Strategy and Extending an Existing Design

 

OVERVIEW

The Client

Prentus is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm aimed at tech bootcamps and accelerated programs. They help recent graduates, many of whom come from non-traditional backgrounds, in starting a career in the tech industry. Prentus helps students connect with employers by leveraging existing partnerships between educational institutions and hiring partners.

 

The Problem

Prentus is seeking help to enhance the current employer and recruiter experience on the website. The focus area is to provide suggestions that would increase user engagement and retention.

 

The Solution

Discovery research showed that employers want to be able to clearly see what sets candidates apart from one another. To put an emphasis on the value of accelerated bootcamp graduates, my team and I created an interactive prototype that included an enhanced design and new design features.

 

My Roles

UX Researcher, UX Designer

My Research Team

 

Methodology Used

Directed Storytelling Interviews, Cognitive Walkthrough, Competitive Audit, Secondary Research, Touchpoint Strategy Map, Architectural Diagramming, User flow, Varying fidelity prototype, Usability Testing

Tools

Figma, Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite

 
 
 

Deliverables

Cognitive Walkthrough, Competitive Audit, Secondary Research Findings, Directed Storytelling Findings, Touchpoint Strategy Map, Interactive Prototype, Findings and Recommendations Report, Final Presentation

 
 
 
 

THE JOURNEY

 
 

Stakeholder Kick-off and Team Planning

My team and I met with Rod Danan, the Founder and CEO of Prentus, to kick off the project. The discussion helped my team and I unify and grasp Rod's product vision so that we could translate it into a wonderful user experience. I wrote down his insights so that my colleagues and I could refer back to them later.

During the discussion, we discussed which approach to UX Research and Design would be the most effective. My team and I outlined the project in a scope of work document, which served as a roadmap for our progress. We established user groups, stakeholders, and objectives within the scope of work. We also outlined our solution, as well as the approach and deliverables we would use to get there:

Discovery Research

  • User Interviews, Cognitive Walkthrough, Competitive Audit, and Secondary Research on Gamification, ATS platforms, and User retention through onboarding flow

Ideation

  • Strategy Touchpoint Roadmap (Strategy Goals: Expand the pool of job seekers, Emphasize the value of the talent pool, Optimize the digital user experience), Information Architecture Diagram

Evaluation

  • Usability Test

My team and I built a shared process map that defined the project's expected timeframe to support efficient collaborative group work. This enabled my team and I to stay on track with our project's objectives and practice collective time management.

 

Image 1. Stakeholder kick-off interview

 
 
 

Discovery Research

My team and I divided research areas among different members to maximize efficiency, then later came back together to synthesize the research into actionable takeaways.

The other members of my team conducted directed storytelling user interviews, a competitive audit, researched ATS software, and looked into user retention through onboarding flows. While they were doing that, I dived into some of my favorite research methods, cognitive walkthrough and secondary research on gamification.

Cognitive Walkthrough

Due to the short time given for this project, I conducted an individual cognitive walkthrough rather than a workshop. My goal was to evaluate the learnability of the Prentus’ employer portal from the perspective of a hiring manager or recruiter. Within the sandbox environment, the two main tasks analyzed were the sign-up flow and finding and interacting with a potential candidate.

Key findings:

  • Great feedback elements for field input

  • The sign-up flow was a little confusing towards the end with the search setup

  • Opportunity to add or modify some UI elements

  • Lack of notification or reminders on both employer and jobseeker portal

 

Image 2. Cognitive Walkthrough

Image 3. Secondary Research Gamification

 

Secondary Research - Gamification

Since gamification was one of the marketing features of Prentus, I took the lead in digging a little more into research on gamification. I also saw this as an opportunity to learn more about gamification because I have no expertise with game design and felt I could acquire valuable insights into human motivation and how to apply these concepts to improving the employer experience and increasing user retention on the Prentus platform.

Key Findings:

  • Gamification is the adaptation of digital game mechanics to non-gaming contexts.

  • Avatars, progress bars, points, leaderboards, and badges are examples of game mechanics. 

  • Gamification is also significant since it is an effective and enjoyable technique to encourage target audiences to participate.

Directed Storytelling Synthesis

The directed storytelling user interviews were led by one of my team members to learn more about the user's values and goals. Three participants were sourced with previous or current experience as recruiters or employers who are looking to hire tech bootcamp graduates. My team members integrated all of the data into a research finding report that highlighted the similarities and differences between user insights after all of the interview sessions were done.

After completing our individual research tasks, my team and I gathered to share our findings and establish a plan for design ideation based on the research. 

Read the full directed storytelling research report created by my team member Stephanie, here

 
 

Touchpoint Strategy Map

My team and I constructed a touchpoint strategy map based on the study, our understanding of the existing system, and the organization's goals. This map assisted us in determining which aspects of the user experience offered the greatest area of opportunity and creating a prototype action plan.

Image 4. Touchpoint Strategy Map

We decided to:

  • Design an enhanced version of candidate profiles.

  • Create a feature and flow that allows users to post job openings.

  • Streamline the candidate search process.

  • Redesign employer and candidate communication methods.

  • Incorporate a gamification feature

 
 

Information Architect

From the touchpoint map and research findings, I took initiative in creating the information architect diagram for the prototype to ensure my team and I are aligned on the user flow, the pages, and the elements of the prototype ideation.

 
 
 

Image 5. Information Architect Diagram

 
 
 

Interactive Prototype

My team and I built an interactive prototype based on user

 
 
 
 
 
 

Usability Test

In preparation for the usability testing, I took initiative in sourcing participants through a post on LinkedIn. The usability test plan was developed by one of my team members who also scheduled the interviews. The research consists of comparative testing and task observations. The purpose of the usability test was to directly assess the effectiveness of the prototype.

The evaluation goals were to:

  • Assess how well the product satisfies the needs of the users in terms of: 

  • Candidate profiles

  • User flow and content for job postings

  • Capabilities for candidate search

  • Candidates communication

  • Gamification features

  • Determine whether the product is easy to use and identify areas for improvement.


 

Image 6. Conducting one of the usability test session

 
 
 

Presentation

My team and I gave a presentation to the general public as well as a group of stakeholders and colleagues about the project. We highlighted the most essential lessons in clear simple language for the audience who have or do not have tech experience.

 
 
 

CONCLUSION

Prentus has done fantastic work with job seekers and schools/bootcamps up to this point, and there is a tremendous opportunity to extend the experience for hiring managers and recruiters. My team and I tried to keep the hiring manager/recruiter user group at the forefront of our efforts throughout the whole research and design process. We compiled a list of critical observations and designed prototypes that we believe will help them improve their experience. By enhancing the perceived value of the talent pool through an employer-facing dashboard, redesigned candidate profiles, and a streamlined onboarding process, Prentus will see greater engagement and retention.


 

NEXT STEP

I recommend the following next steps based on the discovery and evaluation research:

  • Perform a heuristic evaluation on the prototype and make changes as needed to ensure that the user interface elements match industry standards.

  • For the job posting, create a feature to include a way to view job applicants.

  • Conduct a competitive assessment of applicant tracking systems and apply the findings to the development of an applicant tracking feature prototype within the Prentus employer portal.

  • Create a new user onboarding process.

 
 
 

Reflection and Key Takeaway

Getting the chance to work on Prentus has been a tremendously satisfying experience. It's inspiring to see entrepreneurs like Rod value bootcamp grads and want to help them break into the tech industry by providing support and tools. If I get the chance to redo this project, I would focus on usability evaluation and conduct user testing in the present sandbox environment to get direct user feedback on how they feel about the current platform, and then figure out what would motivate them to stay on it.