Overview
When international students browse successful experiences on various study abroad forums, they always hope to find reliable senior students who can help them to solve their problems.
Sometimes, these senior students leave their contact information below the posts to offer study abroad services. For the international students, they find it challenging to trust study abroad agencies for reliable services. They tend to trust the study services provided by experienced seniors.
Therefore, this product aims to create a “forum + service” model, which better assist international students in finding experienced senior students to provide services and at the same time, senior students can earn rewards by sharing their knowledge and expertise.
Duration
4 Months
Oct, 2023 — Jan, 2024
Team
Product Designer
Marketer
Front-end Developer
Role
Mobile App Designer
User Research
UX/UI Design
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Research
Challenge 1: Where to find the international students and how to communicate with them?
Find the places where international students gather.
Communication on equal terms with the same identity and context.
We conducted interview online with 40+ studentse to understand the process of their application and the challenge they met during the application. In fact, after interviewing around 20 international students, we have roughly summarized the pain points of the users. Subsequent interviews have essentially confirmed these user pain points.
Students who want to study abroad
Agency’s price is expensive and service is diffcult to distinguish
The accuracy of the consultation information needs to be considered
Application process is not transparent and the feedback is not regularly
Senior students who provide the service
Consistently posting experienced sharing to attract students
Need some functions: Document edit and transfer , Communication
Providing different types of services at each stage of the application process
The Problem
International students aim to find experienced seniors through forums and utilize the study abroad services they offer directly on the platform. They desire services that are reasonably priced, accurate in information, and ensure transparency throughout the application process.
Ideation
After research process, we know the needs and pain points for these two sides. We start to brainstorm how can we match the needs and serive. We think from the following aspects:
After thinking the different ideas, we began to feel the user journey map that user feeling using the platform. In the end, we have the rough design functions through the map.
Prototyping
Wireframe
With the user journey, we ideate many ideas that can help users to better use our product. Keeping that in mind, I draft the wireframe for app:
Challenge 2: How to minimize development costs?
The cost of designing and developing for both iOS and Android is high.
WeChat built-in mini-programs are compatible
Modify the design to fit the WeChat Mini Program
Initially, we had planned to follow the wireframe. Later, after we talk with front-end engineer, considering the need of app to be compatible with both the iOS and Android systems in the Chinese market, we decided to use WeChat's built-in mini-program.
This way allows us to develop quickly and test in the market efficiently in minimum cost no matter in time or money. So the design is little different with the framework.
Note: WeChat Mini Program is built into WeChat, eliminating the need for users to download a separate app. Anyone with WeChat can search and use it, and since WeChat is a dominant messaging tool in the Chinese market, it minimizes both development and user usage costs.
Hifi Prototype Version 1.0
User Testing
Challenge 3: How to recruit people willing to participate in user testing?
The first time I posted on social media, there was no response
The second time, I individually chatted and invited people on social media platforms
Before moving forward, we conducted some user testing to validate our designs to ensure we were meeting our goals. We invited 8 students who were considering studying abroad to experience our high-fidelity prototype through Figma. Following this, we collected product feedback by setting up a questionnaire.
When users attempted to use our product with specific tasks, we set up questionnaires related to these tasks. The questions were closely related to the tasks, allowing users to provide intuitive evaluations of the product.
Quantitative data
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Product Usability
Qualitative data
Data Analysis
NPS: 100%
CSAT: 100%
According to the survey data, 8 users gave a recommendation and satisfaction score between 4 and 5, resulting in an NPS and CSAT calculation of 100%.
Despite the small sample size, this figure reflects the potential for the product to be validated in the market and to be recommended by users.
Usable: 80%
For the time required to navigate through selected features, 80% of users can successfully complete the process within 1-5 minutes.
However, 20% of users, when choosing study abroad services, take additional time due to the abundance of choices, requiring extra time to compare and select the most suitable study abroad services.
Feedback & Suggestion
In the feedback and suggestions for the product, a majority of users mentioned the issue of content classification on the product homepage. They expressed a desire for a quicker way to find content of interest through improved content categorization.
Hifi Prototype Version 2.0
Challenge 4: How to enhance user experience based on user feedback?
Add content categorization to the homepage
International students have varied interests and information needs at each stage of their application. Accurate targeting is crucial for them.
From the technical standpoint, relying on algorithmic recommendations for the homepage requires more investment and cost. Having post publishing categories can effectively reduce this cost for us.
Added more buttons for providing feedback on issues
Users often encounter various issues when conducting transactions on the platform. Providing timely assistance to help users resolve difficulties during the transaction process is essential to instill confidence and ensure a smoother user experience on the platform.
Therefore, buttons for providing feedback on issues have been added to many interfaces. The ones listed on the left are just some examples.
Improved the refund process
Originally, the design considered one-time transactions with no provision for refunds. However, based on user feedback, it was discovered that international students often face issues such as the inability to refund after payment.
Since international students can only assess the quality of the service after making a payment, we have redesigned the payment process to include refund processes through mutual agreement and platform intervention.
Reflection
In the project, We not only consider the design point but also from a technical perspective. Although initially planning to develop it as an app, due to compatibility issues with different operating systems, we chose the wechat mini program. For different platform, there are many different details needed to be disign independently.
Through user feedback, I can see the shortcomings in my design, using the feedback to improve the user design. Simultaneously, for users, they may have various needs and ideas. Identifying the underlying needs behind user thoughts is crucial. To address the diverse user ideas, I strategically incorporate them into different version iterations, emphasizing the most important features in the initial design.
For a product, having a good design alone is not sufficient for sustained operation. It requires continuous exposure to public. Therefore, at the current high-fidelity (HiFi) stage of this product, it's essential to consider ways to obtain exposure channels to attract users.
Design system
Typography
Heading 1
Heading 2
Body
Details
MiSans VF Semibold, 16PX
MiSans VF Medium, 16PX
MiSans VF Regular, 14PX
MiSans VF Regular, 12PX
Button
Save
Post
Card
CV
￥1200
Collect the student information, then draft CV, communicate with the student for the first...
Name
15 hours buy
+15 detail
Post Title
Post
name
352
Colors
Primary
#FF385C
#D23753
#FF6767
#ED7770
Light
#FFFFFF
#FCFCFE
#F6F5F8
#E5E7EB
Dark
#686868
#898A8D
#595959
#000000
Secondary
#FFC700
#EDDCC7
#285292