The Ontario Humans Rights Commission has recognized the accommodation process to be a major barrier to education for students with disabilities. A needlessly long and physically based system means that many students fail before they even realize there are resources to help them. This solution aims to leverage digital products to streamline the difficult process and make school accessible to everyone.
Students in need of accommodations are faced with an outdated process that relies on in-person meetings and printed documents. In order to better understand the failings of the current process and how it affects students, primary research was conducted to reveal multiple pain points.
Mapping out the current accommodations process, I created a user journey to identify areas of friction within the user flow.
Based on collected data, I created personas to help better understand and develop empathy for the key users.
Reinventing the way students access accessible learning and their accommodations by compiling all the needlessly complicated steps into one central hub with an easy to follow process.
Utilizing the design principle of chunking, users are provided information in steps with only 1-2 actions being required per step. This creates a liner flow that is easy to understand and doesn’t overwhelm students.
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Based on the user flow outlined above, I developed wireframes for user testing with students. While users believed in the core concept of the design, certain aspects required adjustment due to unclear navigation. The feedback collected from users was extremely valuable and informed future design decisions.
Research and user feedback influenced the design of the prototype which solves the major pain points students are facing through three main features:
The Sheridan Accessible Learning Portal runs on the Next Steps system. It combines clear language and visual cues to easily guide users through the application process. The process is organized into simple steps with direct links to relevant information so as not to overwhelm the user. A clear progress bar helps user feel in control as they always have an understanding of the system status.
Download necessary forms and upload completed ones through the forms page which easily organizes and keeps record of important documentation. Only forms that are relevant to the user appear alongside detailed descriptions explaining their purpose.
Easily schedule appointments and meetings with an accessible learning advisor without the frustration of coordinating a time through email. Through the Accessible Learning Portal, users can easily view availability and select a time and date that aligns with their needs.
Originally created as an entry for a hackathon, this project was prototyped within a limited timeframe of thirty-six hours. However, even after the event ended, I remained passionate about the product and conducted further research to validate the assumptions that were made due to time constraints. Through this process, I was able to visualize my findings and improve the original designs based on the results.
During the hackathon, the designs were mainly focused on digitizing the existing process. However, after conducting thorough user research, I identified areas of friction within the existing workflow and was able to reduce the number of necessary steps from five to three. This highlighted the importance of selecting the right design process for a problem space, and how thorough research can significantly improve the end product.
