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Bridges for Enterprise

EDUCATION

A public platform providing learning resources to the startup community.

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Hello, it's Chau!
I am your tour guide today.
Welcome to the journey!
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A 12-HOUR CHALLENGE
TO MAKE AN IDEA COME TO LIFE

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Stage 1: INTRO
So, what’s going on? To better understand who I am working for, I did my research to get to know my client and the a problem they want to solve!
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THE CLIENT

Bridges for Enterprise (BfE) is a non-profit providing free advisory services to social innovators in the developing world. Their Incubation Programme supports revenue-generating, socially impactful startups. Money is never a barrier as their services remain free. With a global community of professionals and students serving clients in 30+ countries, they collaborate with 200+ mentors who offer guidance to chapter teams and startups.
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THE PROBLEM

As their repository of design guidelines and digital assets grows, BfE is looking to facilitate resource-sharing and automate many of their time-consuming manual operations. As a result, BfE wants to build a new public platform that will make their learning resources available to the wider social impact and startup community via free subscriptions.
 
How might we build a public platform that makes BfE learning resources automatically available to startup community to create wider social impact?
PROBLEM STATEMENT
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GOAL/ ROLE/ TIMESCOPE

This is a one-person project I challenge myself as UX/UI Designer to finish within 12 hours. Challenge accepted!
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Stage 2: EMPATHY
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To better understand, empathize with both the client and the users, I did a thorough research on the organization’s website other accessible materials. This enabled me to delve into their mission, goals, and the extensive resource they offer their members.
By understanding whom I am working for, I gained valuable insights that will help me find the most impactful design solutions for this project!
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GOAL/ ROLE/ TIMESCOPE

Based on the limited time scope of the project, my secondary research focused on the official BfE’s website that has been live. My goal is to understand what categories of information that BfE has been offering, so that I can design a systemized platform that reorganize already these available resources and my new ideas. Here are the available resources that the public can have access to:
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Conclusion: The BfE site has been providing diverse original content to the users. However, in order to build a platform with learning resources in automation, the site will need a more categorized site map and more technical functions for searching and learning tasks.
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PERSONA

Keeping the users in mind is my priority as a UX/UI design. So whom am I designing this project for? Let’s meet Vy!
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  • Vy has just decided to quit her corporate job to build her own start-up
  • After working for 10 years at a local bank, she has basic financial and investment knowledge but needs details regarding how to build a startup legally and where to find resources
  • She has a 3 year-old son so she has multiple priorities in life and needs a support system
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VY TRAN

GOALS AND NEEDS

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MOTIVATIONS

  • After building a savings for the next 5 years, Vy now decides that it’s time to pursue her own dream of owning her business.
  • Being tech savvy, Vy realizes the power of online community where she can seek help and support
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  • Vy wants to find online resources and communities are professional that can provide her personalized advisory for her own business.
  • Raising her 3 year-old son, Vy does not have budget for paid advisory business consultant services.
  • Vy might not be able to attend all scheduled events so she needs an online systemized and reliable resources where she can access and learn from anytime.

FRUSTRATIONS

  • Startup Founder
  • 32 years old
  • Location: Vietnam
  • Female
  • Mother of 1 child
Device and Internet Usage
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Computer
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Mobile
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Tech-savyy
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IDEATION AND SOLUTION

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SOLUTION: Create a Member Portal Home Page that provide systemized learning resources by BfE that is easy to access to widen the organization’s impact.
This site will include:
  • Downloadable Materials: PDF, Videos, Forms, etc.
  • How-To Guides: Reading Materials (Instructions & Medium articles), Videos, Quizzes, and URLs.
  • Appointments
  • Write a Review/ Referral
  • Questions/ Contact
  • Portfolio
  • Events
  • Departments and Contact
  • Sign Up/Log In for a more personalized experience
* Make sure that newest articles, news, and events are on Home Page.
* All information should be categorized & searchable
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Stage 3: DESIGN
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Okay. Now I know whom I am designing for + the solutions for their needs that also match with the goal of the client. Let’s put things together!
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STYLE GUIDE

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HI-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE

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Stage 4: TESTING
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TESTING

