EduPilot

Deliverables: UX UI design

Overview

EduPilot is a user-friendly app designed to simplify the current Seattle Public School portal system and make it easier for parents and guardians to access important information related to their child's academic performance.

Problem Statement

The current Seattle Public School portal system is unorganized, disconnected, hard to navigate, and lacks inclusivity. Parents and guardians have trouble navigating the seven separate portals and often resort to using Google to find the information they need, making the portals seem useless. Additionally, multiple logins are required to access each portal, making simple tasks like checking attendance, grades, and school calendars challenging for users.Provide an intuitive and streamlined experience, making it easier for parents and guardians to support their child's academic success.

Collaborators

Kerstin Graudins and Tran Cao

Role

Conduct research on the needs of Seattle Public Schools parents and guardians and define the problems to solve altogether.
Onboarding and task flows, wireframing
High fidelity visual design
Prototype and user testing with teammates

Timeframe

12 weeks

Tools used

Figma, Photoshop

Current Seattle Public School home page

Current dashboard for parents

Research on users

The primary users of EduPilot are parents with school-going children in Seattle Public Schools. The app caters to parents of all education levels and backgrounds with multiple languages, with the aim of helping them support their children's academic growth.

Lucy Smith

45 years old, mom of two, store manager

Busy work schedule, doesn't have time to access computer until she gets home late at night.
Not a big fan of technology, prefer something quick and easy.
Uses google instead of the school site whenever she needs to find a task.
Didn't know some portals exist or that she could use them.
Hates using multiple accounts to login to different school portals.
Wants to ensure her children achieve good grades and easily manage their performance at school, but she is unsure of how to do so without constantly bothering the teachers.

Amir Jafari

47 years old, dad of three, road construction

Forgets password easily, finds it very annoying and time-consuming when he has to contact the school to renew password.
Has a hard time finding a specific information from the school site.
Doesn't have time to drive the kids to school but he wants to ensure their safety.
Doesn't want to be late for any school events or payment.
Needs a better way to contact teachers as he can't remember each kids' teachers, and doesn't want to mistake their names.

Empathy map

Based on user personas and empathy map, the better way to improve the current Seattle Public School site is to create a phone app where users can access easily anytime, anywhere without opening their computer. The app must have multiple languages, easy to navigate and features the tasks list below:

One time login for multiple portals.
Manage each kids academic peformance easily.
Track school buses in real time.
Attendance
Homework
Check grades
Communicate with teachers
School events and academic calendar
Payments
More school information

Onboarding

The onboarding process of EduPilot showcases its key features, facilitating a smooth learning experience for first-time users to easily engage with the app.

School portals

With a single login, parents can conveniently access essential information for each of their children, including attendance records, homework assignments, grade reports, school payments, and more. They can personalize their app experience by customizing widgets based on their priorities.
Moreover, parents can directly add their children who will be attending Seattle Public Schools to EduPilot, ensuring all their children's information is easily accessible in one place.

Academic calendar

The app calendar enables parents to stay updated on school news, holidays, and events related to each of their children. It serves as a useful tool for managing the kids' activities, helping parents stay organized and prepared. By using the calendar, parents can easily keep track of upcoming homework assignments, tests, and other important dates, allowing them to support their children's academic journey effectively.

Communicate with teachers

EduPilot provides a seamless communication platform for parents to connect with teachers. With an intuitive interface that resembles Gmail, parents can easily locate the teachers responsible for each subject taught to their child and initiate contact with just a few simple clicks. The user-friendly design ensures that parents can navigate the app with ease, enhancing their overall experience.

Real time bus tracking, accessibility, and more

With the bus tracking feature, users can monitor the location of the school buses in real-time to ensure their children's safety. It also provides the flexibility to change the pick-up address and direct communication with the bus driver, enabling parents to stay connected and informed throughout the transportation process.
Moreover, users can check notifications, manage their profile, and customize accessibility settings to enhance their overall app experience.

Final insight

One lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of establishing a solid design system from the start to avoid wasting time on making multiple changes to the app's elements. Additionally, this project highlighted the value of collaboration and clear communication between team members to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. Another aspect during the redesign process was inclusivity, ensuring that the app was accessible and usable for a diverse range of users. Finally, this project helped me to reinforce the importance of user testing and iteration to ensure that the final product meets the needs and expectations of its target audience.