* pseudonym used for confidentiality purposes
Overview
DigitalSchool was a company offering programs in technical fields such as data science, UX design and web development.
With the proliferation of similar programs in the marketplace, the company wanted to have a deeper understanding of end-users, and how to reach out to them as DigitalSchool was redesigning its website.
Objective
The goal of the project was to understand the motivations for users to pursue coursework in a technical field. The target group included current, potential and recent graduates who took coursework in person and online.
[Note: this was pre-Covid when in-person courses were more prevalent].
Solution
I presented a series of five personas and journey maps, each of whom reflected underlying insights to the motivations and needs of the users we interviewed, with confidence and discipline as key behavioral dimensions.
Result
The work informed the redesign of the website, one that "spoke" to the users' needs and motivations. In other words, a message of "Here's what we can do for you" vs. "Here's what we offer."
How it happened
I conducted a generative study where I interviewed 11 people and generated personas/journeys, working with the following members:
- Product manager
- UX/UI designer
- > UX researcher (me)
- Marketing manager
Research Approach
To get a sense of the market I reviewed schools with programs that competed with DigitalSchool:
- Flatiron School
- Chegg/Thinkful
- General Assembly
- Code Academy
With the understanding of general demographics and direction from the product manager, we aimed to recruit a mix of users who were career changers vs. enhancing skills, and applicants vs. current students vs. alumni who were no more than 2 years out of their programs.
I recruited 11 participants from DigitalSchool's own applicant list, as well as resources from local tech-related Meetup groups and Slack channels. 1:1 moderated sessions were conducted on the platform http://userinterviews.com
Meet the users
- 4 recent graduates
- 3 current students
- 2 in the process of applying to programs
- 2 researching programs
"I love to tinker and want to learn about anything and everything having to do with technology"
- Career-changer, former nurse
I asked uses about their life goals, what they currently do for a living, why are they decicing to pursue coursework, where they are in the journey, what is motivating them, what are some of the challenges. To minimize the change of bias, I made sure NOT to mention that I was representing DigitalSchool.
I also had users complete a journey map and walked them through how to think about their journey - the "what", "why", "how" and "when.
"I want to move forward with my life but keep getting blocked"
- potential student who's exploring options
Key Takeaways
Together with the UX designer and product manager, we synthesized the key points gleaned from the interviews.....
...and uncovered the following insights about what aspects users felt were most important to them in a program:
1. Mentoring: topic that came up the most, especially for those users switching careers. Coincidentally, many users cited DigitalSchool as being especially strong in this area, a point that went over well with DigitalSchool's marketing department.
- Suggestion: Feature "mentoring" on the new website and in the application as a key component of the program
2. Career Guidance: Users were unsure how to position themselves in the marketplace for their new careers.
- Suggestion: Consider providing opportunities for career guidance in the form of visiting lectures from professionals in the field, (i.e. lunch & learn) and opportunities for mentoring
3. Application Process: Users needed assurance that they were making the right choice and felt that the application process was a critical step.
- Suggestion: During the online application process, consider soliciting feedback at the end of the application process or providing a helpline or chatbot. Other approaches could be conducting a focus group or a separate user study, time and resources permitting.
4. Soft Skills: Students and graduates felt that skills such as teamwork and presentations would help prepare them for their careers.
- Suggestion: Consider requiring presentations as part of the coursework in order to build practical communication skills. Another idea could be an afternoon program to build teamwork skills.
5. Community: Most users felt that knowing they weren't alone, and having a chance to bond with peers would enhance to school experience.
- Suggestion: Creating a local Meetup for students and alumni, or providing these resources for students could help them learn about the experiences faced by their peers
6. Financing: Most students felt that financial was one of the biggest obtstacles to achieving their goals and wanted to see a variety of options that would help them
- Suggestion: Explore different ways of offering financial assistance to students, perhaps through internships, government programs (if the school is qualified), and scholarships for women and minorities.
"One bootcamp application was well-written, which told me something about the caliber of the program.
- Financial analyst, taking coursework in Python
Conclusion
The findings were well-received by the stakeholders. The school hadn't realized the importance of aspects such as mentoring and career guidance to students and more importantly, HOW they could provide these services in a way that would be meaningful to students and prospects. The school also made a concerted effort to maintain a more robust alumni network as a resource to help with mentoring and career prospects for students.
