MentorMe - Mentoring & Internship App Design by Jabez Roberts
UX Case Study
The goal of this UX Design project is to design a user experience that will solve the problem of college students and graduates finding an internship or mentor to aid their career growth. This is a problem that I and my friends have faced at every turn of our career growth and one I would like to solve.
Problem Statement
Kyle is a hard-working and high-achieving student who needs a summer internship and a mentor in the field of Mechatronics Engineering because he wants to become a competent and qualified Mechatronics Engineer when he graduates.
Business Overview
Life Plus One is a local company that aims to improve people’s standard of living through mental health, wellness, and professional development. In an effort to help more students in their careers and aid their professional development Life Plus One has embarked on a journey to provide a solution to the longstanding problem most university students face. Specifically, Life Plus One aims to help students find mentors and internship opportunities to aid their professional development.
The Challenge
Students at various universities and colleges across the world at times require field experience in their field of study before they can get their degrees. The problem is that students often struggle to secure an internship to help their careers. Additionally, the absence of mentors has often left students frustrated and directionless outside of the lecture theatre as they aim to enter the working world.
The Research Goal
The goal of this research is to develop a user experience that will help students and recent graduates of universities and colleges across the world in their professional careers and development. Specifically, the user experience should help students find mentorship in their field of study by helping them connect with mentors. Additionally, the solution should help students find internship offers to help them gain experience in their fields of study.
The Research Approach
Primary & quantitative research was done with college students and graduates who are currently in need of mentors and internship experience to aid their professional development.
My Role
The project was undertaken by me and I carried out all areas and duties of the UX Design process.
Project Duration
April 23, 2022 – May 6, 2022
My Responsibilities
- User research
- Wireframing – Paper and Digital
- Prototyping – Low- and High-Fidelity
- Information Architecture
- Visual Design
- Testing – Usability Studies & iterating on designs
- Writing
Understanding Our Users
User Research Findings
Research Summary
I spoke at length with a current Mechatronics Engineering student at the Caribbean Maritime University about his career, his field of study, and some of the challenges he’s faced on his path to completing his degree.
It was during these extensive conversations that I learned more about the problems students are faced with when trying to find a mentor for their careers or field of study. I also learned how difficult it was to find internship opportunities in legal and approved business which is also a requirement for the completion of several degrees across the country and world.
From the data gathered a research objective was conducted, research carried out, and a user experience was designed to solve this problem faced by our students.
My UX Design Process
Empathize
Time spent learning about the users we need to provide a solution for such as their pain points, fears, and motivations.
Define
Learn about the market, competition, and other solutions to our users' problems that are currently available.
Ideate
During this phase a solution was proposed based on the information gathered in the previous two steps. The first usability study was done here.
Design
During this stage the information gathered from our first usability study was used to make incremental changes to the lo-fi prototype. It was then converted to a hi-fi prototype.
Implement
During this phase, we tested our hi-fi prototype in a second usability study to ensure that the app was ready for production and the market. Minor changes were made.
Evaluate
During this phase an evaluation of the entire UX Design process was done with feedback from users taken into consideration to evaluate the success of the project.
The Design Process
This design process was done using the Progressive Enhancement method where we design for mobile-first. It was done by first designing an app. After the development and delivery of the app, we will create a responsive website for our users. I did a mobile-first approach because the app will be used mainly by college students and graduates early in their professional careers as well as people on the go.
User Pain Points
Finding Mentors
It was noticeably difficult to find mentors who would be willing to mentor a student because there wasn't an easy way to connect them.
Lack of Internships
Finding internship opportunities for students and new graduates was difficult and time-consuming without an easy way to find them.
Difficulty Applying
Sometimes internship posts are old and outdated with the listed contact methods being out of service or not monitored.
Poor Communication
Poor communication or difficulty communicating was one of the major reasons why mentors and mentees had a failed relationship.
User Needs
- Users need an easy and convenient way of finding and connecting with mentors
- Users would like to be able to easily communicate with their mentors
- Users would love a job listing feature that allowed them to find and apply to internship offers
- Users need to be able to communicate with businesses who offer internship positions and employers
- Users need to be able to create a profile that lists their education, work experience, and other educational and professional achievements
- Users would love to have access to a platform that makes finding a mentor free as most other platforms are paid or underused
User Personas
Age: 19
Education: University Student
Hometown: Mona, St. Andrew
Family: Parents, siblings
Goals:
- Get a Mechatronics Engineering degree
- Get a Mechatronics Engineering mentor
- Get a summer internship as a mechatronics engineer
Frustrations:
- “It is so hard to find a place that I can intern during the summer.”
- “I would like to find someone who can help me as a mentor.”
- “There isn’t an easy place to connect with other professionals who are willing to mentor me.”
User Story
Kyle is a hard-working and high-achieving student who needs a summer internship and a mentor in the field of Mechatronics Engineering because he wants to become a competent and qualified Mechatronics Engineer when he graduates.
