Introduction

Caregivers of school age children are in search of a new school for their child, they need a tool to organize their school search. Caregiver’s want to ensure their child’s academic growth and overall well-being. Caregivers want to compare schools with varying ideologies, courses offered, student diversity, and resources to find a school that aligns with their academic goals for their child. Caregivers also want a school that bolsters their values, provides appropriate support for a positive learning environment, and cultivates social belonging and confidence in their child. The target audience for Better School Choice - Parents, Guardians and Caregivers of school age children - have full and busy lifestyles. So we want to explore:

How can we create a tool for the user to find the right school for their child in an efficient and streamline way?

Mixed Method Research

Qualitative User Research

I conducted qualitative user research via reading 6 transcripts of open ended interviews with parents of varying socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The interview discussed their decision making process and values while looking for a new school for their child. With this qualitative data, I created a user affinity diagram, found common themes across user experiences, and created the empathy map below.

Market Research

I conducted a competitive analysis of 5 competitors within the industry, identifying their strengths, weakness and highlighted areas of opportunity for Better School Choice. Our competitors were Niche, Find Private Schools, Great Schools, Our Kids and US News & Reports. They offered common feature patterns and stand-out attributes like zip code based searching, step by step guides on how to apply to schools and articles by other prospective parents who have been through a similar process.

Task Scenarios

Based on qualitative user research and market research, I created potential Task Scenarios to better understand the trajectory of the user’s journey.

Low-Fi Exploration

Usability Testing