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ApplyGrad
Improving usability and efficiency of a Graduate Admissions web portal that increased users’ productivity, ease of use, and satisfaction.
Overview
About
ApplyGrad is a graduate admission management software that allows CMU's School of Computer Science programs to assess and recruit top talented students each year.
In this six-week design consulting project, I improved the information architecture and visual design of the platform to improve usability, efficiency, and ease of use so that administrators can work more effectively and focus on key data that matters for quality admissions.
Duration
6 weeks
(April 2020 - May 2020)
Tools
Figma, Mural, Sheets,
Zoom Video
Role
Interaction Design
UI Design
User Research
Team Members
Tommy Byler, Brandon Fiskel, Bidisha Roy,
Amrita Sakhrani
Overview
Problem
For nine long months, administrators have to spend an excessive number of hours - digging, organizing, and reflecting on information through key stages of admissions via the currently designed platform.
The current ApplyGrad platform provides an overwhelming experience for administrators, making their year-long process of admissions time-taking and extremely tedious.
Design Process
We started with research to understand the problem space, followed by modeling and sketching to generate useful ideas and then testing them to evaluate their effectiveness. Throughout the process, we took feedback from the clients (ApplyGrad developers). I led the interaction design of the new screens along with designing research plans and creating a visual guide.
Research
We used 3 research methods to understand the users and their pain points, identifying where the platform fails them the most. The deep analysis showed us points of opportunities that can best improve the experience and efficiency of using ApplyGrad.
Contextual Inquiry
What we did: Spend key hours with administrators observing their workflow and process of admissions.
Why: Understand and identify user behavior throughout the workflow, highlighting key points of frustration and trouble.
Heuristic Evaluation
What we did: Evaluated the platform using Neilson Norman's Usability Heuristics.
Why: Identify key issues with the platform design and how it relates to user frustration and problems.
Card Sorting
What we did: Conducted the activity with administrators to understand their priorities for managing admits.
Why: Identify key information that the user needs the most and understand the impact of that information on the users.
Key Findings
Requiring tremendous cognitive effort to assess information & take action
Feeling overwhelmed while dealing with a sea of irrelevant information
Unable to establish trust in the system due to poor feedback & inefficient workflows
Establishing workarounds
to adapt to the system constraints
Relying on external spreadsheets to supplement the system's shortcomings
Lack of support for core user need of progress tracking & decision making
"I have to brace myself in the morning just to open this platform because I know it's going to take up so much of my time and I have so much to do, today."
- CMU MHCI Program Administrator on how they feel about ApplyGrad
Administrators have a sequential workflow through the admissions process - application, planning, evaluation, and admissions, focusing on one stage at a time
To prioritize showing information that is most essential to users, we learned that users most wanted key data stats, at each stage, that helps them visualize progress
Research
Design
Identifying high-impact opportunities
Using a prioritization matrix, our team assessed which themes were the most important to solve based on the research we conducted. Here are some of the opportunities we identified:
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Increase efficiency through goal-oriented flows.
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Give users what they need the most - relevant data!
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Provide quick actions for simple tasks.
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Improve visual design for efficient scanning.
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Help users visualize progress at each stage.
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Prevent errors at crucial points of the flow such as inputting multiple admission status data.
Sketching ideas to identify new formats that best support users' goals at each stage.
Testing
We conducted A/B Testing with the users to understand which features and formats best help them attain their goals and allow them to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the admissions process.
Key Findings
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Users most appreciated seeing snapshots of data right at the front for each stage of admission. It helped them quickly assess their progress and report crucial numbers faster.
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The sequential flow of navigation supported their workflow and helped them focus on key tasks per stage of the process.
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Users found the visual improvements to be very effective and modern, completely elevating the stress of finding crucial information.
Design
Solution
We created a modern-looking and user-focused dashboard experience for administrators by redesigning the information architecture, user flow, and visual design of ApplyGrad.
A new home page that provides a quick overview of the admission process through the year. Administrators no longer need to dig and organize this crucial information to reflect from time to time in the admissions cycle.
Supporting the sequential workflow and breaking it into key screens.
Navigating between the important screens removed the confusion caused by the original overwhelming layout.
Clean visuals with clear hierarchies and groupings reduced users' cognitive load and allows for faster turnaround with tasks.
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“Data-Driven Stats” and “Quick View Lists” across phases help, visualize progress, prevent errors, and plan the next steps faster. Persistent feedback allowed users to be reassured that their data is accurate and up-to-date.
Solution
Results
Overall values for users
Direct support for sequential workflow and meeting expectations
Increase in efficiency and productivity
A useful system that administrators want to use!
Results
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