Initial Frames

The client was able to provide the team with some initial frames. While the frames were beautiful, they were not backed by research. A quick check on the WCAG guidelines also proved that they did not meet the standards for accessible design.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

With the initial research, it was essential to do a competitive and comparative analysis of the top platforms available in the marketplace. An analysis of prominent job searching platforms was conducted to see what features and elements were present on each. This would help ground Invisible Strengths to features that already work well as well as what features would make the platform stand out.

USER INSIGHTS

At this stage, a survey was also sent out to users (a network of people who are marginalized with disabilities) to see what their experience has been when looking for a job. From the survey results, some key trends were identified through affinity mapping:
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• "I feel that the accomodations at my company are unclear"
• "I fear being discriminated against due to my appearance or identity"
• "I feel that there is a disparity in my pay based on my identity"
• "I feel that there is a lack of transparency in salary"

USER PERSONA

From the user data, a persona was created to represent the target user. A persona is an archetypical user who represents the needs of the group as a whole. Throughout the design process, the persona aligned the team on Tamara's core needs and helped us empathize with them on a deeper level. From this persona, we concluded that the design should include a way to filter the accommodations needed and have salary transparency.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

To define the problems users face, we needed to come up with some "How Might We" questions. "How might we" questions are designed to keep the focus on the right problems to solve as well as come up with creative solutions.

• How might we clearly show what accommodations a company offers?
• How might we create systems that present accommodations without forcing our users to be uncomfortable?
• How might we create a feeling of trust with our users that they are not being discriminated against in their pay and also in the workplace?

Once the "How might we" questions were established, a singular problem statement was created and applied to our persona:

"Tamara needs an inclusive and transparent job search process, so that they can feel affirmed and valued during the job hunt."

SKETCHES

To speed along the ideation process, our team decided to have a design studio session- a time in which we all simply sketched out ways to bring the flow to life. From that design studio, we decided which aspects of each design best addressed our problem statement and then converged on our ideas to finalize a sketch for each frame. These sketches were then digitized into Figma.

USER TESTING ROUND 1

Once the sketches were digitized, they were prototyped for user testing. User testing is a time when the product gets in front of real target users as they complete a specified task. As they interact with the app, observations of their behaviors, reactions, and feelings toward the prototype were noted. The number of errors was also recorded. For this usability test, users were tasked to find an epidemiologist job on the app that is full-time and provides the accommodation of flexible scheduling.

FINDINGS

From the user testing, these key findings were discovered:

• Users felt that the process was in-line with current industry standards.
• Users tend to search for the job title name and then filter down.
• Users did not utilize the "See Accommodations" button.

Iterations

From the data, it was decided that these design changes needed to be made:

• Create a universal search bar to match the user behavior of searching first.
• The "See Accommodations" button was removed as it was not used.
• In replacement of the removed button, the accommodations were instead replaced with representative icons that quickly convey the accommodations provided.
• Because accommodations were categorized, it was decided to categorize the filter, exposing users to get them more familiar with the icons.
• A few elements were tweaked to be less overwhelming.
• Frames colorized based on colors researched to be accessible.

USER TESTING ROUND 2

In the second round of user testing, users were given the same task, to find an epidemiologist job on the app that is full-time and provides the accommodation of flexible scheduling. Again, observations on user behaviors, reactions, and feelings were noted. The number of errors was also compared from this prototype compared to the last.

FINDINGS

From the user testing, these key findings were discovered:

• Compared to the last prototype, more users saw and commented on the accommodations listed.
• Users felt affirmed to see their accommodations listed clearly.
• Users were overwhelmed by the filtering options.
• Users want a way to ask for accommodations they don’t see listed.
• Compared to the first prototype, user made less errors.

Iterations

From the data, it was decided that these design changes needed to be made:

• The filter was visually overwhelming, so it was decided to update the colors to lighter, cleaner ones that were still accessible.
• In the style guide, the colors were swapped from green to a light aqua- all while still meeting WCAG accessibility standards.
• The filter was also designed into nested menus to aid in reducing visual overwhelm.
• The client suggested a different icon set to represent LGBTQIA friendly and BIPOC-led businesses. New icons were produced.
• A few elements were tweaked to be less overwhelming.
• Frames colorized based on colors researched to be accessible.

Next Steps

Based on user feedback and thinking of ways to improve, the client was given recommendations on some next steps:

• Creating a feedback feature where job seekers can give feedback on what types of accommodations they need but don't see.
• Revising accommodation icons to be as clear as possible.
• Using a combination of a card sorting task or research to determine which accommodations falls under which category.
  
• • Above bullet point has been completed. See the project here.