SchoolEasy

SchoolEasy is an school management software designed to facilitate the administration of academic and non-academic tasks in schools.

Overview

PROBLEM

In terms of technological adoption, Nigeria's educational system is in its infancy. Schooling is primarily based on the use of manual forms of teaching and learning using paper, pen, chalk, and board.

During lesson periods, teachers spend half of the time writing notes on the board, copying what is already written in their lesson notes. Students are then expected to keep up with the teachers by writing quickly.

This exhaustive process concludes with little or no explanation and clarification of the subject matter. Students are then expected to read these topics on their own while completing their weekly assignments.

As a Nigerian primary and secondary school student, this is one of many lesson periods, and the implication is increased poor student performance, a lack of interest in learning, and a complete disinterest in education.

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SOLUTION

SchoolEasy offers an easy-to-use, low-cost solution to assist schools in providing a more convenient educational experience. This software automates and administers academic and non-academic tasks at school, making them easy, fast, efficient, and accurate for management, staff, students, and parents.

Educators can leverage technology to achieve new level of productivity and efficiency in the classroom. They can implement useful digital tools on the software to expand learning opportunities for students, and increase students’ understanding and engagement in class activities.

This solution makes learning more engaging. When students are engaged and interested, they are able to learn. Classroom management itself is subsumed under the use of technological teaching aids. This is because students become cooperative and attentive and quite incapable of classroom disruptive behavior once relevant technology is deployed in the teaching process.

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MY ROLE

I was tasked with designing a user-friendly, accessible school management software for administrators, teachers, students, and parents that is responsive to all devices.

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The project included the following methods:

• User interviews with school administrators, students, teachers, and parents for usability

• Competitive and market research

• Design Iterations and usability testing throughout

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THE PROCESS

DISCOVER

Website Evaluation: I was tasked with creating this school management software from the ground up for a start-up with no existing website, and I began by evaluating existing school management software, analyzing features, and creating recommendations.

Competitor Analysis: I carried out a focused and thoughtful UX competitor analysis to identify market gaps and to gain valuable insights in making the products stand out. I identified the pitfalls of existing service providers in the Nigerian market through this research and took note of tools and services to help SchoolEasy stand out.

• Providing schools with an information center on the software, where they can obtain state education board updates promptly.

• Facilitate communication and information sharing between school administrators and parents.

• Give students the option of virtual learning for a more personalized learning experience, and let them go back to lessons for clarification if necessary.

• Ensure the overall performance of students by producing performance reports and recommendations.

• Streamline fee payments and generate personalized e-receipts for schools.

• Send notifications to teachers about upcoming lesson periods and activities.

• Make software fun to use through micro-interactions.

• Include a social impact plan to offer free learning resources to less-privileged children.

User Interviews: I carried out user interviews by engaging school owners, principals, teachers, non-academic staffs, students and parents. Through these interviews, I discovered user attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about the service.

• The most important concerns for school owners and principals were functionality, data storage and pricing.

• Students preferred a fun and interactive, easy-to-use software with learning resources.

• Non-academic staff were most concerned about usability.

• Parents were most concerned about how it would affect their children's academic performance, facilitate communication with teachers, and personalize learning.

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DEFINE

User story: I used user stories to promote a concrete, realistic, and shared vision of the end user in order to build the right framework for all stakeholders. As a result, a common language and mental model of the project was created, enabling the development of user-centered, goal-focused software.

Scenario mapping: Next, I created scenarios in which users complete specific tasks using the service. This provided an important context and common ground for the development of design solutions.

User Flow: Following that, I created user flows based on the many different scenarios to focus on the way the target audience will interact with the product.

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DEVELOP

Lo-fi wireframes: Once I have completed the research, I create the design blueprint using low-fidelity wireframes as a means of connecting the information architecture to the software's visual design.

Mid-fi wireframes: Next, I create mid-fidelity wireframes with more detail, as well as a wireflow that shows how the web pages will interact with one another.

User testing: Following that, I conduct user testing to gather feedback and insights so that I can iterate on the wireframes and make improvements.

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DELIVER

Micro-interactions: I designed numerous micro-interactions that greatly contributed to the software's look and feel to make it a pleasant experience for students and teachers.

Error messaging: To improve user experience, I created strategic and detailed error messages, alongside guides to nudge users toward the correct input.

Accessibility: I use accessible fonts, appropriate color contracts, alt-text for media, transcriptions and subtitles, meaningful anchor text, screen-reader friendliness, accessibility tools, text-to-speech features, design consistency, and responsiveness to all devices to make the software accessible.

Final hi-fi designs: Next, I created hi-fi prototypes that appear and function as closely as possible to the final product.

Handover to dev team: When completely satisfied with the designs, I created a document containing all of the details and digital assets needed by the development team to bring the product to life.

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