YOUNGMINDS | Designs by Marcel Arrison

YoungMinds
Educational tutor booking app

UX/UI Design

Prototyping

Information architecture

Project Overview

Design an app and a responsive website that enable tutors to list their services and parents to search for and book time with tutors. The target demographic is parents of school-aged children (ages 5-17) seeking tutoring services to support their child's academic growth and development.

Roles

UX/UI Design
Information Architecture
Researcher

Tools

Figma
Typeform

Project Length

Jan - Feb 2024

It's time to get to know the market and our users

Market Research

In the discovery phase, it's always best to learn as much about the business as possible. I tried to determine what the challenges are faced by both the client and their users. I delved into the business pain points, what challenges they are facing and what they understood the challenges of the user to be.

Competitive Audit

My competitive audit goal was - To compare the user experience of parents while trying to find and book a tutor within their area, within their price range and with a specific specialisation in their chosen subject matter. Some high-level observations are noted below:

Clear specialisation features: Some platforms excel in providing clear filters and profiles highlighting tutor specialisations
User-friendly scheduling: Certain platforms offer intuitive scheduling features, providing a seamless process for parents to book sessions
Limited transparency in profiles: Many platforms lack detailed tutor profiles, making it challenging for parents to assess the tutor's suitability for their child's specific needs
Pricing: Some platforms have obscure pricing models where extra fees and charges are "hidden"
Community engagement: Platforms with community forums or blogs create a sense of community, allowing parents to share experiences and resources
Multilingual support: A significant market gap exists in platforms not offering multilingual support, potentially limiting access for parents from diverse language backgrounds.

It's time to get some research done...

The user research methodology employed incorporated primary research with a qualitative approach. I focused my attention on conducting face-to-face interviews, either in-person or via video conferencing platforms such as Zoom or Teams.

My research sample comprises:

5 Adults ranging in age from 25 - 50 years that have children attending school between the ages of 5 - 17 years
of which two users are from a historically marginalised group

A brief research summary

My research focused on parents seeking tutors for their children through online platforms. Parents seeking tutors expressed difficulties in finding specialised tutors, inconvenient scheduling, and concerns about tutor quality. The findings emphasize the need for a user-centric platform that addresses parents' unique needs and concerns.

It's time to define what we have uncovered

Insights

Having completed my initial interviews and research, I identified some high-level common themes among our participants. I've defined them as follows:

I've noted the following pain points

Finding specialised tutors - Parents struggled to find tutors with expertise in specific areas i.e. “Maths for 5th grader” and not “Maths Tutor”
Inconvenient scheduling - Parents find it challenging to schedule tutoring sessions around busy work and student schedules.
Tutor Quality - Parents worry about finding tutors who understand and can accommodate their child's specific learning requirements and needs.
Unclear Pricing - Parents expressed a level of anxiety about hidden costs and the lack of transparency in pricing.

It's time to meet our user

Understanding the user persona is crucial as it aids in visualising our main user demographic. It aims to facilitate an easier connection and helps us to empathise with their daily struggles. From my research findings, Meghan was born.

By delving into Meghan's pain points, goals, and frustrations during the research phase, I mapped out her user journey towards achieving her main objective. This process unveiled insights indicating that designing a site or app where parents have greater autonomy in finding and booking a specialised tutor at their convenience could address the user's frustrations.

I think we've found Meghan's problem

While conducting my user journey map analysis, I uncovered the challenges that Meghan was facing in trying to achieve her desired objective.

The problem statement - Meghan is a concerned parent of a 10-year-old child who needs flexible scheduling options for tutoring sessions because her child's after-school hours require convenient and adaptable tutoring sessions.

How might we...

enhance the transparency of tutor profiles to provide parents like Meghan with a more comprehensive understanding of a tutor's expertise and teaching style?
implement flexible scheduling options that cater to the diverse after-school hours of students?
establish clear and accessible communication channels between parents and tutors, facilitating ongoing discussions about a child's progress, learning needs, and any concerns?

