ThriveDX Instructor Portal

Discover instructor needs and pain points based on unstructured data

Through Slack and feedback forms, the Instructor Success Team was inundated with reports of users struggling with the Instructor Portal, a critical link between instructors and ThriveDX.

To uncover the root of the issue, they turned to the UX team for guidance.

So, I took on the challenge of identifying the pain points and uncovering what instructors truly needed to improve their experience.

‍What I Did

Task Analysis and User interviews, User Surveys, Sitemap, and Wireframes

I conducted a combination task analysis and user interview with 5 instructors from varying programs as well as a survey receiving 26 responses over the course of 2 weeks. After creating an affinity map and drawing insights from this knowledge, I built a sitemap and wireframes targeting instructor pain points.

• The task analysis and user interviews were conducted over Zoom, allowing me to see the instructor's onscreen actions as well as delve deeper in how, when, and why they're currently using the site.
• Instructors came from different programs including Cybersecurity, Software Development, Digital Marketing, and UX/UI.
• The survey was built in Google Forms and sent out to instructors via Slack and email.
• I used a combination of Figma and FigJam to build a sitemap and wireframes with the sitemap iterating through 6 versions before reaching a final draft. As I consulted with the Instructor Success Team point of contact and collaborated with other designers, new information and ideas transformed the redesigned sitemap from its originally proposed version to a final version doubling as a content map.

Why I Did It

Learn the challenges, address the system, and then build a solution

• The task analysis and user interviews were to get clear qualitative data around what instructors were struggling with on the Portal site.
• The survey could then support or invalidate this information with quantitative data as well.
• The sitemap was built as a solution to some of the challenges uncovered from the user research.
• The wireframes were developed for certain pages before moving into high fidelity while others went straight from the sitemap/content map to the Visual Designer. This was to create an efficient process while providing clarity where specific functionality was needed such as the teaching schedule.

What We Learned

Users are usually able to successfully complete tasks they're used to, but have difficulty with anything outside of that

• Through the task analysis and user interviews, we learned that users were having trouble navigating the site. One of the tasks presented to the participants was to find out certain information about the instructors' programs which could be found on the programs pages. After one instructor clicked through much of the site to eventually complete the task, they stated, "I didn't even know programs [pages] existed on here."
• A couple of users reported having difficulty with the search function when trying to find the answers to questions that they couldn't find elsewhere on the site.
• There were consistent reports of Slack being the instructors' first go-to over the Instructor Portal for the reason that it was easier to ask someone for the exact information they were looking on Slack rather than searching for it on the Portal.
• To address these pain points, I developed a sitemap and then content map based on the user research that would focus on instructors main concerns: Scheduling classes, connecting with TDX's HR, gaining pedagogical knowledge, attending events and meetings, and keeping up with the latest announcements.
• As I continued to work with our Visual Designer and Instructor Success team stakeholder to develop wireframes based on the content map, the Instructor Success Team had a question around the location of the Support page and had concerns around the differences between some of the page groupings such as "ThriveDX Operations," "Classroom Operations," and "Instructor Resources."
• Since the site would be built in WordPress by me, our Visual Designer, and the Lead Developer on the project, we knew it would be a relatively easy update to rearrange, rename, or make any other organizational changes to the site. So, I suggested we continue to develop the currently existing pages while I conducted an open and closed card sort. The open card sort would provide information with the current mental models of our users while the closed card sort would test the hypothesis of the currently existing sitemap.

I conducted an unmoderated open and closed card sort with 5 instructors using FigJam. I then took the data from their files and collected it into Google Sheets to better synthesize and analyze. A common pattern from the open card sort was a "What's Happening" style section and in the closed card sort, instructors often placed Announcements and Events and Meetings in the same section.

Move common tasks to the front and allow users digging for answers easy digging

Instructors' most common task on the site was scheduling class so that task was moved to the forefront of the site. Instructors were also using the quick links section on the homepage as one-stop bookmark as well as often at other points in the site, so these links were moved into the menu where they would always be quickly available. Announcements, another common task on the site, given a blog style page on the site where instructors would be able to refer back to older announcement that might have disappeared from or be difficult to find on Slack. Links relevant to each page were pulled out from the page body or other parts of the site and given its own quick links section at the top of the page to create flow and connection between content as well as allow for even easier access to instructors looking for quick answers.

Results:

• When I left this project, I had began analyzing card sort to influence and develop a new sitemap
• I had built some pages of the site in WordPress using the Divi Builder, assisting with the project's completed development within a month
• Seeing the progress and benefits from UX's work on this project inspired and encouraged more teams to reach out to UX for assistance on various projects

The Next Steps

Analyze card sorting results and create a new sitemap, then tree test it

• If I were to continue on with this project, I would have completed analyzing the card sort and reviewed how the site is currently performing with the existing site structure.
• From the card sorting and existing site performance data, I would create a new sitemap.
• Before implementing the new site structure, I would tree test both site structures to see which is more accurately reflecting instructors' mental models of the Instructor Portal.
• After this is completed, then I would use the information from that research to develop and solidify a new site structure.