Project Overview

Role: Designing Wireframes + Research

Challenge: Due to the significant lack of career planning and readiness help for University of Washington students, they are are unprepared to succeed in the workforce post-grad. Students are unaware of the hard or soft skills needed to increase employability, and as a result, they face difficulties transitioning into a more professional environment.

Skills: Collaboration, communication, interviewing, designing wireframes

Project Summary

This project was completed over the course of
ten weeks in INFO 200, a course focused on
information systems and user-centered design
at the University of Washington. As a group,
we designed courses on Canvas to help college
students learn the fundamental skills they need
to be prepared for the workforce.

Research

Design

Prototype

Research

Surveys

We created a survey using Google Forms to determine how ready college students feel for the workforce post-grad. We were able to identify our target audience and demographic for our project.

View Survey Results

Interviews

We conducted two semi-structured interviews with University of Washington students. Our team designed a standard interview protocol with three questions that gauged the comfortability of the participants' life in the workforce post-grad, as well as what resources the student used at their university. We were able to identify key issues that we needed to address, which narrowed the scope of our project.

Personas

We created two user personas that illustrated the common behaviours and worries that college students had about life post-grad. These were based off of the findings from our surveys and user interviews. Through our research We discovered different challenges that upper-classmen face, which helped us identify specific coursework for our Canvas course. The persona I created is displayed to the right.

Font used in final prototype
Colors used in final prototype

Design

Product Features

  • In-person lectures
  • In-person discussions
  • Relevant assignments
  • Credit / no credit grading system
  • Diversity and versatility

Primary Features

Feature 1: In-person lectures are integral for relaying information to college students. We decided to make the lectures in-person rather than having them asynchronous so that students actively learn the skills they need while having the opportunity to get live feedback or ask questions in real time. In addition, in-person lectures allow the college to keep track of attendance to better analyze how well the course helps in career readiness.

Feature 2: In-class discussions facilitate an open, curious environment where like-minded peers can ask questions or engage with each other as they go through the course. They also encourage active participation and collaboration about what is being taught so that the information they learn in class actually sticks.

Secondary Features

Relevant Assignments: Though we did not want these educational classes to be a burden on students in terms of workload, relevant assignments pertaining to the lectures and discussions are important so students can get the practice they need to succeed in the real world. Learning about skills is one thing, but practicing and engaging with the material is ultimately how career-oriented skills are developed. These assignments would look like presentations in a public speaking class, excel spreadsheets in a computer skills class, or a mock interview in a class that teaches interviewing skills for jobs.

Credit/No Credit Grading System: Similar to a FIG (first-year interest group) that is already implemented at the University of Washington, these classes would follow a credit/no credit grading system to ensure they do not add to students’ stress with their current workloads (UW First Year Programs 2023). In order to pass the class, students must complete assignments on time and be actively engaged in class lectures and discussions. The focus of these classes is on skill development, not grades or tests.

Diversity and Versatility: Career-readiness classes will come in a variety of forms, times, and sizes. Some will have bigger classes that focus on vital computer skills, while others will be smaller, more intimate classes that focus on professional relationship skills such as interviewing or public speaking. In addition, the classes will be held at different times and days of the week to accommodate students' diverse schedules. Whether a student is looking for a small, collaborative environment or a quick refresh on tools like Figma or Excel, there will be a class available that fits their needs and schedule.

Annotated Wireframing

We created wireframes for our entire system with annotations that highlight the main features on each screen. This helped us solidify our course's main features. These wireframes became the structure for our low-fidelity prototype in the next phase.

Interactive Prototype

View Prototype