Problem Statement

Currently, the completion rate is very low and learner engagement is poor.

Final Solutions

A personalization tracking dashboard to motivate African students to finish certificate courses

Impact

What we achieved

Overall Process

From Identifying Target Problems to Crafting Effective Solutions

📝 User Survey

📚 Storyboards

✏️ User Test

🤝 Cultural Context

Recognizing gaps in prior lab research, particularly in pre-course surveys, we saw the need for additional user data to fully grasp the challenges learners face during the course. We conducted a user survey to validate our hypothesis about user pain points and ensure we understand their needs. This led us to gather quantitative data and validate our findings through surveys.

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Our ideation process began with brainstorming potential solutions, followed by using affinity diagramming to cluster ideas by themes. Within each category, we synthesized similar concepts and conducted a preliminary evaluation to prioritize the most critical issue-solution pairs. We then used the Impact vs. Feasibility matrix to identify features with the highest feasibility and impact.

Finally, we created 3 storyboards to visualize each idea, helping us better communicate with users and gather their feedback.

We conducted a mix of user interviews and tests to gather feedback on our storyboards and to better understand learners' specific needs for freedom and agency when creating a personalized plan. From these ideas and feedback, we can gain clearer design directions, assess whether our ideas address their problems, and understand their reactions to our concepts.

Even though we have several design directions for feature ideas, we also identified specific needs related to cultural differences and confusion among our learners that require further exploration. Additionally, we are uncertain about the best ways to address their desire for recognition, so we conducted a literature review to inform our approach to inclusive design considerations.

Usability Testing

While it may seem useful, is it truly usable?

Based on our research on the African audience and a thorough literature review, we identified gaps in digital literacy and cultural context that need to be addressed in our inclusive design approach. To reduce cognitive load and the extra effort required to understand the dashboard, we designed and conducted rapid usability tests to ensure the dashboard is intuitive and easy to navigate.

For the usability testing, we invited 8 users from diverse backgrounds to perform five main tasks that we designed to evaluate the primary flows and features of the dashboard. Our goal was to identify sources of confusion and assess whether the dashboard has the potential to motivate users and enhance their learning experience. The feedback provided valuable insights, highlighting potential changes for the final iteration of our product.

Design Approaches

On the way to improve usability levels...

Approach One

Redesigning Progress Visualization & Tracking

Approach Two

Approach Three