Now, let's play around with some ideas...

Let's get going with some solutions

I employed the MoSCoW method to categorise the feature ideas according to their priority, ranging from crucial to less critical, guided by my data analysis and the user challenges I identified.

Let's take a closer look at our user flow

I used a user flow chart to demonstrate how Meghan might go about using the app. Once I can determine the flow of the happy path, I'll start with the drawings.

Information architecture is important. Let's deal with this.

Information architecture involves structuring and categorizing content to facilitate smooth user navigation and accessibility. It establishes user-friendly pathways and creates efficient interaction within systems or websites, ultimately elevating the user experience. Check out the architecture map provided below.

Let the drawings begin!

It was critical to showcase the tutor with a detailed profile that highlights exactly what their specialisation is and what skills they possess. The interface needed a clear booking functionality, in addition to displaying the full cost of their services. The initial iteration took on the form as seen below.

It's time for our users to get testing

Having completed my paper wireframes, I undertook an unmoderated usability study within the following framework.

Location: France, remote (each participant will complete the study from home)

Length: Each session will last approximately 5 - 10 minutes with a list of tasks and a short questionnaire.

Demographic: Adults ranging in age from 25 - 50 years

Requirements: Participants should have children attending school between the ages of 5 - 17 years

Summary of my findings

In our usability study, I assessed the tutoring app's interface, focusing on navigation and overall user experience. Tasks and user interactions were used to gather insights to enhance the platform for both parents and students. Overall, participants were able to complete the core user flow but experienced some frustrations. They are noted below:

Selecting a specific time slot: Users noted that they could not find an option to select a particular time slot on a particular day.
Amount of sessions: Participants noted they could not select the duration or amount of sessions ie. a one-hour session or a package of 5 hours.
Messaging the tutor: Users noted that they saw what appears to be an icon to send a message, but could not do so. Resultantly, they did not know what it was for or how to use it.

Let's do some improvements...

Amount of sessions: Users are now able to select how many sessions/hours they'd like to book

Selecting a specific time slot: It is now possible for users to select a specific time slot on their chosen day

Messaging the tutor: The messaging functionality was just showcased in the initial iteration, but I've now added a complete interface screen to demonstrate its functionality.

Getting our low-fidelity prototype ready

Once I finished my initial round of usability testing, I implemented the fixes for the frustrations our users experienced during the study. Have a look at the low-fidelity prototype which can be viewed below.

Our user flow

From the homepage, search for tutors or

Search for a tutor from home page after log in

Specify criteria for tutor search

Browse available tutor profiles

Select a tutor and book

Select session length, date and time

for tutoring session

Message tutor with special instructions

Review order and proceed with payment details

Confirm booking and receive order confirmation

INTERACT WITH PROTOTYPE

Let's go do another round of testing

Having implemented the design changes from our first usability study, users did not encounter any obstacles in completing the core user flow. They noted that the simplicity of the design created a very intuitive and free-flowing app. Items were logically placed and information generally, was easy to find.

Certain functionality was placed in the app for showcasing purposes, as they did not form part of the core user flow, and I therefore did not enable them. Nonetheless, users enquired about some features they wanted to explore. Asit is not within the scope of this project, those features, at this time, will not be included in the high-fidelity prototype. They are as follows:

Community feature: Participants were curious about what this would entail
Study level: Users wanted to know what content would reside there and wanted to explore this feature/functionality

It's high-fidelity time

Before we go ahead and start building the hi-fidelity prototype, let's map out a design system that we can use for conformity and consistency.

Let's see our final product

I went with a neutral white background for simplicity as my primary colour. In keeping with the 60-30-10 rule, I used a hue of blue as my secondary colour and a shaded green as a complementary colour to represent youth and growth.

