comprehensive data collection.
Current form often yield incomplete or inaccurate data.
Streamline and lead to a guide experience for tutors.
EARLY RESEARCH
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.
KEY INSIGHTS
Tools like Google Forms provided broad content capture but lacked the depth needed to gain actionable insights.
Supervisors and researchers struggled to collect high-quality data, tutors found data input cumbersome.
USABILITY TESTING
After the design audit and data analysis, we conducted usability testing to identify current bottlenecks related to feasibility and usability issues.
DESIGN CONSIDERATION
Considering the diverse needs of various stakeholders, I aimed to balance providing better efficiency for data providers and ensuring high-quality data for recipients.
KEY CHALLENGE
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
DESIGN DIRECTION #1
During the usability testing, we discovered various use cases for tutors filling out the form.
DESIGN FEATURE #1
To fulfill their needs, we made changes to the conditional progression and flexible navigation to ensure our design accommodates these different use cases.
EDGE 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.
DESIGN FEATURE #2
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 DIRECTION #2
During the usability testing, we discovered various use cases for supervisor and researchers to collect those data from forms.
ITERATION
We redesigned Information Architecture to tailored each session's structure to align specifically with its stakeholders' needs.
Questions have been updated to align directly with the specific needs of stakeholders, ensuring that each query is purposeful and clear.
TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS
However, after we delivered the final design to the developers, they identified additional design problems with the new 'Add' buttons.
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.
FINAL DESIGNS
The final design, along with detailed documentation, can be accessed through the following links.
FUTURE STEPS
To improve data quality and usability for student tutors, supervisors, and data researchers, supporting a larger initiative to enhance data-driven insights.
User engagements
Input efficiency
REFLECTION
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.
