Overview
This is a first draft rapid prototype of the assignment 4 redesign after doing a cognitive walkthrough and user study of the Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS) interface.
Description of problems discovered
The site as it is currently designed is both clunky and outdated. Before I can begin any kind of prototype, I needed to first identify problems. The main problems I found with the site are outlined below:
- Clunky, cumbersome login
The user had to click a link from the main page, end up on a table with unclear links, choose the appropriate link to a log in page, then click yet another link to the actual interface. All the extra steps here should be removed. - Poor global navigation
The user became confused trying to locate categories and read information; little consideration was given to where things were listed and why. Some things were listed on the righthand side, but this confused the user because hierarchically, they're used to seeing most options "upstairs". There were some upstairs items but they were difficult to find and not at all organized. - No mobile responsiveness
This will likely be improved with an overall interface overahaul. I did not attempt mobile testing because the site was already so outdated. I may not get to this in this round of edits but it can be more easily addressed when some of the other problems are given consideration. - Poor graphic design and visual hierarchy
Everything is the same weight visually, giving nothing importance currently. Menu items are difficult to distinguish and should be given more importance. In addition, many of the "call to action" buttons are unclear - Lack of consideration as to why teachers use this site
Whoever designed this site did not think about "know your user" and "task analysis" from chapter 4 of Usability Engineering. Most teachers don't use the interface that often. It's a place teachers come to either update their license, register a new one, add PD hours, see deficiencies or pay fees. For these teachers there are really a few things they need to know when they visit:- Warnings about upcoming due dates, fees due, and deficiencies (probably most important on their dashboard)
- Know how many licenses they have, and what are the important attributes (like hours needed, endorsements, expiration dates)
- How to keep their certification current/do they have the required number of PD hours
- add PD hours/easily seeing how many they are missing
- Rules and regulations surrounding certification/licensure and PD
- Registering their license or applying for a new one.
- Updating their personal profile.
- FAQ section based on some of the questions above. (I probably cannot actually fix the whole FAQ section as it's currently located on another site, but I can make some of the related questions available here.
Card Sort/Sitemap
In order to meet any of the above goals, the navigation first needs to be improved and better organized. A card sort with several participants was designed using Optimal Sort software. I chose menu items scattered across the current site, as well as a few of my own. I let the users define their own categories but asked for no more than 6. Below are the results.
Based on these card sorts, I combined them and came up with a sitemap:
- Dashboard
- Alert Center - needs immediate attention.
- Fees due – link to pay. You don't need to pay these all the time so likely this is the best place for it, it just shows up when you need it..
- License expiration date approaching
- Number of PD hours needed to keep a license current
- Tests required
- List of current licenses
- PD Hours earned/needed
- Endorsements
- Issue date
- Expiration date
- If no license (new teacher) alert says “apply for new”
- Alert Center - needs immediate attention.
- Professional Development
- Add PD hours
- Find PD providers –
- dashboard, maybe searchable database.
- FAQ – for now, link to external database. Later:
- What qualifies as PD?
- How much are certain activities worth?
- Licensed PD providers
- Licensing + Approval
- License Requirements –
- external link to FAQ?
- Or searchable database?
- Current Credentials
- Alerts to deficiencies/upcoming deadlines
- Teaching Licenses
- Where are they currently registered
- History of registration
- PD hours earned/needed
- Graph? Link to add more hours from here.
- Issue date
- Expiration Date
- Endorsements
- Where are they currently registered
- Paraprofessional (same as above)
- Apply for new credential (sign up box)
- New License
- You have to contact your ROE to get this started, link to ROE contact.
- Paraprofessional license
- License Endorsement
- Approval (with explanation of what approval IS)
- New License
- Register in a new region
- Testing
- Test results
- Take a required test
- Highly Qualified
- What’s my status (show some kind of chart here showing what you need?)
- What are the requirements?
- License Requirements –
- Messages
- Communications
- License Alerts + Deficiency letters
- Fees Due/Fees Paid letters
- Message History
- Communications
- FAQ + Contact
- Contact your ROE
- License FAQ (link to external)
- Profile
- Employment Status
- Salary + Assignments + history of work
- Degrees Earned
- Contact ROE to add a degree (action button)
- Personal Contact Information
Rapid Prototype
Based on this information, I plan on doing a more detailed prototype later, but because this is supposed to be fast, I focused on the dashboard and global nav, which will give teachers a quick "at a glance" of their certifications when they land here. I'll prototype the rest of the site sections in the next iteration.
The navigation is consolidated into categories and sub categories when you hover over them. There are only 6 categories now, and it's clear when it's "activated", with sub menu items showing up in the bar below. Alerts for deficiencies and fees have been placed front and center (this is the dashboard). Below that, all licenses the teacher currently has will appear in a grid form, along with a "call to action" to go the that license.
When you click and go to your license, you'll arrive at a tabbed format for the license. The license will be quickly readable at the top, and you can switch through the tabs to get to other licenses. There is also a clear call to action button to add hours for professional development. After re-reading the original landing page for ELIS, I am not actually sure if the endorsements expire because there was no expiration listed for them. I will call the local regional office of education to find this out before the next prototype.
Conclusion
This is just a rough start and I only scratched the surface of the redesign I intend to do. The biggest issues are navigation and clear hierarchy so the user knows where they are. This is a paper prototype so my next steps are to create a wireframe mockup of various sub sections of the site and to think through a workflow for adding PD hours.