Overview
The S3 Lead App revolutionizes school success management by empowering the S3 Lead to efficiently oversee School Success Specialists (S3s). Addressing manual tracking and decentralization challenges, the app offers real-time calendar access, geolocation tracking, journey step insights, document availability, instant notifications, and streamlined ticket management. Replacing Excel-based methods, it elevates oversight and data analysis. Scalable for team expansion, the app promotes collaboration, propelling improved educational outcomes.
Team
Each member brought their unique skills and experience to the table, and we collaborated effectively to ensure the project's success. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside such a talented and dedicated team.
Process
I played the role of a product designer throughout this design process. I oversaw and contributed to various crucial steps in the journey, ensuring the product's conceptualization and visual representation align with its intended user experience.
Stakeholder interview
We conducted in-depth stakeholder interviews to gain a deep understanding of the needs, challenges, and expectations of key individuals within our service ecosystem. These interviews played a pivotal role in shaping our approach and design decisions.
Problem statement
The current management of School Success Specialists (S3s) and their associated schools relies heavily on manual tracking methods, Excel sheets, and communication challenges. This leads to inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and a lack of a centralized system, causing time-consuming processes and hindering effective team coordination.
Goals
- Efficiency Enhancement: Develop an app that streamlines task management, assignment, and tracking for S3 Leads and their teams, reducing reliance on manual methods.
- Real-time Communication: Facilitate seamless communication between teams, providing instant notifications for critical tasks and support tickets.
- Data-driven Decision-making: Enable S3 Leads to access actionable insights through data visualization, aiding informed choices.
- Improved Customer Relations: Enhance customer satisfaction and retention rates by ensuring smoother interactions between S3s and schools.
- Upselling and Retention Support: Provide tools for upselling opportunities and retention efforts through efficient management.
Target audience
- School Success Specialist Leads (S3 Leads)
Pain-points
- Manual Tracking: Reliance on Excel sheets and manual methods for task management and tracking.
- Communication Gaps: Challenges in communication between S3 Leads, S3s, and other teams.
- Data Accessibility: Difficulty in accessing and managing documents and information across various platforms.
- Task Verification: Inability to verify the accuracy of updates provided by S3s.
- Lack of Systematic Process: Absence of a centralized system for task management and compliance tracking.
- Efficiency Challenges: Cumbersome processes lead to wasted time and effort for both S3 Leads and S3s.
Use Cases and User Stories
Use Case 1: Task Assignment
- As an S3 Lead, I want to easily assign schools to S3s based on capabilities and workload, to ensure efficient distribution of tasks.
- User Story: As an S3 Lead, I want to be able to select a school from the list and assign it to a suitable S3, ensuring that workload is evenly distributed and tasks are managed effectively.
- As an S3, I want to receive instant notifications for critical tasks and support tickets, so I can respond promptly.
- User Story: As an S3, I want to receive a notification as soon as a critical task or support ticket is assigned to me, so I can address the issue promptly and ensure smooth school operations.
- As an S3 Lead, I want to access visualized data such as school visit frequencies and task completion rates, so I can make informed decisions.
- User Story: As an S3 Lead, I want to view charts and numbers that display school visit frequencies and task completion rates over time, helping me identify trends and plan tasks more effectively.
Persona creation
After thorough data collection and analysis, we crafted a detailed persona representing the S3 Lead role within our service. This persona, named Kishan, embodies the characteristics, responsibilities, and challenges faced by a typical S3 Lead in the field.
Customer journey map
As part of our user-centered design process, we meticulously crafted a customer journey map to visually represent the end-to-end experience of our users within the service. This map serves as a powerful tool to identify touchpoints, pain points, and areas for improvement throughout the user journey.
Task flows
We crafted comprehensive task flows to map out the step-by-step journeys that our users, especially the S3 Leads, undertake within our service. These task flows provide a visual representation of how users interact with the application, highlighting touchpoints, actions, and decision points.
Flow chart
These flowcharts enable us to map out the sequence of actions, decision points, and interactions that users undertake, facilitating a deeper understanding of the service's functionality.