GOAL: To make feedback on my initial hi-fidelity ideas for BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page, focusing on layout, information architecture, identifying problems and opportunities to improve.
  • Methodology: Usability Testing: the facilitator asks a participant to perform tasks on the BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page
  • Participants: 3 users (male & female, age 24-55)
  • In-person testing with Hi-fi Prototype
  • Tasks Tested:
  • What do you think this site is about?
  • Look for ‘How to find funding’ on this page.
  • Where can you you find past events?
  • Look for videos about accounting.
  • What is your opinion about this site?
  • What is the main menu on this site?
GOAL: To make feedback on my initial hi-fidelity ideas for BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page, focusing on layout, information architecture, identifying problems and opportunities to improve.
  • Methodology: Usability Testing: the facilitator asks a participant to perform tasks on the BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page
  • Participants: 3 users (male & female, age 24-55)
  • In-person testing with Hi-fi Prototype
  • Tasks Tested:
    • What do you think this site is about?
      • Look for ‘How to find funding’ on this page.
      • Where can you you find past events?
      • Look for videos about accounting.
    • What is your opinion about this site?
    • What is the main menu on this site?
GOAL: To make feedback on my initial hi-fidelity ideas for BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page, focusing on layout, information architecture, identifying problems and opportunities to improve.
  • Methodology: Usability Testing: the facilitator asks a participant to perform tasks on the BfE’s Learning Resource Landing Page
  • Participants: 3 users (male & female, age 24-55)
  • In-person testing with Hi-fi Prototype
  • Tasks Tested:
  • What do you think this site is about?
  • Look for ‘How to find funding’ on this page.
  • Where can you you find past events?
  • Look for videos about accounting.
  • What is your opinion about this site?
  • What is the main menu on this site?
KEY FINDINGS
RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Layout:
    • The site is straight-forward
    • Easy to navigate
    • Diverse demographic images
  • Information Architecture:
    • Main menu and sub-menu are confusing
  • Users misunderstood that this was clickable while it was only an introduction section
  • Specify that purpose of the site by using more accurate descriptive words and headings
  • Add time stamp to videos
  • The ability to save/bookmark videos/ articles
  • ‘View all’ for recommended videos/articles
  • Improve site so that Learning Materials are quick and easy to find
  • Differentiate Main Menu and Sub-menu
  • Align elements on page for
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  • 2/3 users were not able to find “Newest” article”
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  • When asked to find a certain information, users were able to search with categories, browsing, or using “Search” box
  • Users were not sure able the purpose of the site stated that it made them think of an Online Course or Advertising
Testing is critical to learn about the users and design solution!
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ITERATION

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  • Prioritize the site’s Main Menu and make it easier for users to skim and scan by using different fonts.
  • Replaced ‘Contact’ with ‘Send questions’ so users can focus on sending questions regarding Learning Resources.
Menus
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  • Explained the functions of the platform with a quick paragraph
  • Moved this section to the bottom of the site so users can instantly access more prioritized functions at the top right when they access the site.
  • Replaced ‘Contact’ with ‘Send questions’ so users can focus on sending questions regarding Learning Resources.
Explain the site functions
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  • Changed the title from ‘Learning’ to ‘Latest’ to better describe the section
  • Instead of making users look for ‘Newest’ information (which failed in the testing stage), the section now prioritizes it by displaying Latest updates first with images.
  • Most read articles and Videos can be found next as a secondary priorities.
More accessible functions
  • Created a drop down menu for ‘All Resource’ menu item so that users can easily search for any content
  • Categorized items in logical order
  • Users also have the option to view all materials by choosing ‘See All’.
Categorized Drop Down Menu
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Stage 5: DELIVERABLES
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Home screen and Drop down Menu
This platform focuses on site functions and prioritize the ability to skim & scan
  • Users can have access to All Resources, Events, Make Appointments, Read Testimonials, Send Referrals, and Submit Questions
  • Search box that help users search throughout this learning platform
  • Any information or CTA the BfE wants to grab users’ attention will be accessible first and foremost
  • Users also have instant access to Resources’ sub-menu
    • News
    • How-to
    • Legal
    • Funding
    • Work/Life
    • Recruit
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Easily Accessible Categories
  • Reading materials are well-organized so that users can easily skim and scan:
  • Latest articles/updates with photos to draw attention
  • Users can click the right arrow or ‘View All’ to browse more articles
  • Users can also look through two more useful sub-categories that are ‘Most Read’ and ‘Videos’
  • Made sure the design is clean and simple for the eyes.
Quickly Save & Register Events
  • Users can easily look for Upcoming & Past Events
  • Quick actions to save the event for later (‘Interest’) or sign up (‘Register’)

CONCLUTION

In conclusion, the challenge of redesigning Bridges for Enterprise (BfE) within a tight deadline pushed me to explore innovative ideas and solutions. Through thorough research and analysis, I developed a learning portal that revolutionizes the way users interact with BfE. The portal not only provides categorized updates, information, and downloadable materials but also incorporates personalized features such as 'Log In' and 'Save for Later' functions.

One crucial lesson learned from this project is the significance of user testing. While initially confident in my design choices, I recognized the need to gather user feedback. By listening to their concerns and observing their perspectives, I was able to identify areas for improvement and enhance the overall user experience. This iterative approach allowed me to fine-tune the information architecture, determining the prioritization of content, strategic placement of downloadable materials, and the placement of attention-grabbing CTAs without impeding navigation.

Ultimately, the redesigned learning portal for BfE serves as an automation system that optimizes the time and efficiency of both the BfE team and the entrepreneurs they support. By incorporating user-centric design principles and iterative testing, the project successfully addresses the needs and preferences of its target audience. The project's outcome underscores the value of empathy, research, and design thinking in creating intuitive and user-friendly experiences.
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