New problems = new tools
Design problems can be so specialized that sometimes it’s necessary to create a new tool in order to get at the necessary information or insight.
We observed that variances within a user type affected how a user approached different stages of the evaluation/grading journey. Teachers differentiated based on grade level and affinity for experimentation, students on their academic ambitiousness, and parents on the grade level of their children.
In this case, we realized simple personas would not suffice, and so we crystalized our findings into a set of comparative personas:
Teachers: Megan Parker and Lisa Choi - Primary vs Secondary
Teachers: Hannah Ng and Brad Miller - Experimental vs. Conservative
Students: Kelly Burns vs Dan Stevens: Overachieving vs. Underachieving
Parents: Mike Perry for his 3rd grader vs Mike Perry for his 9th grader: Child grade level
These personas were designed to work in conjunction with a multi-user journey map which identified key steps in the grading process, handoffs between user types, major tasks, emotions and core opportunities. Together, these artefacts helped us focus our design efforts as
