Increasing project management usage
As a remote internship management platform, Symba struggles to provide a robust and connected experience for managers and interns
The Problem?
From past feedback surveys I analyzed from Symba's users (intern managers and administrators), many voiced their opinion that the "Projects" feature was their least favorite and that they were bothered by its limitations.
In addition, only 7 out of 27 organizations use the feedback feature, with an average of 2 feedback requests per organization.
“It was difficult to upload projects and I wish there was a way to provide feedback on the projects page itself.”
Primary User - The Manager
Secondary User - The Intern
Team
Product Designer (me)
CTO
Timeline
7 weeks (postponed)
November - January 2021
Scope
B2B
Web Application
Interaction Design
Visual Design
User Research
The goal of this redesign was to increase manager and intern usage of the project management features, notably in encouraging more assignment submissions and feedbacks.
Through this process, I:
Implemented feedback system on the project submission level
Balanced simplicity with flexibility of use
Provided visual cues to guide the user throughout the page
Success Metrics
What to measure in the next 3 months after release:
• Assignment submission usage increase to at least once per week
• 30% of the organizations reporting using the feedback feature "often"
I started my investigation with a heuristic evaluation of the current Projects page and discovered…
🙅♀️ Inconsistent call-to-action buttons
🙅♀️ Inconsistent input fields
🙅♀️ Lack of context organization
The inconsistencies and lack of organization causes the users to be unable to focus on one task and orient themselves on the page.
Additionally, I learned from secondary research that we can assume the project management feature would have to be flexible to accommodate the varied nature of internship programs
Focus Group Analysis
Focus group interviews with potential clients who are either intern managers, administrators, or university recruiters were conducted and recorded. From these interviews, many have talked about the struggle with not having everything in one place and the lack of organization within different departments and internship programs.
Intern Analysis
Because I wasn't able to interview intern managers or interns directly, I went on YouTube and analyzed remote internship vlogs. It gave me a better understanding of how the internships are run in different companies and the type of work interns do.
Notes (👈 click here) from the "stalking".
Competitive Analysis
I looked at competitors in project management to understand the competitors' strengths and weaknesses, and see where Symba can play to its advantage.
Features such as the ability to add tasks/subtasks, feedback, and milestones were prioritized from Symba's point of view, as the business depends on contract sizes determined by each company’s administrator or human resources (HR) team
Even though the HR/administration signs the contract, they often have to convince management to get approval to use Symba. Therefore, features that are useful to administrators and intern managers will be the main focus in determining the features.
Mistake: It's too Complicated
Since most of the features were based on project management competitors, a lot of the features were more of nice-to-have's for Symba's project management.
This version complicated the product and did not align with the founders' idea of simplicity.
So... back to the drawing board!
Sitemap V.2 (Manager Portal)
This version of the sitemap emphasizes on the organization of each individual project, therefore allowing features to be on the project level and not hidden within tasks.
Based on the information architecture, I used mind maps to help me understand the complexity and variants in the overall system
In the first mind map (below), I looked at the manager's view of the Project Submission screen, mapping out the various states, functionalities, and elements associated with it.
Manager’s View
Intern’s View
Mid-fidelity Wireframes Ver. 2
This new version contains simplified features and focuses on the flexibility and organization of the project management feature. I decided to trust my gut this time and looked to learning management systems (LMS) for inspiration after discussion with the founders since their vision for the product seemed more aligned with LMS platforms.
To organize and maximize the screen estate, I incorporated tabs to help users quickly orient themselves on the page. In addition, even if not all the features in the project management page are used and left blank, it still gives a focal point that guides the user to take action because of the clear call-to-action button, in which the original lacked.
Most of the actions within the project management feature guides the users through the use of form fields and label texts, creating familiarity and encouraging recognition over recall.
Like most LMS platforms, elements are arranged into modules or lists for ease of viewing and organization. Because Symba's customers hold internship programs of various sizes, it is important to consider how the layout can be scaled. With lists and modules, they can be scaled easily to accommodate for 5 or 50+ interns.
The biggest complaints from 13 testers came from feedback submission between managers and interns
“I don’t expect the comment box to be at the top. It would make more sense for my input box to be below as well to suggest that my new comment would continue to be sorted chronologically.”
Why does this matter? Being able to provide feedback for specific submissions would make it easy for the managers to make the connection between what the interns need help with and the submissions.
Some interns also feel more at ease with leaving a comment on their submissions than having to message or chat with the manager in person to ask for help.
Results! Project Management Experience
01 Check Intern Submissions
Managers can check an intern’s submission by going to the “Project Submissions” tab. Interns are listed in alphabetical order by last name, and submissions are listed with the newest first, for prioritization.
02 Upload Submissions
Interns can upload their submissions through the “Project Submissions” tab.
Complete the submission process by filling out the forms. Leaving a feedback request at this step will show up as a comment under “Feedback” in the submission.
03 Leave Feedback
One of the biggest changes in this redesign was connecting feedback to the submissions. This will allow the manager and intern to be on the same page to facilitate better communication when working remotely.
Current Update
Unfortunately, this project was postponed at usability testing due to a change in direction for the project after taking in additional feedback from potential clients.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
This project was the most complex one to date. I learned so much about thinking in complex terms such as how different screens and features can interaction with each other in a multi-facing system. In addition, I got to learn how to budget time and resources when they are limited and dig deeper into interaction design. It was definitely a challenge when designs get rejected because of the technological constraints. However, I learned overtime while working with the CTO about what is feasible according to our resources, and that in itself was something that I could not have done alone.