Kyle is a 19-year-old Mechatronics Student at the Caribbean Maritime Institute. He is extremely hard-working in his career and studies as he would like to be the first Engineer in his family.
To help him achieve this goal, Kyle has decided to be mentored by a Mechatronics Engineer while he studies. Kyle would also love to work as an intern during his summer break.
Currently, Kyle is frustrated because he is unable to find a place where he can intern during the summer and he’s also having a tough time finding a mentor.
Kyle would like a platform that would help him to solve all these problems he has.
User Journey Map
| Action | Search For Potential Internship Locations | Contact Suitable Locations | Try To Schedule Internship | Search Online and Offline For Potential Mentors | Try To Become A Mentee To These Mentors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Task List |
A. Search through
directory for businesses in
their field B. Search Google for potential businesses to do an internship C. Search online listings for internships |
A. Search for working
contact information for
potential locations to do an
internship B. Send email or make a phone call to find out about potential internships |
A. Find out if internships
are currently available B. Learn how to apply for internships C. Build relationships with businesses that may be suitable internship locations |
A. Search online for people
who could make good
mentors B. Ask current connections for potential mentors C. Visit businesses of interest to find mentors |
A. Ask potential mentors
about their willingness to
become a mentor B. Schedule a time for meetings and brief talks C. Contact via email, phone or visits |
|
Feeling Adjective |
● Tired from all the
work involved ● Frustrated ● Fatigued |
● Frustrated by
non-functional
contacts listed ● Tired from all the work |
● Disappointed
from lack of
opportunities ● Frustrated by inability to easily get an internship |
● Tired from the
work involved ● Frustrated ● Demotivated ● Sad |
● Excited to be
mentored ● Disappointed when rejected ● Tired from work |
|
Improvement Opportunities |
● Provide an online database of
businesses that are currently accepting interns |
● Allow users to contact businesses from the platform |
● Provide online listing of available internships ● Online applications |
● Allow users to
find and contact
potential mentors |
● Allow users to
talk and video
call online ● Allow online appointments |
Low-fidelity Prototype
Usability Study
Usability Study Parameters
Study Type
Unmoderated usability study
Location
Worldwide, remote
Participants
5 users
Length
25 minutes
User Research Summary
The Usability Study was conducted with university students and recent graduates who are faced with the challenge of finding an internship position to complete their degrees or would like to be mentored by a professional to aid their professional growth.
During the research I learned that one of the major problems users faced was not only the need to find mentorship that could be helpful to their unique situations but that they would love the opportunity to connect with mentors via chat or video call and also recommend mentors and mentor profiles to their friends.
We also learned that communication with institutions that were offering internship positions was a difficult challenge and something they wanted to be addressed by our app.
To this end the usability study ensured that we improved on our low fidelity prototypes by:
- Adding a search feature that could make filtering for mentors easy
- Add an additional search filter to help narrow the search for internships based on several criteria
- Improve navigation when submitting an offer for an internship
- Help users choose to filter between mentors and friends when choosing who to interact with
Digital Wireframes & Usability Study Changes
Before Usability Study
The previous design didn’t have a distinction between friends and mentors. All users were listed as connections.
After Usability Study
The updated design separated connections into friends and Mentees/Mentors.
Summary of Design Process
After ideating and drafting paper wireframes my focus switched to creating a digital wireframe that focused on providing two distinctive user flows for finding mentors and finding internship offers for users.
Hi-Fi Prototype & Final Mockups
App, responsive web appm tablet, and desktop versions shown below.
Accessibility Considerations
Voice Command
Voice command and voice search has been added to make navigation, task completion, and content reading easier for people with disabilities.
Interactivity
Clear labels for interactive elements that can be read by screen readers.
People With Disabilities
The website is added with alt text added to all images to allow screen readers and other assistive technology to help people with disabilities.
What I've Learned
What I learned:
I learned throughout this project that there are many students and recent graduates that are faced with this problem and are in need of a viable solution. The biggest pushback has been that most people prefer to be paid for being mentored so I’ve learned that this platform also needs to be developed in a way to incentivize mentors and businesses who are hiring interns through the app.
Impact Of Design:
The current design of the platform has been well received by current university students and graduates. The interface is engaging and professional, the features ‘are just what is needed,’ and the app is addressing a major issue that is not currently being given enough attention.
Next Steps
More Diverse Product Testing
Improve the accessibility of the product by testing the high-fidelity prototype with more people with disabilities.
Further Research
Conduct research on how best to incentivize mentors and businesses to use the platform to connect with users
Increase Users
The objective over the next 12 months is to get MentorMe in the hands of more students and university lecturers to increase the user base
More Features
Add more complementary features to add to the usability and flexibility of the app to make it also an effective communication tool.
Let's Connect!
I am open to more projects in the field of UX Design with an added interest in Product Design, UX Generalist, UX Research, UX Visual & Interaction Design, and UX Writing.
Let us talk more about your next project and how I may bring value to your company and team. I can be contacted at www.jabezroberts.com/contact or info@jabezroberts.com.