A research-driven foundation for a site redesign.
- Role
- Lead Strategist, Researcher and Designer
- Industry
- EdTech
- Year
- 2022 – 2023
- Agency
- Roboboogie
Impact
Aligned stakeholders around audience needs
Defined experience direction and IA opportunities
Connected user goals with business objectives
Process
A structured exploration through discovery, empathy, and technical synthesis to align stakeholders and user needs.
Context & Assumptions
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Context & Assumptions
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Competitive Audit
- Existing Messaging Audit
Context & Assumptions
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Competitive Audit
- Existing Messaging Audit
User Motivations
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User Motivations
- User Interviews
- Job Story Whiteboarding Activity & Synthesis
- Persona & Journey Mapping Workshops with Stakeholders
User Motivations
- User Interviews
- Job Story Whiteboarding Activity & Synthesis
- Persona & Journey Mapping Workshops with Stakeholders
Synthesis & Design
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Synthesis & Design
- Personas & Journey Maps
- Revised Messaging Matrix
- IA: two sitemap directions
- Mid-Fidelity Homepage Wireframe
Synthesis & Design
- Personas & Journey Maps
- Revised Messaging Matrix
- IA: two sitemap directions
- Mid-Fidelity Homepage Wireframe
Audience Synthesis and Segmentation
Personas were primarily informed by user interviews that I conducted with teachers and school admins. We learned a lot about each segment's pain points and motivations through these interviews and used our insights to create six personas across three key segments: Teachers, School & District Admins, and State Representatives.
Future-State Exploration
After facilitating a Persona & Journey Mapping Workshop with stakeholders, I created future-state journey maps for each persona, identifying opportunities at each stage of decision cycle.
Turning Insight Into Structure
Taking audience insights into consideration, I created two sitemap directions: one that refined their current strategy and one that presented a completely new structure.
A Homepage Strategy That Shipped
Finally, I created mid-fidelity wireframes for the home page that addressed persona/segment needs. The mobile and desktop wireframes were handed off to NWEA's design team, who added UI using new brand guidelines. The wireframe featured a carousel module for upcoming events, news, and expert blog posts, drawing attention to recent and relevant content. This module is still live on NWEA's homepage.
Impact Beyond Engagement
Several modules from the wireframe are still live on NWEA's homepage, including this resources module that allowed for multiple user segments to find a path relevant to their needs.