EduConnect
Bridging gaps between students and local tutors
The problem
Students and parents often struggle to find qualified local tutors who match their specific academic needs, budget, and availability.
The goal
The aim is to streamline the scheduling process, making it easy for students to book sessions and enhancing the connection between tutors and clients.
Design process
User interviews
To solve the problem and achieve our goals, I conducted interviews with tutors and parents to understand their needs. Research revealed that tutors valued tools for scheduling and payment management, while parents emphasized the importance of trust, communication, and progress tracking.
These findings guided the design of features such as detailed tutor profiles, scheduling tools, and clear feedback options to create a reliable platform that connects tutors and parents effectively.
Empathy map
Parent persona
Tutor persona
Pain points identified
Integrated Tools: Tutors find it challenging to manage their services effectively because there aren’t unified tools for scheduling and handling payments.
Trust: Parents are looking for tutors who can come to their homes but often struggle to find reliable, trustworthy individuals. They want more transparent ways to evaluate tutors’ qualifications and ensure their reliability before making a decision.
Struggles: Both tutors and parents struggle with scheduling conflicts, as disjointed systems make organizing and managing tutoring sessions more complicated.
Possible solutions
To address Danielle’s need for informed decision-making, the app offers:
- Detailed tutor profiles with clear pricing information.
- Verified reviews to help parents confidently select tutors.
These features ensure that parents can confidently select a tutor who meets their requirements.
For tutors like Hector, who struggle with managing multiple tools, the app provides:
- An integrated platform for scheduling, payment collection, and communication.
- A streamlined solution that simplifies his workflow.
- Tools to help them focus on teaching while improving professional efficiency.
User journey
Task flow
Sketches
Lo Fi
Usability testing
I conducted usability testing sessions with parents and students in the community.
Research Study goal: Determine if users can successfully find a tutor in their neighbourhood and book a tutoring session within the prototype. Determine if the app is difficult to use.
Key findings
1. Pricing Visibility: Participants wanted pricing displayed next to each tutor’s profile in the search results for easy comparison.
2. Enhanced Filtering Options: Users requested more filtering options (e.g., location, subjects, and ratings) on the tutors page to simplify finding suitable matches.
4. Clearer Confirmation Messaging: Users suggested adding a review booking page and confirmation message page for reassurance.
5. Additional Booking Option: A “Book More” button on the confirmation page was recommended to encourage scheduling of further sessions.
6. Option to book multiple dates at the same time.
Style guide
Final Hi Fi
Context and limitations
This was my first UX design project, completed as part of a six-month certificate program. I had around 14 weeks to bring the project to completion, which limited the scope of in-depth research and iterative design. While I tested the wireframes and prototype with parents, tutors, and students in my community, the project was not implemented in a real-world setting. Despite these constraints, the experience allowed me to develop foundational UX skills, gain valuable insights, and create a thoughtful and functional design.
What's next
My next steps for this UX project would focus on enhancing functionality and refining the design through an iterative process. This includes:
- Additional Testing: Conduct more user testing on the wireframes and prototypes with a broader audience to gather diverse feedback.
- Iterative Design: Implement multiple iterations of the design, incorporating insights from testing to address usability issues and improve the user experience.
- Digital Constraints: Adjust the design to align with potential technical limitations, ensuring feasibility and optimal performance in real-world applications.
- Feature Enhancements: Add calendar integration for confirmed bookings, a feature to save favorite tutors, and personalized session reminders to keep users engaged and make the app more intuitive.
Learning outcomes
This project marked my introduction to UX design, and it taught me a lot about the process, from understanding user needs to creating and testing prototypes. I learned the value of user feedback, how to adapt designs based on challenges, and the importance of staying focused on the users. Looking back, I’m proud of what I accomplished and excited to use what I’ve learned in future projects.
Potential impact
The tutoring app has the potential to significantly improve the way parents and tutors connect and manage sessions by:
- Offering a seamless, user-friendly platform that simplifies scheduling and management.
- Providing integrated calendar booking and in-app payments for a more efficient experience.
The app builds trust and reliability through:
- Verified background checks for tutors.
- In-app chat for direct communication between tutors and students.
- Features that promote transparency and foster supportive relationships.
By combining ease of use with essential features, the app:
- Creates a comprehensive solution for parents and students seeking quality in-person tutoring.
- Helps improve educational outcomes through better connections and efficient tools.