UW-Madison Mentorship Program Mobile App Design
Project Details
Duration: Feb 1- 7, 2020
Google's Design Challenge
Process
User Interview
Ideation
Wireframing
Information Architecture Strategy
Prototyping
Tools
Pen & Papers
Adobe XD
Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
Challenge
Your school wants to strengthen the community by encouraging experienced students to connect with new students and help them adjust to campus life. Design an experience that allows mentors and mentees to discover each other. Consider the needs of both mentors and mentees, including how someone may become a mentor and how to connect mentors to mentees.
Goals
I wanted to design an experience that allows mentors and mentees to discover each other. I aimed at improving the user experience as well as adopting the principle of design thinking. Hence, the needs/problems of both mentors and mentees are my primary considerations during the design process.
Research Takeaways
Empathizing
Because of the time constraint, I conducted 6 interviews with current UW students and students from other universities that have previously attended the mentorship program.
Problem statement summarized from user interviews
Mentor's
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4 people said “too busy to commit”
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Scheduling conflicts
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Lacking communication and unclear goals
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Lacking mentee participation
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Potential harassment or over-pressuring from one side
Sparks of joy users found or expect in the mentorship program
Mentee's
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Insider tips of college life (both academic & life)
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Navigating a new city
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Guidance from the same language speakers
Mentee's
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Program is limited to academic support
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Difficult to establish a true connection with mentors
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Questionable commitment by mentors
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Time compatibility with mentors
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"He kept calling me… "
User Journey: The Original Web Application Process
Issues with the original user journey
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Web-based
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Unknown mentor/mentee
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How to ensure the relationship is established successfully?
Design Process
Ideation
The Concept of UW-Madison Mentorship App
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Academic Excellence
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Holistic Development
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Diversity & Inclusion
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A Safe Community
These concepts are a summary of the user interviews regarding the "culture of UW-Madison".
MadNet
Introducing the new mobile mentorship program app of the University of Wisconsin - Madison which provides the whole-rounded experience of a mentorship program. The program goes beyond academic support and celebrates diversity and inclusivity on our campus. With this new matching mechanism, students can easily find the person that clicks and maximize the purpose of our program.
Experience through Mobile App
Reasons for choosing to build a mobile app
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Most universities request students to submit application form through their websites to evaluate if the candidates are qualified.
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The experience I aim to design is to create a friendly, accessible, and whole-rounded mentorship program that provides guidance beyond academia.
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Hence, I decided to create a user-friendly mobile app, where communication can take place via university registered email accounts
Wireframes
Drafting out the ideas with low fidelity, then brushing up with high fidelity wireframes.
User Journey of MadNet (New)
Mapping out user journey with the screen flow in high fidelity prototypes.
Problem Solving with Prototypes
Concept 1: Card-Swipe Matching
Problem statement: "It’s hard to connect with “the right person”.
Design Solution
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Without compatible matches, we cannot maximize the program’s benefits.
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To remove the extra step for partner re-application, I adopted a card-swipe matching mechanism.
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Users can see all the user profiles in “Community” with the filter functions to endorse people in the same majors or aspects.
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Then users can go to “Matching”
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“Match Myself” mode, to see who endorses them and swipe to choose their matches.
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“Give me surprise!” mode gives users another option by automatically creating matches based on their interests and the aspect they would like to focus on.
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To check the list of candidates you liked.
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Concept 2: Resolving Scheduling Conflict
Problem statement: “We can’t find the time to meet”
Design Solution
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This is one of the most notable complaints amongst the interviewees.
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By listing user availability on their profile page, scheduling conflicts can be considered during the matching process.
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Furthermore, the Chatbox also provides users with the flexibility to communicate online for an immediate response. Thus, eliminating the need for multiple appointments.
Concept 3: A Holistic Program
Problem Statement: "The program is limited to academic support."
Design Solution
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By providing a wide range of mentorship to also include: diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
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For instance, international students may have trouble acclimating to a different culture and language.
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A lot of people are struggling with finding their own community since UW-Madison is a very big school. “Other links” is a page that provides information about different student organizations that can bring students together.
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By matching a mentor and mentee with similar cultural backgrounds, the app helps to alleviate the language barrier and aims to improve adaptation to a new life in the city.
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It is also crucial to incorporates psycho-social qualities into the design. Hence, I added the aspects of community belongingness and mental well-being support.
Concept 4: Creating a Safe Space
Problem Statement: Potential harassment or pressure
Design Solution
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It is crucial for students to feel safe in an educational environment. Safe can be defined as a sense of belongingness, personal privacy, etc.
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This app requires students to register with campus emails, so inappropriate incidences can be documented by the university. It also ensures the student account authenticity.
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The app does not require personal information such as location or phone number.
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The “Feedback/Report” section is to opt-out of the relationship. The management team will investigate and report to UW campus police system once the cases are found sensitive.
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The chatbox feature also allows students to explore topics that they do not feel comfortable addressing face to face.
Design Style
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UW-Madison official color guidelines
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A welcoming and friendly tone
Ideas to Further Iterate
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Interviewees indicated that students view mentorship from peers as more accessible compared to seeking professional help.
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Collaborating with Mental Health Service on campus to launch mental counseling training courses on the app to more effectively navigate sensitive topics.
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Prompt questions on the user profiles for a better understanding of your partner during the matching process.