Spartan Connections
College students are often advised by their counselors, professors and peers that in order to create a successful life, they need to find a mentor who has already accomplished what the student desires and to learn from them. However, the process of finding a mentor can be incredibly difficult, even if the desired mentor is another student from the same university. As a student who myself has struggled to find a mentor, I applied my design and social skills and create a solution to this continuous problem with the hopes of providing fellow SJSU students access to an efficient, organized and effective platform to both find mentors and assist other students as a mentor themselves.
College students are often advised by their counselors, professors and peers that in order to create a successful life, they need to find a mentor who has already accomplished what the student desires and to learn from them. However, the process of finding a mentor can be incredibly difficult, even if the desired mentor is another student from the same university. As a student who myself has struggled to find a mentor, I applied my design and social skills and create a solution to this continuous problem with the hopes of providing fellow SJSU students access to an efficient, organized and effective platform to both find mentors and assist other students as a mentor themselves.
My Role
My Role
Product Designer,
UX Researcher
Product Designer,
UX Researcher
Timeline
Timeline
3 weeks
(June 2024- July 2024)
3 weeks
(June 2024- July 2024)
My Tasks
My Tasks
Product Design
User Research
Interaction Design
Product Design
User Research
Interaction Design
Tools
Tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
The Main Problem
The difficulty of finding a mentor has led many students to abandon the process entirely, making them feel behind in their academic and personal lives compared to their peers.
The difficulty of finding a mentor has led many students to abandon the process entirely, making them feel behind in their academic and personal lives compared to their peers.
The Solution
Initial Thinking
Where Do We Start?
Where Do We Start?
Target Users: University students at SJSU
Deployment Platform: Mobile App (Most university students are familiar with mobile app interfaces).
User Research Methods: Online Surveys (Google Forms), In-person interviews with students, Online research
Target Users: University students at SJSU
Deployment Platform: Mobile App (Most university students are familiar with mobile app interfaces).
User Research Methods: Online Surveys (Google Forms), In-person interviews with students, Online research
Why Do Students Need Mentors?
Why Do Students Need Mentors?
"Networking is the most important thing you can do here."
This was the first sentence I heard in my first ever class at university from my business management professor. Every student is told that networking and mentorship are crucial, but it not always explained how it will help us professionally. I discovered that if many different kinds of people across various fields give you the same advice, it’s probably worth paying attention to.
This was the first sentence I heard in my first ever class at university from my business management professor. Every student is told that networking and mentorship are crucial, but it not always explained how it will help us professionally. I discovered that if many different kinds of people across various fields give you the same advice, it’s probably worth paying attention to.
35% of professionals obtained their current or most recent job from a referral.
60% have referred a friend or contact to a company they've worked for.
75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their career development.
40% increase n job placements from students in the mentorship program at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder compared to students not in the program.
35% of professionals obtained their current or most recent job from a referral.
60% have referred a friend or contact to a company they've worked for.
75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their career development.
40% increase n job placements from students in the mentorship program at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder compared to students not in the program.
Finally, research indicates that university students attending the same institution are more likely to help each other out, largely due to the formation of social networks and a sense of belonging. These factors contribute to their academic and social success.
Finally, research indicates that university students attending the same institution are more likely to help each other out, largely due to the formation of social networks and a sense of belonging. These factors contribute to their academic and social success.
User Research
Student Interview Insights
Student Interview Insights
I interviewed 48 SJSU students to get their perspective and current standing on mentorship.
22.9%
of students have a mentor.
72.9%
asked a student/professor for career advice.
7.28/10
student's rating of that advice's usefulness
65.8%
of students are still in contact with a mentor.
Primary Pain Points
Primary Pain Points
There Is No Organized Platform for SJSU Students to Find Mentors
There Is No Organized Platform for SJSU Students to Find Mentors
SJSU’s community app, SAMMY, has no built in feature for students to interact with other for the purpose of finding mentors or mentees. Other methods do not focus on the community aspect of SJSU students interacting with each other.
SJSU’s community app, SAMMY, has no built in feature for students to interact with other for the purpose of finding mentors or mentees. Other methods do not focus on the community aspect of SJSU students interacting with each other.
Conflicting Schedules Make Face-to-Face Meetings Difficult
Conflicting Schedules Make Face-to-Face Meetings Difficult
Finding overlapping periods of free time amongst both mentor and mentee requires lots of communication which may be difficult if the pair don’t know each other well, or one party has a schedule that changes week to week.
Finding overlapping periods of free time amongst both mentor and mentee requires lots of communication which may be difficult if the pair don’t know each other well, or one party has a schedule that changes week to week.
Traditional Methods of Finding Mentors Are Inconsistent
Traditional Methods of Finding Mentors Are Inconsistent
Using LinkedIn or cold emailing to find a mentor or even set up coffee chats can be time consuming and quite frustrating. Getting a response can feel like random chance, especially when there is nothing in common between both parties.
Using LinkedIn or cold emailing to find a mentor or even set up coffee chats can be time consuming and quite frustrating. Getting a response can feel like random chance, especially when there is nothing in common between both parties.
Design Goal
Simplify Onboarding and Create Familiarity
Simplify Onboarding and Create Familiarity
Wireframe Testing
Room for Improvement
Room for Improvement
I tested with 25 users to gauge what to iterate on.
I tested with 25 users to gauge what to iterate on.
