Product Overview
Problem Statements
Goals
— Create an Outreach system that displays essential information and allows students to raise concerns in or outside of classroom, where faculties can quickly access critical insights.
— Develop a Faculty Appointments page to simplify urgent/immediate sources for on-demand meetings and reduce time in waiting for Outreach concerns to be reviewed by faculties.
Target Audience
— Students: Access to consistent support, clearer next steps, and more responsive services, especially when they need additional help.
— Instructors/faculties: Easier navigation and streamlined requests/communications for student-specific needs.
— School Administrators: Oversee learning programs and need fast, clear workflows for student support.
The Approach
— Conduct thorough user research to understand the needs and pain points of students, instructors, and EdTech service providers.
— Design and prototype solutions based on research insights.
— Implement usability testing to refine the designs and ensure they meet user needs effectively.
Research - User Interviews
Since we are designing for students, teachers, administrators, & educators, I conducted 10+ interviews from a diverse range of schools, learning and teaching various subjects to gain a deep understanding of the users' workflows and challenges. Below are some takeaways from these user interviews that informed the design of the Student Outreach form, Outreach history, & Additional Support Services.
Pain Points
— 80% of students expressed a need for video call or meeting options to discuss concerns more personally.
— 70% of students feel unclear about the design layout and how reported cases are resolved, leading to anxiety in using reporting tools.
— 65% of administrators believe that the existing reporting categories do not adequately address their specific issues.
— 75% of instructors and students find it frustrating that students cannot easily indicate their availability for meetings, complicating support coordination.
— 60% of instructors express neutrality toward adopting new systems, as they feel comfortable with existing platforms like Canvas and Gmail.
— 50% of students indicate that external factors, such as family issues, impact their mental health more significantly than academic assignments.
Research - User Personas
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive analysis to evaluate existing products in the market. This research helped identify key features competitors excelled in and gaps where users faced friction.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Limited collaboration tools compared to messaging apps
Can become cluttered with excessive emails
Less effective for real-time communication
Features
Ideations - low-fidelity Wireframes
— Faculty Appointments
Ideations - High-fidelity Wireframes
— Outreach History: Version A
— Faculty Appointments
Usability Testing
Design Solutions
— Outreach History: Final Version
— Faculty Appointments: Final Version
— Incorporated clear action buttons allowing students to focus on scheduling rather than deciphering instructions.
— Guides users’ attention to the important elements, ensuring intuitive navigation and action performance when scheduling an appointment
— Provides students a seamless experience in scheduling a virtual or in-person meeting with a faculty member.
Impacts
— Observed a 40% increase in the task success rate, specifically in scheduling a meeting with a faculty.
— Students were able to quickly access and schedule a meeting without errors. By simplifying these critical workflows, we reduced friction in the schedule meeting process, allowing students to meet and collaborate with a faculty member.
— Competitors like Gmail and Discord lacked this depth, presenting an opportunity for Neoboard to differentiate itself.
— By prioritizing data-driven decision-making, we created a more tailored experience and strengthened Neoboard’s market position as an essential tool for students, driving adoption and long-term engagement.
Reflection
— Design has the power to ignite creativity, but it fundamentally differs from art; it focuses on solving real problems for users.
— Whenever I work on an interface, I ask myself: What is the purpose of this feature? What problem does it address? If I can't identify a clear answer, I see it as a signal to explore alternative solutions or to discard the idea entirely.
— I find that it is helpful for clear communication. This also provides good connections between students and faculty.
— I also discovered that user feedback is invaluable for refining processes and ensuring that the system meets the needs of its users.
— I realized that a well-structured outreach strategy can significantly enhance engagement and facilitate meaningful interactions in an academic environment.
Let's Stay in Touch!
Love to connect with other design-minded professionals and learn new opportunities. Lets meet and collaborating about design and research—feel free to reach out at Arwong23@gmail.com
©2026 Andrew Wong. All rights reserved.