PLUS Tutor Reflection Form

Helping student tutors and researchers to collect better quality data
Over spring of 2024, I worked at PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared to redesign the Tutor Reflection Form for student tutors, tutor supervisors and data researchers, as part of a larger initiative to  improve both the quality and utility of data collections.

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

Jan 2024 – March 2024

Team

2 Product Designers
1 Product Manager
1 Developer

Skills

Figma
Interactive Demo
Usability Testing

SUMMARY

Tutor reflection forms redesigned for better data collection, information architecture and better flexibility.

Our team redesigned the reflection form aimed at enhancing its effectiveness and flexibility. The new form was meticulously crafted to collect actionable data that significantly improves the program’s outcomes while also simplifying the reflection process.

TL;DR

25%
Reduction in Reading Time
High
User Satisfaction Increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS)
20%
Increase in User engagement

As a product designer, I improved the Reflection Form's input experience and user flow, redesigning the UI to enhance the data collection process for researchers. I contributed to the design process, including product scoping, user flows, wireframes, prototyping, and usability testing. I also communicated with clients to develop viable ideas, collaborated with cross-functional teams, and successfully pitched the final proposal to leadership, securing their full support.

Part 1

Context

INTRODUCTION

What is PLUS?

PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared, is a tutoring platform that combines human and AI tutoring to boost learning gains for middle school students from historically underserved communities.

The platform supports over 3000 students, 500 tutors, completing more than 10k hours of tutoring every month.

PROBLEM FRAMING

The existing reflection form was usable but not useful, as it did not facilitate the collection of high-quality data.

Redesigning a form might seem straightforward, but we often receive ambiguous design requirements focused on enhancing data quality, as the existing data points are not useful due to the old form being easy to fill out but failing to collect the necessary data to meet our stakeholders' needs. Initially unsure why it wasn't working, we reset our project goals and began considering the needs of various stakeholders.

We initiated by the need to improve data collection and usability of the existing tutor reflection forms which were found to be functional but not useful.

PROJECT GOALS

Redesigning a better form to enhance data quality and increase users' feasibility

When setting up key metrics for the success of the redesigned Reflection Form, we chose indicators that would directly measure both the efficiency and effectiveness of the new design in achieving its intended outcomes.

KEY METRICS

Completion Rate

Boost the completion rate to ensure comprehensive data collection.

Data Accuracy

Current form often yield incomplete or inaccurate data.

User Satisfaction

Streamline and lead to a guided experience for tutors.

PART 2

Process

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES PHRASE #1

What we learned from {Design Audit}?

We did a design audit and collected user surveys to identify current bottlenecks related to feasibility and usability issues. From our evaluation of the current workflow using the Reflection Form, we learned several issues that impeded its effectiveness and usability -

01 | Limited Usability
Tools like Google Forms provided broad content capture but lacked the depth needed to gain actionable insights, and the Figma prototypes had not been thoroughly assessed for usability.
02 | Data Collection Inefficiency
The form's design did not meet the specific needs of its primary stakeholders. Supervisors and researchers struggled to collect high-quality data, tutors found data input cumbersome, and developers were constrained by the need to work within existing technical frameworks.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES PHRASE #2

What we learned from {Usability Testing}?

After the design audit and data analysis, we conducted usability testing to identify current bottlenecks related to feasibility and usability issues.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES PHRASE #3

What we learned from {users}?

Additionally, we interviewed 2 supervisors and researchers to deepen our understanding of their needs and why these did not align with the data collected by the forms.

We realized that the existing form design process had not adequately considered the needs of data providers and recipients, instead shifting the entire burden onto PLUS, which failed to match their actual needs.

PART 3

ITERATION

DESIGN DECISIONS

How might we make changes to {varies stakeholders?}

Considering the diverse needs of various stakeholders, I aimed to balance providing better efficiency for data providers and ensuring high-quality data for recipients.

This presented a new design challenge -- How can we redesign the form to collect high-quality data while making it easy for tutors to complete?

CHALLENGE ONE: DATA PROVIDER

As a student tutor, I want the form to be easier to fill out....

Approach

Revamped Session Navigation Flow to accommodate various tutor use cases

During the usability testing, we discovered various use cases for tutors filling out the form.

To fulfill their needs, we made changes to the conditional progression and flexible navigation to ensure our design accommodates these different use cases.

Redesigned Entry Button to accommodate edge use cases

However, based on the previous user survey report and interviews with supervisors, we have identified additional edge cases that need consideration.

For instance, as one researcher noted, there are scenarios such as needing to step in unexpectedly for a colleague or when a session isn't recognized by the system.

We redesigned the UI to include double entry buttons, allowing users to initiate a new entry or access an existing one under special conditions without disrupting the normal workflow.

CHALLENGE TWO: DATA RECIPIENTS

As supervisors and researchers, we want to easily identify and address the challenges faced and access session data effortlessly...

Approach

Revamped Information Architecture for Direct Stakeholder Relevance

We redesigned Information Architecture to tailored each session's structure to align specifically with its stakeholders' needs.

Enhanced UX Writing for Stakeholder-Specific Questions

Questions have been updated to align directly with the specific needs of stakeholders, ensuring that each query is purposeful and clear.

HIDDEN CHALLENGE THREE: DEVELOPER

As a developer, I want to find workarounds for technical constraints to ensure seamless data management....

Redesigned Entry Button to balance user needs and developer capabilities in Database

However, after we delivered the final design to the developers, they identified additional design problems with the new 'Add' buttons.

We changed the primary 'Add' button to a secondary button to reduce its prominence by minimal design changes to fulfill developer's needs, encouraging users to first go directly to the data table.

This adjustment aims to decrease duplicate data entries while still accommodating the use cases that address developer concerns.

PART 4

FINAL DESIGN

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Design Doc w/ Prototypes

The final design, along with detailed documentation, can be accessed through the following links.

PART 5

FUTURE STEPS

FUTURE STEPS

Validating with users along the way

Aim to finalize development by the end of summer.
The team can focus on refining key features, addressing any last-minute issues, and thoroughly testing the system to ensure it meets quality standards.

Collect and monitor initial usage data to measure success.
After launching the platform, it is essential to deploy analytics tools to track user engagement, completion rates, and overall satisfaction to offer valuable insights into how the platform is being utilized.

Plan for further iterations based on analysis and tutor feedback.
The feedback loop, combined with data analysis, will drive iterative updates that enhance the platform's functionality, ultimately leading to a more efficient and impactful tutoring experience.