3.04/5
User Satisfaction
3.04/5
User Satisfaction
80%
of users could find and message a mentor / mentee
80%
of users could find and message a mentor / mentee
3.27/5
Likelihood to recommend Spartan Connections to a friend
3.27/5
Likelihood to recommend Spartan Connections to a friend
“There are too many text input fields when filling in my profile information.”
“The home page layout is a little confusing.”
“My thumb has to go too high to reach the events tab on the home page. Same thing when I'm trying to send a message on the mentor profile. Other than that, no issues!
“There are too many text input fields when filling in my profile information.”
“The home page layout is a little confusing.”
“My thumb has to go too high to reach the events tab on the home page. Same thing when I'm trying to send a message on the mentor profile. Other than that, no issues!
Iteration
Revamped Onboarding
Added a bio section to allow more personalization and better reflect social media apps students use everyday
Replaced text input fields with buttons to create a quicker onboarding flow
App branding was added to the top of the screen
Revamped Onboarding
Added a bio section to allow more personalization and better reflect social media apps students use everyday
Replaced text input fields with buttons to create a quicker onboarding flow
App branding was added to the top of the screen
Better Hierarchy
The user's schedule was moved to be the first thing the user sees on their feed
The most important CTAs of the app have had their size increased, incentivizing the user to click them
The arrangement of page elements was reordered to accommodate this change
Better Hierarchy
The user's schedule was moved to be the first thing the user sees on their feed
The most important CTAs of the app have had their size increased, incentivizing the user to click them
The arrangement of page elements was reordered to accommodate this change
A New Mentor Feed
Adding the matching topics to the mentor/mentee discovery screen can help users ask better questions
Adding an activity feed to show what posts and groups the mentor is involved in can be very useful knowledge
Mentor/mentee profile rearranged to be more cohesive
A New Mentor Feed
Adding the matching topics to the mentor/mentee discovery screen can help users ask better questions
Adding an activity feed to show what posts and groups the mentor is involved in can be very useful knowledge
Mentor/mentee profile rearranged to be more cohesive
Spartan Connections Demo
Quick, easy onboarding designed for the user to get to their matching mentors as fast as possible.
A curated home feed with recommended student events based on selected categories with a dedicated page to track all events a student is interested in.
Appointments that work for both parties can be easily scheduled due to implementation and synchronization with each student’s Google Calendar, a feature that already exists with SJSU’s student accounts through API integration.
Spartan Connections Demo
Quick, easy onboarding designed for the user to get to their matching mentors as fast as possible.
A curated home feed with recommended student events based on selected categories with a dedicated page to track all events a student is interested in.
Appointments that work for both parties can be easily scheduled due to implementation and synchronization with each student’s Google Calendar, a feature that already exists with SJSU’s student accounts through API integration.
Hi-Fi User Testing Results
Results
Results
After the design changes and high fidelity screens were complete, I led another round of testing with the same 25 users.
After the design changes and high fidelity screens were complete, I led another round of testing with the same 25 users.
4.64/5
User Satisfaction
4.64/5
User Satisfaction
100%
of users could find and message a mentor / mentee
100%
of users could find and message a mentor / mentee
4.76/5
Likelihood to recommend Spartan Connections to a friend
4.76/5
Likelihood to recommend Spartan Connections to a friend
Reflection and Learnings
Closing Thoughts and Takeaways
1
1
Solving a Problem I Lived
Solving a Problem I Lived
Spartan Connections fills a real gap that I have personally experienced. Seeing my survey data show that only 22.9% (n=48) of students did NOT have a designated mentor reflected how I felt not having a design mentor either at the time. Having this work theoretically be for me and others like me made the process of working and improving the project very gratifying.
Spartan Connections fills a real gap that I have personally experienced. Seeing my survey data show that only 22.9% (n=48) of students did NOT have a designated mentor reflected how I felt not having a design mentor either at the time. Having this work theoretically be for me and others like me made the process of working and improving the project very gratifying.
2
2
Designing Around Real User Behavior
Designing Around Real User Behavior
My original wireframes looked good to me but upon testing with real users, I noticed a large gap between how I expected the interactions to go compared to what actually happened. Having that data to work off taught me how important it is to have tangible data to work off of. My favorite part of the design process is iterating and this project showed me just how important iterating to cater to your users is.
My original wireframes looked good to me but upon testing with real users, I noticed a large gap between how I expected the interactions to go compared to what actually happened. Having that data to work off taught me how important it is to have tangible data to work off of. My favorite part of the design process is iterating and this project showed me just how important iterating to cater to your users is.
3
3
Drawing the Line
Drawing the Line
If I had more time to work on this project, I'd have tackled less obvious issues. Giving users a way to indicate in-person versus call preferences, building a desktop version for the students who prefer that interface, and exploring opening up the platform beyond students to include faculty, staff, and alumni, since mentorship rarely stays confined to one group and SJSU's community is made up of far more than just students.
If I had more time to work on this project, I'd have tackled less obvious issues. Giving users a way to indicate in-person versus call preferences, building a desktop version for the students who prefer that interface, and exploring opening up the platform beyond students to include faculty, staff, and alumni, since mentorship rarely stays confined to one group and SJSU's community is made up of far more than just students.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for reading!
I’m glad we could cross paths!
I’m glad we could cross paths!
I hope you have a warm, wonderful, whimsical day.
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