Texas Career Engagement (TCE)
University of Texas at Austin Career Centers offers specialized career services tailored to the students they serve by providing career expertise in knowledge of academic disciplines, specific skill acquisition, and common industry interests.
Students can schedule an appointment with Texas Career Engagement (TCE) to explore options for graduate or professional school, explore career topics, or connect to a career coach / trained UT students for help searching for jobs and internships.
Because of privacy, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. The information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Texas at Austin.
Overview
My Role
Data Visualization Graduation Assistant
Product Management, User Research, Data Visualization
Timeline
2022.01 - 2022.05 (5 Months)
Responsibility
I collaborated with stakeholders from 170+ fields across 13 colleges to ensure a seamless user experience for our product from conception to launch. My responsibilities encompassed:
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Conducting in-depth user research to understand their needs and preferences.
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Creating a comprehensive style guide to establish design guidelines.
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Refining design systems for consistency and quality assurance.
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Designing user flows, interfaces, and experiences to optimize usability.
Throughout the project, I oversaw the user experience, working closely with stakeholders to ensure alignment with their requirements and expectations.
Problem Statement
What is the most efficient approach to summarizing student appointment statistic data for faculty, alumni, and stakeholders?
Design Process
Define
In the first phase, through the initial kick-off meeting, I understand:
Why does this product need to exist? Who am I creating this for? What business goal will I achieve?
This gives me a basic outline that can then be used in the next step.
Potential User
Faculty
utilize the summarized data to gain insights into student appointment trends & identify areas of improvement
Alumni
leverage the summarized data to understand the current needs and trends among students
Program Coordinators
organizing career-related events can use the summarized data to identify popular areas of interest among students
Student Services
career coaching can utilize the summarized data to provide more personalized and tailored support
Project Goal
Good quality of the service
Easy to learn & efficient to use
Web accessibility
Meet users needs
Positive feedback from users
Research
To figure out the user needs and business requirements, I initiated an interview with stakeholders from 170+ fields across 13 colleges. Then I listed down the key insights and criteria as following:
User Insights
Analysis & Planning
Sample Persona
After listed down the user insights, I then created a sample person at a deeper understanding of user needs, responsibility, and challenges that a specific user may face when utilizing a dashboard to summarize student appointment statistic data. By personifying the target user, it became easier to empathize with their perspective and design a solution that caters to their requirements. The persona helped highlight the importance of user-centered design and the potential impact a well-designed dashboard can have on the efficiency and effectiveness of career counselors like Sarah.
Define What to Build - Moscow Analysis
With a better understanding of user needs, I then moved forward to decide what features to build. I used the Moscow Analysis (Moscow Prioritization). It helps clarify and prioritize features and requirements for the design. By creating boundaries for the priorities, I was able to narrow their focus and created direct and achievable goals.
Site Map
I then created a site map after defining the feature to help organize and visualize the structure and hierarchy of the dashboard. The site map provides a clear overview of how pages and functionalities will be interconnected. Additionally, the site map served as a valuable communication tool, enabling stakeholders to align their understanding of the project scope.
Design
Refining Design System
Before designing the dashboard, I meticulously refined the design systems in adherence to the University of Texas at Austin brand guidelines. By aligning the dashboard's visual elements, typography, color palette, and overall aesthetics with the established brand guidelines, I ensured a consistent and cohesive user experience. This approach not only upholds the university's identity but also fosters familiarity and trust among faculty, alumni, and stakeholders from the 13 colleges. By leveraging the brand guidelines, I maintained a harmonious visual language throughout the dashboard, resulting in a professional and polished interface that resonates with the university's brand image.
Typography
Primary Color Palette
Secondary Color Palette
High Fidelity Prototype
Dashboard
Student
Message
Survey Table
My Takeaways
1. Focus on the bigger picture
In the initial phase of the project, I always search for some existing dashboard designs that show statistical data. I wanted the design to be like the already established ones which have “nice to have” features. The challenge for me was to get rid of the urge to incorporate those features and stick to just the “must-haves”. They can definitely improve the user experience but are not needed for the project. While defining the scope, make sure everything is aligned with the major clients’ goals.
2. Communicate clearly with stakeholders
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Get to know your user: Getting to know the clients prior to the work meeting helps to understand their requirements better. It is said that people are trickier than tools, and knowing our clients can help us a lot in explaining certain points in a way that they can easily understand and giving the right direction to the agenda.
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Do not put your clients on the spot: Asking questions that put them on the spot should be avoided. Instead, it is better to send them the questions ahead of time, it gives them time to analyze your questions and get back to you with answers which are well thought out.
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Suggesting changes: Clients can be from different backgrounds so it is possible that they might not understand the design or technical constraints at first. We should suggest changes in a constructive manner. After all, we are there to help them.
To overcome these issues, it is important to create a robust communication process. I made the most of tools such as email, and collaborative features in design software.