Information architecture
We meticulously crafted the website's information architecture, ensuring seamless navigation and intuitive user journeys. Our approach prioritized clarity and organization, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.
Design system update
Expanded our design system by incorporating new components that cater specifically to the needs of the S3 Lead application.
Usability test prompts
This document serves as a structured guide to facilitate usability testing sessions with S3 Leads, allowing us to gain invaluable insights into their interactions with the application.
Usability test reports
After conducting comprehensive usability testing with a diverse group of S3 Leads, we have compiled a Usability Test Report that offers valuable insights into user interactions, perceptions, and overall user experience within the S3 Lead application.
Concept sketches
In order to materialize our design concepts and ideas, we created pen and paper wireframes as a foundational step in our design process. These preliminary sketches served as a rapid and visual way to explore different layouts and arrangements of interface elements.
Feedbacks & iterations
Our design journey was marked by a series of iterative steps, each fueled by valuable user-centric feedback. This iterative approach ensured that we continuously refined our design, aligning it more closely with the needs and preferences of the S3 Lead users.
1. Notification icons not reflecting new notifications, S3s, schools, and
region counts not being highlighted, potential issues with displaying task counts in circles as they
grow, and the unclickable appearance of task count blocks.
Solutions:
- Added notification badge.
- Displayed S3s, schools, and region counts with icons, centered for scalability.
- Task count now outside circle, with distinct colors for different tasks.
- Task count blocks have shadows and clickable arrow icons.
2. Display the time gap between S3's previous and next school visits within a 40-day timeframe, and
include the previously completed task with its date in the task list.
Solutions:
- Created an infographic in the UI to display the gap between the previous and upcoming school visits, featuring the days since the last visit, the name of the previous visit, and its date.
- Introduced a text reminder below the infographic, highlighting the importance of adhering to the 40-day timeframe for S3's school visits.
- Implemented a pill component to indicate the task status and included the corresponding date next to it.
3. Move sorting to filters, enhance S3 cards with location and previous tasks, and add numbered labels to S3 names.
Solutions:
- Enhanced S3 cards: Added location, previous visit/task, ongoing, and completed sections, along with numbers in front of S3 names in cards.
- Sort option moved to filters.
4. Show the location of S3, provide contact details for S3 lead, and ensure consistent use of task status cards on the dashboard.
Solutions:
- Added the location of S3 below the name.
- Included contact details for S3, along with buttons for calling and emailing.
- Updated the task status cards.
5. Provide task filtering, enhance task date identification, and resolve the issue of mixed status cards.
Solutions:
- Added filter functionality in the calendar.
- Added dates below dates to show tasks of that day in color according to the task.
- Added pills in task cards to show status and grouped tasks according to ongoing and completed.
6. Tasks should clearly show when they're overdue, include school logos on task cards, display the year name, and indicate the days until a school visit.
Solutions:
- Highlighted overdue visits in red text.
- Inserted school logos into the cards.
- Included the year name in task cards.
7. Streamlining S3 assignment on this screen, simplifying school discovery for S3 leads, and identifying schools lacking S3 support pose challenges.
Solutions:
- Added an "Assign" button that will directly take the S3 lead to assign S3 flow for a particular school.
- Added school logos and locations to easily identify schools.
- Added total school counts at the top.
8. The growing task count on tabs presents an issue by expanding the tab's size, and there's a need for a streamlined method to identify task card statuses.
Solutions:
- Removed the task count from tabs and added it below.
- Added pills to show task status in different colors.
Prototyping
These prototypes serve as dynamic representations of the application's functionalities, enabling us to test and refine our design solutions before implementation.
Gallery
This gallery showcases snapshots of our team at work, engaging in user research, design discussions, prototyping, and usability testing.
Key outcomes
- Improved task management and monitoring for S3 Leads.
- Enhanced communication and coordination across teams.
- Efficient school assignment and tracking processes.
- Data-driven decision-making for better customer support.
- Increased customer satisfaction and retention rates.
- Streamlined upselling efforts.