Our user flow

From the homepage, search for tutors or

Search for a tutor from home page after log in

Specify criteria for tutor search

Browse available tutor profiles

Select a tutor and book

Select session length, date and time

for tutoring session

Message tutor with special instructions

Review order and proceed with payment details

Confirm booking and receive order confirmation

INTERACT WITH PROTOTYPE

Some accessibility considerations I made

Text Readability: I used clear, legible fonts with sufficient contrast between text and background.
Colour Contrast: I ensured there was enough contrast between text and background colours to accommodate users with visual impairments or colour blindness.
Consistent Navigation and Layout: I maintained a consistent layout and navigation structure throughout the app to help users predict where to find information.

Some key takeaways from the completion of this project

Impact: The project highlights the critical importance of creating a user-centric tutoring platform that specifically addresses the needs and frustrations of parents, like Meghan. It emphasizes the transformative potential of designing a platform that not only connects parents with tutors but also ensures a seamless, transparent, and engaging educational journey for their children.
What I learned: The project underscores the importance of user-centric design, focusing on specific needs like those of parents like Meghan. It highlights the crucial role of continuous improvement and transparent communication in building trust and success for the tutoring platform.

What are the next steps?

Initiate and conduct another round of usability studies on the functionality of the new site
Identify any new features or functionality that could be included in future releases
Enhance platform filters and tutor profiles to better highlight and prioritize specialization
Implement User Feedback Loop: Establish a robust feedback mechanism, encouraging parents like Meghan to provide insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.

YoungMinds Educational tutor booking app

UX/UI Design

Prototyping

Information architecture

Project Overview

Roles

UX/UI Design

Information Architecture

Researcher

Tools

Figma

Typeform

Project Length

Jan - Feb 2024

It's time to get to know the market and our users

Market Research

Competitive Audit

It's time to get some research done...

My research sample comprises:

5 Adults ranging in age from 25 - 50 years that have children attending school between the ages of 5 - 17 years

of which two users are from a historically marginalised group

A brief research summary

It's time to define what we have uncovered

Insights

I've noted the following pain points

Finding specialised tutors - Parents struggled to find tutors with expertise in specific areas i.e. “Maths for 5th grader” and not “Maths Tutor”

Inconvenient scheduling - Parents find it challenging to schedule tutoring sessions around busy work and student schedules.

Tutor Quality - Parents worry about finding tutors who understand and can accommodate their child's specific learning requirements and needs.

Unclear Pricing - Parents expressed a level of anxiety about hidden costs and the lack of transparency in pricing.

It's time to meet our user

I think we've found Meghan's problem

How might we...

​

enhance the transparency of tutor profiles to provide parents like Meghan with a more comprehensive understanding of a tutor's expertise and teaching style?

implement flexible scheduling options that cater to the diverse after-school hours of students?

establish clear and accessible communication channels between parents and tutors, facilitating ongoing discussions about a child's progress, learning needs, and any concerns?

Now, let's play around with some ideas...

Let's get going with some solutions

Let's take a closer look at our user flow

Information architecture is important. Let's deal with this.

Let the drawings begin!

It's time for our users to get testing

Summary of my findings

Let's do some improvements...

Getting our low-fidelity prototype ready

Our user flow

Let's go do another round of testing

It's high-fidelity time

Let's see our final product I went with a neutral white background for simplicity as my primary colour. In keeping with the 60-30-10 rule, I used a hue of blue as my secondary colour and a shaded green as a complementary colour to represent youth and growth.

Our user flow

Some accessibility considerations I made

Some key takeaways from the completion of this project

What I learned: The project underscores the importance of user-centric design, focusing on specific needs like those of parents like Meghan. It highlights the crucial role of continuous improvement and transparent communication in building trust and success for the tutoring platform.

What are the next steps?

​

Initiate and conduct another round of usability studies on the functionality of the new site

Identify any new features or functionality that could be included in future releases

Thank you for coming along on this journey!

YoungMinds
Educational tutor booking app

Let's see our final product

I went with a neutral white background for simplicity as my primary colour. In keeping with the 60-30-10 rule, I used a hue of blue as my secondary colour and a shaded green as a complementary colour to represent youth and growth.