Design Process

the problem

The tutoring industry struggles with the lack of a streamlined, user-friendly platform for connecting tutors, students, and parents. Despite the market's projected 8.37% growth between 2022 and 2027, over 60% of parents report difficulties finding reliable tutors, and 55% face challenges coordinating schedules. This fragmented process leads to inefficiencies, missed learning opportunities, and frustration for both learners and educators, highlighting the need for a more intuitive solution.

the solution

StudyBuddy is a seamless and intuitive platform that simplifies the process of finding and booking tutoring sessions, effectively bridging the gap between students, parents, and tutors. By streamlining scheduling, session management, and communication, it has made it easier for users to connect with qualified educators, reducing the time spent on coordination and enhancing the overall learning experience. With StudyBuddy, parents can effortlessly find reliable tutors, students can access personalized learning support, and tutors can manage their schedules more efficiently, leading to a smoother, more productive tutoring process for all.

Through interviews with tutors, parents, and students, I gathered insights into their needs and challenges. Using affinity mapping, I identified four key pain points in current tutoring apps: scheduling issues, limited exposure, compatibility, and trust and safety. These findings guided the design decisions for the platform.

user research

pain points

1

Exposure

Tutors struggle with limited visibility on existing platforms, making it difficult to connect with potential students, reducing their opportunities to find new clients

Scheduling

Time-consuming management of tutoring schedules impact the balance with other academic activities.

Compatibility

Difficulty in communicating unique learning goals or struggles leads to lack of tutor-student compatibility.

Safety

Concerns about teaching in a secure online environment, affecting trust and safety in tutoring interactions.

2

3

4

user personas

I created 3 personas: a student, a parent, and a tutor. Each represented a key user group, focusing on understanding their motivations, pain points, and behavior patterns.

For this project, I chose to concentrate on the student persona, as it best represented the core user experience. By prioritizing the student's perspective, I could design solutions that directly addressed their key challenges, such as scheduling issues, compatibility with tutors, and ease of use.

wireframes

usability studies

round 1

Merge the "Sessions" and "Courses" sections to improve clarity and navigation.

( 1 )

( 2 )

Add a centralized view of all assignments to help users manage their workload effectively

( 3)

round 2

( 1 )

( 3 )

Add a "Popular Courses" section to inspire students to enroll in more classes.

Display actual dates on the homepage for better visibility of upcoming events and schedules.

Include a review page before payment to confirm final booking details, such as time slots and total price.

Show tutors' availability on their profiles to make the booking process easier.

( 2 )

refining the design

wireframes to mockups

Key enhancements to the homepage include the addition of a small daily calendar, popular courses to inspire users and a classes section in the navigation bar.

Changes in the tutor profiles: add their availability, a list of subjects they offer, and refine icons to show key details like price, location, and college.