How might we integrate two separate online systems to reduce workloads while also improving the experience of teachers participating in LEAP’s Match Day Program?

LEAP Innovations

LEAP Innovations is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that connects innovation and education to reinvent the one-size-fits-all system and transform the way kids learn. As both facilitator and innovator, LEAP Innovations works across a variety of stakeholders – educators, entrepreneurs, innovators and thought leaders – to help reinvent education.

LEAP Innovations currently runs two separate sites; one for the educators (Match Day) and one for the review panelists (Edtech). The Edtech and Match Day Sites are an integral part of the curation and matching process for the LEAP Innovations Pilot Network. Currently, the process is cumbersome, requiring manual effort from LEAP staff, product panelists, and school educators to compile, vet, review, and select edtech products.

Our team was asked to improve the design and customer experience for the educators on the Match Day site. The Target Audience is Chicago Public Teachers and Administrators participating in the LEAP Day Pilot Program.

The current match day site is built using google sites and is the primary tool for teachers and administrators to select EdTech products for Match Day. The site is often created after the curation process is complete and content is copied and pasted from curated site (edtech) site. There are opportunities to improve both the overall look and feel of the website and improve the user experience.

Overview

Role: UX Researcher | Designer
Duration: 7 Weeks
Tools: InDesign (Personas, Site Map, Journey Map), Stormboard ( Insights and Insight Clusters), Paper & Pen (Contextual Inquiry, Prototypes), Sketch (Prototype),
Methods: Sketching, Business Case, SWOT Analysis, Taxonomy Exercise, Comparative Analysis, Journey Map, Site Map, Prototypes, User Testing and Final Analysis.

Process

We had 7 weeks and 7 meetings with the client (30 minutes each) and could not interview LEAP’s clients. We worked with limitations to understand LEAP’s industry and business challenges. We used our networks to interview teachers to understand teachers’ pain points.

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Key Research Insights

[1] There’s an excitement when teachers are chosen to be in the pilot network and when they get to use the products.
[2] Teachers review their products here and there, and they don’t have much time to review to make decisions.
[3] There are many ways to help the users make decisions.

Design Solutions

Project Impact

The new design helps users navigate content better with information architecture and layout, images add context for users, and icon languages help offload text. This new experience allows users to take notes and vote for products, allowing them to review the contents. We recommended both short term and long term recommendations based on LEAP’s feasibility assessment.

LEAP Inovations