User Starts Here
This is where the user starts their journey. They are looking to improve their careers at a faster pace. This program was set up to streamline the process.
Adding A New Feature Within An Existing Structure
New views for a feature called CLA for Training and Certifications
Company: International Code Council
In 2018, I was part of a project that will establish a new mode of products under this well known resource in the Residential, Industrial Construction world.
This project objective was to introduce a new feature product to add to their existing portfolio of programs and certifications. The product was called a Credentials of Learning Achievements (which will be called CLA for short). The objective of this feature is to introduce a new streamlined process for specialized or specific subject matters. Badges are rewared in completing their CLA similar to the ones displayed at the end of this case study.
My part in this project is to take the business side of what was needed for the user to effectively use the product and create the user's journey from starting the certification training onto the final exam.
To comply with any non-disclosure agreement, I have omit any information this case study. All of the materials displayed here is on my own and does not reflect any of the views of ICC
My Role in this Project
I was essentially a UX Developer and UI Designer for this project. My goal was to produce a select amount of views that fit not only into the company's existing process, but their well established Business Tier.
I worked directly with our team's Interim Product Manager to help guide this new feature's functionality into the company's well established culture.
He would in turn present findings from our meetings which includes user flows, wireframes,and prototypes to the Board and Business Analysts to get their insights on what the client's needs. Once they signed off on the designs, higher fidelity screens were created to hand off to our offshore developers to finish the job.
Understanding the Issues at Hand
When they Say: "We just need a few new views to fit this feature in"
That's when I just found out how deep the rabit hole was
This project was a new feature to their existing portfolio, but it was a new concept like no other. This feature of certifications or CLA's was to streamline the process for builders, inspectors, Fire Chiefs, etc. to ramp up their accreditations based on their existing training, without the lengthy or limited training sessions that may be in that area or region. The company needed an experience that will keep the user invested in their progress as well as understand where they are in relationship to achieving their new CLA, as well as fit into the business side of what they need from the user in this process.
One of the issues for this project, it truly did not fit into the existing way all of their other training courses that are currently in their services. This type of service involves a full bundle like service of training and exams that enhances your achievements based on your current certifications, all in one online package. This had to fit in the existing business user flow of steps that was already established.
The interesting part about this project was learning the business side, and then establishing how this product will fit into it. It was an overall balancing act between the user's needs and the company's structure. How does this look fit into a user's point of view and their needs, as well as the business system's flow. Serious Balancing and Trappes Actors apply here.
Store for CLA's
Choose a bundle that suits your career path
Pre-Requirements
Self Attestation Copy of Certifications
This requirement is needed as a pre-req of the training. Once this is established, it opens the availability of all of the other training bundles they offered
LMS Catalog
Main Catalog Server
The user is directed here to purchase through the existing catalog system.
Bundle or course
User now has the options on course work
With this new feature, the user now has the option of purchasing what they need and not what just available
Training
This was another bonus of this feature for the company where the training was online, which added convienince to the process
Exam
Now comes the time to test all of the training from this course.
Finish
Here is where it comes to a finish to see if all of this hard work paid off.
User Profiles
Sam Smith*
Age: 50
About:
Sam is a guy who has been in the construction industry for decades at this point of time. He has had a great track record of working as a supporting staff, meeting deadlines, or leading a project and making tough decisions. He has a supporting team of Tim Wallace types that want to succeed in life and provide for their families. The more skills his team has, the more opportunities his firm can provide to existing and potential clients.
Core Needs:
- Certifications for his team to take part for fast turnarounds
- Less overhead of travel expenses to take part in training and exams.
Tim Wallace*
Age: 50
About:
Tim is an up and coming guy in the construction world. He has aspirations to become a Sam Smith type, where they have acquired skills to be successful in this field, move on to opening his own construction firm, and providing a good lifestyle for this family. The set back is time. In order to position himself higher in the food chain, he needs certifications, and they are time consuming.
Core Needs:
- Getting the certifications needed to exceed in his field quickly
- More time on the job and with their families instead of being away to train for certifications.
*These are fictional names, but they reflect real people out there in our society. I thought I would give it some really live vilitaty
UX Challenges
Finding the Dirt Paths vs the Paved Roads
Understanding the business side of things and what the need of these views were and how they fit into the way they do business.
We went through several rounds of sketches before I got the idea and the structure of how they approach their customers and how to provide an experience they were accustomed to using. The audience of their product usually range from middle age males from 40's to 70's. This project involved a lot of pivotal moments before the real breakthrough came bursting through. For me, It was all about finding that balance between what the business side wants and the user's needs, not how my mind sees it.
Do or do not. There is no try
-- Yoda
Now we are Sketching!!!
Trying to make sence of all of those notes. Now lets try to find a few things that were invisible
Here are some sketch work throughout this process using my favorite wireframing tool, just a sketch pad, pencil and a big eraser. This is practically my go to when trying to figure out all of the What's, the Why's and the How's to do with any project.
Check out my progression of sketches for this project. They start off as pretty crud sketches with a lot of notes taking during group meetings with the board and stackholders. Then the process lead to more individual meetings with the product manager of this project. They do become more refined through each interation, pivots, some pitfalls, revisions, then refinements, nugdes, you get the idea.
One of my many pivot points I encountered was in the early stages of this exploration to find out the business structure of this project. From the information I recorded from those initial meeting, this new feature was to be built based on the existing certification system where a number of initives that were needed as pre-requirements. These initives were completely different from the CLA type of certification. Henceforth, we are building a whole new interface and store that is separate from the existing structures. What is shown to the left is the first crude draft of 4 rounds before we had a working user flow that would be ready for user testing.
With each revision more and more in depth questions were introduced about the product. What I learned in that first initial sketch, they were trying to contain clearly a bundle of features that doesn't fit within the existing user interface structure. The introducting of a CLA was a bundle of the training and exam through an online presence that can be done from anywhere in the world. What's also interesting, there is an introduction to a self attesation option of the program where a pre required certification can pose has proper training for a CLA. That introduced a flood of questions on the benifits for the potential users of this feature.
Essentially, what does this feature benifit the customer? That was the burning question I was tring to figure out in this process. If I was the user, would this potentially bring better pay to me as an individual? What can I do with this certification? With more research, I found out it takes time to gain certifications and this is a pain point to a lot of Engineering and Construction firms out there face to gain a solid foundation of knowledge for their workforce. This was the pivotal question that came to mind while in the second to last revision of my sketches. During that update meeting, this one was one of the main questions I opened the discussion with. What I got in return was confirmation I wrote in my note from above, difference in training times, and having a wealth of subject matter experts on you workforce.
UX Solutions
Finding a balance. The outcome that will fit the views of the board's ideas, motives and is transparent to the user.
The solution provided a concise step by step status of the user's process and I added in a few features to help keep the User's interest up and help guide them through the phases of the process. Above was basically my final sketch before I mocked up wireframes and prototypes for final testing.
While getting everything approved and submitting everything to the overseas developers, I did not get a chance to see the ending result coded up and in production. I even had to recreate the wireframes to show in this case study (It was actually a fun experience to prototype this with different tools in place. This time I used Figma instead of UX Pin). In light of this project, I do periodicly see the fruit's of the team's labor on linkedin when I find someone who is proudly displaying their new certification badge from this project.
