The Training Site
I redesigned the main intranet used daily by 1,000+ part-time teachers to be more intuitive.
The Problem
Newly hired teachers were not using the resources provided on the intranet.
This is a problem because these resources contain the most updated and relevant content for their students.
If teachers do not utilize these resources, students will receive training that is out-dated and irrelevant.
Managers and supervisors started asking,
WHY?
Understanding the Users
To discover potential sources of the problem stated above, I conducted five randomized focus groups with new teachers (3 months or less) from across the organization. The following discoveries emerged:
1
New teachers felt overwhelmed by the amount of resources available.
2
New teachers thought resources were disorganized and chaotic.
3
New teachers could not determine which resources were intended for them.
4
New teachers had trouble locating resources multiple times.
Based on my findings, management approved a redesign of the website.
Note to self:
Doing good user research carries a lot of weight with stakeholders
Design Stages
Given my findings, I wanted to make sure that the new website design felt intuitive for teachers—especially new teachers.
For this reason, I divided my design process into the following stages:
Information Organization
Usability Tests
Full-Scale Pilot
Information Organization
I asked experienced teachers to categorize all available resources into logical buckets based on similar characteristics.
I did this with eight groups of teachers, and a hefty survey which revealed the most common points of consensus.
Usability Tests
I created mock-ups and wireframes of different layout options. I showed these to groups of new and experienced teachers to determine which was the most useful and required the fewest clicks.
Full-Scale Pilot
After creating a full working prototype based on feedback, I had two larger groups of teachers (around 60 total) use it as their main resource for two weeks. I then asked for feedback, which I implemented.
Implementation
Changing a tool that is currently being used by hundreds of people can be . . . tricky. For this reason I made sure to warn all teachers the change was coming, but leave the old version available for a period after transitioning to the new.
Note to self:
It can frustrate users when you don't appreciate the value they place on existing products
"my feelings were that it was pretty intuitive, the way you group things."
"you tried to design this in such a way that the most important things are really easy to access"
Compare for yourself
Old
New
Thoughts from management
“Tanner Kohler is one of the most responsible, capable people I know. He finds gaps in missionary instruction that others don’t have time to address and takes the time to fill those gaps in a non-threatening, yet professional manner. He is the epitome of “taking something and running with it.” When he receives an assignment, he doesn’t just check the boxes, he assesses it from various angles, includes multiple stakeholders and exceeds expectations. While he does not report to me or work in my area, my teachers have all benefited tremendously because of Tanner."
Rob Stephenson (Manager of MTC Training)