Present-state analysis
The current experience
ApplyBoard’s current application experience has multiple issues. The UI is outdated, and deactivated components that are meant for recruitment agents and ApplyBoard’s customer experience team are visible to students, leading to a cluttered experience.
Research insights
Testing the application process
I conducted 5 interviews with existing ApplyBoard students, asking about their experiences on ApplyBoard and walking through their application process alongside them.
✏️
Confusing labelling; support channel is named ‘Notes’, etc.
🎯
No value in using ApplyBoard past admission to school
💰
Dislikes paying for application before submission
In a nutshell... 🥜
ApplyBoard has a usable application experience, but not a delightful experience.
Research outputs
Student application experience
Using the outputs from interviews with ApplyBoard students, I constructed a journey map outlining the major stages of the application experience, pain point breakdown, and opportunities for improvement.
Competitive experiences
Simplifying complex processes
Completing market research helped me to understand only how other organizations tackle similar problems for student applications and how they simplify complex, anxiety-inducing processes.
Parallel research
Diving deeper
After researching competitive experiences, I interviewed students who had already applied abroad in the past 6 months using researched platforms that I wanted investigate.
Edvoy.com
I interviewed 5 students from Edvoy.com—a popular alternative to ApplyBoard, and asked about their experiences on the platform. The goal was to understand why students enjoy using Edvoy for study abroad.
🎨
Clean, organized interface and visual styling
👀
Unlimited support after enrolment confirmation
⏳
Enjoy how clearly wait times are communicated
Direct to school
Finally, I interviewed 5 students who applied directly to their schools for international study instead of going to a third-party platform like ApplyBoard or Edvoy.
🤝
Values the guidance from experienced individuals who have applied before
💸
Likes payment at the same point as submission
⏳
Uncomfortable submitting D2S without review
Constraints
Balancing across teams
The application pages on ApplyBoard are tied into multiple teams and departments across the organization, as it spans across three user groups: our internal CX team, external recruitment partners, and students.
Because of this, we were unable to make major changes to the application process. What we could do is hide existing components, add new ones, and revamp the front-end UI.
In a nutshell... 🥜
How can we improve the application experience without changing the core processes?
Design iterations
Exploring solutions
Each design went through extensive internal reviews with stakeholders my team and others. I often connected with a senior UX researcher, product designer, and product manager who were intimately familiar with the application process to pick their brain and get feedback.
Thank you @DimaBoiko, @HinalPatel, and @SiddharthaSengupta for your support! ✨
The chosen one ⚡️
The application who lived
I prioritized three things while creating the final solution.
🏃♀️
Ensuring students know exactly what step they are on at all times
📱
Metrics show that ~40% of students access on tablet and mobile
🤩
Infusing the application process with visuals and improved UI styling
Completing application requirements
The main application dashboard provides students with the information they need immediately. Requirements are sorted into stages, and the application journey stepper is visible on the left.
Paying application fee
The applications page has shifted from a small side panel to a dedicated, full screen layout, with breakdowns of application fees (from the school or ApplyBoard) and multiple payment options.
Viewing all paid and unpaid applications
Applications page (empty and filled states) shows students only the most relevant information for each application; the deadline and intended intake date.
Saving programs to wishlist
Students can add programs to wishlist through a variety of ApplyBoard’s search tools. Tying the wishlist to the application experience helps to bridge the gap between students exploring and committing to programs.
