An Online Learning Experience

Michigan Online is a learning platform that offers various forms of education provided by the University of Michigan.

Currently, a new certificate program is launched, the team don’t know how the users like it…

Duration
6 weeks

Time
Summer 2024

Role
Solo UX Researcher

Team
1 Senior UXR, 1 UXD, 1 PM

The Problem

No user feedback has been gathered to evaluate the usability of the current design or understand user needs for certificate programs.

Additionally, stakeholders are uncertain about the factors that influence learners' conversion to certificate programs to full-time degree programs.

From Problems to Goals

  1. Collect feedback from potential and current certificate program learners to understand learner motivations on making the enrollment decision.

  2. Collect feedback from potential learners to evaluate their overall experiences and perceptions of the prototype certificate program page.

  3. Gather insights from current learners to understand factors influencing learners’ conversion to degree programs.

Understand The Limitation

I know…

  • Different stakeholders from multiple department (marketing team, learning science team, and product team) have different goals, product team mainly ask for usability issues, other teams want to know what content should they fill in.

  • We only have a wireframe prototype, and I only have 5 weeks!

By doing…

  1. Hold cross-functional stakeholder meeting: Aligned on project goals and key questions about user behavior and needs.

  2. Go through current prototype: Reviewed the existing page structure and prototype to identify gaps and assumptions.

  3. Analyze past behavioral research: Analyzed historical user surveys and analytics to gain insights into learner behavior and preferences.

Recruitment

Participants were recruited through an existing survey distributed by the Michigan Online team, targeting two key groups: potential learners and those who had completed certificate programs and continued on to degree programs. Applied filter for those who have at least one engagement with Michigan Online within a period of time.

Method

The choose of method is an outcome considering limitations and research goals.

Since stakeholders required concrete usability feedback to quickly inform the high-fidelity design, but the fundamental user needs were still unclear, I combined both methods.

I conducted in-depth interviews with 10 learners to explore learners’ current mental model for enrolling certificate program and paired them with quick usability testing on the selected course enrolling flow to address immediate design needs.

In-depth Interviews

40min remote interviews, semi-structured

Interview question example:

  • What do you think an online learning certificate program is? How would you introduce this term to others?

  • When deciding which certificate programs to enroll in, what are the main factors that have influenced your decisions and why?

  • What would you want to be able to do from a page like this for a certificate program you’re interested in? Is there any additional information you would want to see?

Usability Testing

20min remote screen-sharing usability testing

Usability testing task example:

  • Imagine you are interested in checking out more program details for the Social Work Certificate Program. What would you click to check it out?

Analysis & Findings

Thematic Analysis

  • Atomic research using Dovetail

  • Using job-to-be-done framework

  • We analyzed the interview recordings and transcripts by systematically coding them in Dovetail, a qualitative research tool. This process involved grouping related codes and excerpts to identify patterns across the dataset. These patterns were then synthesized into key research themes, which formed the foundation for developing insights and actionable recommendations.

Findings:

  • Career advancement is a key motivator, with learners seeking to enhance their skills, build their resumes, and improve their job prospects.

  • Learners are looking for clearer language, more detailed course information, and better organization of key details.

  • Learners are primarily motivated by practical considerations such as cost, flexibility, and career relevance when considering conversion to degree programs.

Research Delivery

Research Report: A comprehensive report with actionable recommendations

Presentation: Highlighted key findings and recommendations in a concise stakeholder presentation.

Trello Cards: Created detailed cards to guide design and development tasks.