The SNHU Learner Profile was designed to empower students by providing a centralized, personalized view of their academic journey. Our goal was to create an experience that catered to diverse learner goals while remaining easy to navigate and scalable for future features.
I handled the synthesis of qualitative data from user research, mapped learner archetypes, and collaborated on wireframes with the design systems team.
Students and administrators required a streamlined profile interface that balanced personalization with institutional data needs. We encountered several key obstacles:
To understand users' pain points and motivations, we conducted in-depth interviews with diverse learners. An early observation was that success meant different things depending on each learner’s goals. For example, career-changers prioritized new employment, while others focused on personal growth.
Learners often did not know which profile elements would be visible to faculty, creating uncertainty around privacy and sharing preferences.
We introduced clear, contextual privacy indicators within the profile. A small icon labeled "Visible to faculty" now appears next to each relevant field, providing users with immediate clarity.
During initial wireframe reviews, product stakeholders struggled to articulate which information fields were essential versus optional. To reduce this ambiguity, I organized a collaborative workshop where stakeholders mapped each data field to a business need.
Stakeholders approved this streamlined structure, which reduced implementation time and improved user task completion rates in testing.
Our early research identified five learner archetypes, but they lacked depth. I used affinity mapping to reorganize interview quotes, uncovering hidden patterns. One example was how "New Career" learners expressed anxiety about aligning their academic journey with career advancement opportunities.
Career-focused learners wanted actionable next steps—clear milestones related to career readiness.
The final profile included a "Next Steps" feature, offering tailored suggestions such as upcoming certifications, resume-building workshops, and career fairs.
Initial designs overwhelmed users by placing all profile sections on a single page. Through usability testing, we observed that learners struggled to locate educational goals and contact information efficiently.
We restructured navigation by introducing tabs for "Personal Info," "Education," and "Goals," reducing the cognitive load. Users reported a 30% faster task completion time in subsequent testing sessions.
This project emphasized the value of tying every design decision to both user needs and business goals. By focusing on reducing ambiguity early and iterating through research-driven insights, we delivered a scalable learner profile that met the diverse needs of SNHU’s student population.