Image by Annie Spratt. Unsplash.
Image by Zach Wear. Unsplash.
Image by Dodi Tshionza. Unsplash.
Image by Alex Radelich. Unsplash.
Embarking on discovery
Unveiling the market pacesetters
Assessing market leaders
Putting user needs first by seeking to understand them
Humanizing the user experience
Phase 1 Recommendations
Continue user research with additional surveying and interviews. Expand the sample size until "information saturation" (when findings begin to repeat).
Iterate proto-personas into full-fledged personas. Also, add more personas to reflect comorbidities often observed alongside dyslexia.
Create journey maps by deeply examining the thought processes each persona might use to solve tasks.
Construct information architecture (site mapping, card sorting, etc.) to organize potential product content and hierarchy.
Sketch low fidelity wireframes to ideate product layout and navigation.
Conduct rapid prototyping to uncover potential usability flaws early.
Continue product discovery. Should it be a mobile-only app? Responsive web app (all platforms)? Add hard copy deliverables for areas with little-to-no Internet infrastructure/access?
Even as a proposed free, open source e-learning product, creating a Business Requirements Document to guide setup, operation, and distribution would provide strategic value for short-, medium- and long-term success.
Lessons Learned
In a fast-paced environment, timely and accurate file sharing is crucial to minimize miscommunication.
From a design process perspective, this means clearly defining task expectations and deadlines at the outset.
Learning is actually a social activity.
Even if a student studies a topic individually for a period of time, the information they consume and tasks performed invariably become shared with a peer, educator, or family or friend - all of whom represent a part of their community.
The "sharing" itself may take the form of questions asked, assignment submission, or even resistance to the curriculum.
Designs should therefore account for the various stakeholders who are directly and indirectly involved with the student's learning journey, i.e. their community.
Early in the sprint, the UX research team conducted tasks in pairs. We eventually coined it the "buddy system". Not only could two people produce twice the work in a short amount of time, but team-building also accelerated with collaborative brainstorming and idea exchange on Slack, file creation/sharing on FigJam, and spot check-ins over Zoom and Google Meet.
And, perhaps the most valuable business proposition from this approach, is the positive redundancy by having multiple team members familiar with and qualified to speak to their respective deliverables. Hugely critical in a sprint!
In plain terms: dyslexia should not be equated with personality or intelligence. With sufficient educational resources and support, it is treatable.
While behavior may be affected by the underlying disorder, dyslexic individuals also possess uniquely adaptable skills.
From a design standpoint, this means tailoring the user interface to cater to range of learning styles suitable for dyslexic individuals. For example: associating symbols with words, succinct text, auditory and visual cues, high contrast, engaging avatars and game-based rewards for motivation.
Based on the client's expert observations, there are often accompanying cognitive disorders, which can unfortunately compound the effects of dyslexia. Example comorbidities include Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), anxiety, and speech/language disorders.
The recommended solution is design holistically by accounting for each of these potential cognitive disorders in the product UX and UI.