Admin Dashboard
Design and workshop facilitation for a reports dashboard that decreased support tickets by 30%
Research and design for an intuitive student dashboard to reduce time-to-comprehension by 52% and improve user delight
CompanY
Next Steps Idaho
Statewide platform that helps Idaho students explore careers, plan for educational paths after high school.
Statewide platform that helps Idaho students explore careers, plan for educational paths after high school.
ROLE
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
Facilitation, Prototyping, High Fidelity Mockups, Information Architecture
Facilitation, Prototyping, High Fidelity Mockups, Information Architecture
Timeline
Timeline
3 months
Start to launch with a fully remote team.
Start to launch with a fully remote team.
AS DESIGN LEAD,
AS DESIGN LEAD,
I designed a new data-rich table dashboard allowing admins to view student progress by facilitating workshops and improving information architecture.
I designed a new data-rich table dashboard allowing admins to view student progress by facilitating workshops and improving information architecture.
I designed a new data-rich table dashboard allowing admins to view student progress by facilitating workshops and improving information architecture.
30%
30%
Decrease in ticketing
12.5%
12.5%
Time saved in sprint
LEGACY DESIGN
LEGACY DESIGN
The outdated, confusing and unintuitive platform caused admins to constantly call staff for support to help guide them to the right pages they needed.
The outdated, confusing and unintuitive platform caused admins to constantly call staff for support to help guide them to the right pages they needed.
The outdated, confusing and unintuitive platform caused admins to constantly call staff for support to help guide them to the right pages they needed.
DROP DOWN MENU NAVIGATION
DROP DOWN MENU NAVIGATION
The separation of grades and lessons make it unclear to users that
The separation of grades and lessons make it unclear to users that
weak mental modelS
weak mental modelS
“Pick up where you left off” element lacked urgency and clarity, causing
“Pick up where you left off” element lacked urgency and clarity, causing
Disjointed layout
The separation of grades and lessons make it unclear to users that these elements were intended to be related.
weak mental modelS
“Pick up where you left off” element lacked urgency and clarity, causing lesson completion to feel optional rather than required.
lack of visuals
The dashboard felt clinical and uninspiring, lacking visual hierarchy, personality, or engaging elements to motivate users.
Poor discoverability
Categories are hidden behind multiple clicks, reducing visibility and making the interface feel opaque.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Reporting pages could be accessed at any point—where Information architecture was non-linear—creating massive confusion.
Reporting pages could be accessed at any point—where Information architecture was non-linear—creating massive confusion.
Reporting pages could be accessed at any point—where Information architecture was non-linear—creating massive confusion.
Users could go down a rabbit hole because each page could access to all grades of reports. This was really frustrating to the admin and they called customer support for guidance because of it.
Users could go down a rabbit hole because each page could access to all grades of reports. This was really frustrating to the admin and they called customer support for guidance because of it.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Stakeholders initially requested nested data tables with six datasets in a single column. In a workshop, I challenged this assumption.
Stakeholders initially requested nested data tables with six datasets in a single column. In a workshop, I challenged this assumption.
Stakeholders initially requested nested data tables with six datasets in a single column. In a workshop, I challenged this assumption.
I discovered their “all-in-one” solution came from needing a clearer, more focused way to access student data on the district, school, and individual level.
I discovered their “all-in-one” solution came from needing a clearer, more focused way to access student data on the district, school, and individual level.
REFINED INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
I ensured that IA uses the same drill-down pattern at every level, making it easier to navigate, more predictable, and less mentally taxing for users.
I ensured that IA uses the same drill-down pattern at every level, making it easier to navigate, more predictable, and less mentally taxing for users.
Final Design: The design was to be easily scannable and navigated easily with
Final Design: The design was to be easily scannable and navigated easily with
Navigational tabs
Navigational tabs
Reorganized sections and grades into tabs, streamlining navigation and improving content accessibility.
Reorganized sections and grades into tabs, streamlining navigation and improving content accessibility.
Correlating numbers
Correlating numbers
By using icons and color, students could easily tell what was urgent, what was done, and what to focus on next.
By using icons and color, students could easily tell what was urgent, what was done, and what to focus on next.
Final Design: Interactive prototype
Final Design: Interactive prototype
Final Design: Interactive prototype
The original design team ignored conventional designs for dashboards and built with little to no research and added
The original design team ignored conventional designs for dashboards and built with little to no research and added
THE RESULTS?
THE RESULTS?
"It looks like canvas!"
"It looks like canvas!"
To address the dashboard’s lack of cohesion, I tested ease of use, navigation, and satisfaction. Time-to-comprehension dropped from 20 to 9.8 seconds, and one user compared the redesign to Canvas—a compliment I’ll gladly take.
To address the dashboard’s lack of cohesion, I tested ease of use, navigation, and satisfaction. Time-to-comprehension dropped from 20 to 9.8 seconds, and one user compared the redesign to Canvas—a compliment I’ll gladly take.
DESIGN TAKEAWAYS
Design is more than just pixels. It's about strategy.
Design is more than just pixels. It's about strategy.
In this project, my design team ultimately prioritized speed in for the clients business requirements. However, I felt advocating for any type of user research or validating assumptions led to a more effective and efficient outcome.
Final Design: Based on user and stakeholder feedback, in the final iterations, I incorporated a bolder color palette to distinguish states of completion, emphasized iconography, and categorization for a more intuitive interface.
Navigational tabs
Reorganized sections and grades into tabs, streamlining navigation and improving content accessibility.
states of completion
By using icons and color, students could easily tell what was urgent, what was done, and what to focus on next.
Interactive Side bar
The separation of grades and lessons make it unclear to users that these elements were intended to be related.
Upcoming events
To boost visibility, I created an ‘Upcoming Events’ section linking Next Steps Idaho programs in the dashboard.
Navigational tabs
Reorganized sections and grades into tabs, streamlining navigation and improving content accessibility.
states of completion
By using icons and color, students could easily tell what was urgent, what was done, and what to focus on next.