StudyPorter
A personalized web application designed to assist international students in Canada with the college search process and streamline their college applications by providing tailored search results.
The brief 🔎
Prompt
StudyPorter wants to support international students in finding the right colleges for them in Canada through reliable StudyPorter Agents and help them through the entire application process. Design an experience where the agents will act like a mediator between the college and students, can help the students find the right colleges and help colleges successfully complete the application process including the payment of fees.
Design Process
In this project, I empathized with 3 user profiles to thoroughly understand their needs, defined the problem based on insights gained, generated ideas and created prototypes, which underwent iterative review by the team until a satisfactory solution was approved. Throughout the project, I conducted internal user tests and collected feedback, which I incorporated into subsequent iterations. I maintained ongoing communication with the developer team and stakeholders to ensure progress towards our product vision.
Target Users
- Agents - Serve as mediators between schools and students interested in studying in Canada
- School - Seek to increase enrollment of students in their college
- Students - Aim to move to Canada for further studies
Research Methods
- In-person interviews
- Online research
- Competitive analysis
How Might We Questions
- How might we enable agents to effectively track and manage their commission earned from connecting students with Canadian colleges through our platform?
- How might we support school staff in increasing student enrollment in their college by streamlining the application process through our platform and fostering active collaboration with agents?
- How might we empower students to make informed decisions about colleges and courses in Canada, and facilitate seamless applications to multiple colleges through our platform with the guidance of agents?
research 🔬
Background Research
As part of my research background for the project, I conducted qualitative and quantitative research to better understand the user profiles. This involved online research and competitive analysis to assess how the 3 profiles were fulfilling their roles without any product intervention. Through competitive analysis, I gained insights into the UX/UI practices of existing companies with similar objectives. This helped me gain in-depth knowledge of each user profile, which informed my approach as I progressed to the interview stage.
Research Goals
- Identify the methods employed by Agents to acquire new students, manage their contact details, and track the status of applications and interests in colleges.
- Investigate the extent to which colleges are utilizing software products to engage with students or agents for the admission process and free transfer, and how these products are being utilized.
- Gain insights into the criteria used by students to shortlist colleges and courses, and determine if they have any guidance apart from the internet.
- Understand the system of interaction between the three profiles (Agents, School staff, and Students) on the platform and identify opportunities for optimizing their usage to their advantage.
Research 1 - Existing Systems
- Agents - Using manual methods such as phone calls, emails, or spreadsheets to connect with students, manage their contact details, and track application status and school interests.
- School - Utilizing traditional methods such as emails, phone calls, or in-person interactions to communicate with agents and students to complete application processes.
- Students - Relying on internet searches, school websites, and online application portals to shortlist school and courses, and gather information for their study abroad plans.
Research 2 - User Interviews
While working on the project, I had the opportunity to interact with Agents and school staff. As an international student myself who came to Canada, I could easily relate to the student profile. The interview data below is presented in the order of Agents, Schools, and Students, as mentioned above.
How do you attract new students?
via word of mouth
What is the admissions completion rate?
out of 10 complete the 1st term
Coordination with schools and students during admission process?
use email/Drive for document exchange, occasionally courier.
How do you monitor the count of students referred by a specific agent and track the progress of each student in the admission process?
If the school staff does not have a CRM tool or a dedicated system in place to track students and their admission processes, they may rely on manual methods or other means to complete the required tasks.
- Manual record-keeping - Maintaining records (physical or digital) to track students referred by agents and their progress.
- Email or communication tools - Using email or other tools to exchange updates with agents and students about admission progress.
- Coordination with other departments - Collaborating with other departments involved in admission process for information sharing.
- Manual follow-up with students and agents - Proactively following up with students and agents to gather updates on admission progress.
Did you consult an agent during your school search?
students consulted an agent
If not, how did you apply?
sent multiple emails to the school
How did having an agent help?
Assistance in program selection, application process, Student Visa application, financial aid options, job seeking tips
Research 3 - User Personas
I used research data to create user personas for our ideal users, capturing their characteristics, preferences, and needs. These personas inform our product development and marketing strategies.
Problem 🤔
Research Findings & Painpoints
- Time difference and multiple email threads for students cause delayed communication between Agents and School Staff.
- Independent or small company Agents have to manage most of the work manually, including data management of potential clients, coordination with schools for marketing material and course updates, and tracking the admission process status of students.
- Students feel anxious about selecting the right school and course on their own, and may lack knowledge about career opportunities in Canada.
Problem Statement
Due to the lack of a centralized platform for Agents, Schools, and Students to manage data, exchange documents, and browse for schools, communication between the three parties has become inefficient and time-consuming, leading to a negative impact on trust and a decrease in enrollment and revenue. To address this problem, there is a need for a secure and user-friendly platform that streamlines the admission process, reduces manual work, maintains transparency, and facilitates efficient communication between all stakeholders.
Userflows
Presented below is a concise overview of the user journey for the three different profiles, indicating the specific pages accessible under each user's login.
final design 👩🏼🎨
Design Decision
A web application would be the most effective digital platform for this project as it offers convenient access to data and documents for the Agent and School profiles, especially those working in office settings. It also provides easy navigation through the platform, enabling quick and efficient document management. Based on survey results, laptops are the preferred device for students when it comes to filling and uploading documents.
Visual Identity
The company/business had already finalized the logo and brand colors. I opted for simple and legible fonts that would serve the purpose of the web application. The color swatches and font used are presented below.
Prototype
Below are a few screens from the final design prototype. For security reasons, we are unable to share the full web application at this time.
Impact
To significantly improve the efficiency, transparency, and trust within the admission process, leading to an increase in student enrollment and revenue for schools, and boosting the credibility and success of agents.
user testing 🦸
User Testing Feedback
- Agent - The dashboard is very helpful as I can see all the data at a glance. The targets and the commission earned motivate me to do better.
- School - The notifications section is most helpful for me to see which student has uploaded their documents. I can even filter the type of notifications I want to view, which is great.
- Student - There is complete transparency as I can see the progress of the application myself. I don’t have to keep contacting the agent to know what is happening.
Takeaways 🎁
Takeaways
This project has been an incredible journey for me as a UI/UX designer. It has taught me the importance of putting the user at the center of the design process and how it can lead to an effective solution that caters to their specific needs. From conducting user research to testing, I gained a deeper understanding of the user's pain points and how to address them with intuitive design solutions. Throughout the project, I constantly pushed myself to empathize with the users and incorporate their feedback into the design.
As the sole designer responsible for both UI and UX, I learned to strike a balance between simplicity and functionality, to create a user-friendly and efficient platform. However, given the time constraints, I wasn't able to interview as many users as I would have liked. Nonetheless, the insights gathered from the research phase served as a guide for all design decisions.
In retrospect, I feel proud to have been part of a project that aimed to solve real-world problems and improve the lives of users. The experience has been invaluable, and I look forward to applying these learnings in future projects. If given the opportunity, I would love to create a responsive web app that is optimized for mobile devices to make it even more accessible to young users who are always on-the-go.