User Research
We started the project with secondary research to get a sense of the nationwide picture—1 in 5 students do not apply for scholarships in Canada, while half of the Canadian students graduate with debt.
There was at least $6 million worth of scholarships unclaimed each year.
After the primary research, my team and I found that the lack of effective tools and limited access to award information were two major reasons.
We collected 41 survey responses and conducted a usability test with 11 participants t see how they interact with the current Award Explorer.
My team and I zoomed in into the specific needs of UofT students and evaluate the existing Award Explorer.
I am also responsible for the qualitative data analysis, producing the affinity diagram based on the test results.
We summarized the situation into the following two issues:
Finding the right information is hard.
There is confusion around the eligibility criteria for awards.
User Research ANALYSIS
Some photos from working studio while analyzing the data and feedbacks.
We’ve specifically been exploring this problem space through our persona Izzie.
My team and I identified the pain points of Izzie's current award searching experience and came up with this as-is scenario:
