COIL Connect: Enhancing Usability for Global Collaboration

Connecting educators worldwide with a seamless virtual exchanges.

Challenge:

With the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual experiences surged, forever changing the way we approach cultural exchanges. Yet, many educators still face challenges in finding and connecting with international partners for virtual exchange programs.

COIL Connect bridges this gap by providing a dedicated platform to maximize the potential of cross-cultural collaboration in our digital age but users struggle to effectively use it.

Solution:

Discovering Pain Points & Proposing Solutions

Streamlined Navigation: Identified inefficiencies in platform structure and proposed optimizations to reduce cognitive load and improve wayfinding.
Enhanced Search Functionality: Recommended advanced filters and auto-suggest features to help users find international partners more efficiently.
Multilingual Support: Suggested implementing language selection options to enhance accessibility for global users.
User Engagement Improvements: Proposed interactive resources and social media integration strategies to foster collaboration and sustained participation.

UX Team

Duey Smith

Kuanghong (Kyle) Xu

Rosemary Jiaxi Chen

Zhixin Li

Role/Contribution

UX Researcher,

Usability Testing Lead,

Project Manager

Tools

Qualtrics

Zoom

Miro

Duration

1/23 - 5/23

Research Methods & Design Process

Stage 1

Interaction Mapping & User Interviews

Stage 2

Surveys & Competitive Analysis

Stage 3

Heuristic Evaluation & Usability Testing

Stage 4

Recommendations

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Stage 3 - Recommendations

Stage 1 - Interaction Mapping & User Interviews

+ Interaction Mapping

To uncover user needs and platform pain points, we first mapped key user interactions and decision points.

Our primary goal with this research was to establish a baseline of how users navigated the platform, identifying key workflows and friction points.

+ User Interviews

6 user interviews were conducted to better understand the perspectives and experiences of our target audience along with their practices while facilitating virtual exchanges.

The following key themes emerged from our interviews:

Users struggled with a text-heavy design and unclear wayfinding
Limited filtering options made finding partners difficult
Lack of multilingual support hindered usability
Minimal user engagement and outreach
Users struggled with content clarity and system feedback
Difficulty tracking loan provider changes and consolidating loans

3 user personas and a user scenario were created to guide following recommendations

User personas for domestic and international virtual exchange practioners

Select portions of the user interaction flow

Stage 2 - Surveys & Competitive Analysis

+ Survey

A Qualtrics survey gathered qualitative and quantitative data on virtual exchange practitioners challenges and priorities. Participants provided insights on key decision making points including practices for finding exchange partners.

+ Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis was conducted on apps and websites such as UNI Collaboration, Worldwide Universities Network, International Association of Universities to identify critical features, including:

Automated matchmaking algorithm
Communication tools for facilitating cross-cultural collaboration
Resource hubs for project materials
Multilingual user interfaces to support global accessibility

Stage 3 - Heurisitc Evaluation & Usability Testing

+ Heuristitc Evaluation

Insights from heuristic evaluation findings informed key design improvements for the COIL Connect platform. Key recommendations included:

Simplified navigation to reduce cognitive load and improve user flow.
Clearer content hierarchy to enhance readability and prioritization of essential information.
Flexible matching criteria to allow users to refine compatibility measures based on their needs.
Enhanced help and documentation to support users in navigating the platform effectively.

+ Usability Testing

10 user tests were conducted on COIL Connect's website to uncover problems in screen designs. 6 tasks were completed by each user to pain points, revealing key insights:

Users found the platform valuable but needed clearer navigation to key features
6 out of 10 users were uncertain about the system status and the efficacy of their engagement with the system
7 out of 10 users struggled with searching for institutions, specifically when they tried to sort and filer results by country
Users were hesitant to use the the built-in features to contact institutions because it didn't align with their current habits

Above are select screens from highlighting key pain points.

Stage 3 - Recommendations

COIL Connect plays a cruicial role in fostering global cross-cultural collaboration, yet its current design poses significant challenges for users.

A few key recommendations came from our research:

Streamline Navigation and Reduce Cognitive Load - Simplification of the site's structure and incorporating clearer labels will help useres find key features.
Increase System Feedback and Responsiveness – Ambiguity with the system status left users confused and uncertain. Implementing confirmation screens and pop-ups will help users feel more confident with their actions.
Enhance Search Functionality – Users were often discouraged when looking for collaborators due to information overload. Filtering institutions by course type or country allows users to search without being overwhelmed.

By implementing these recommendations, COIL Connect can create a more intuitive and accessible platform that better supports academic professionals in building meaningful global partnerships.

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Reflection & Next Steps

Due to the time constrained nature of the course, we were not able to implement our recommendations. If we were to implement our recommendations, however, COIL Connect should emphasize an iterative approach.

While there are currently gaps and pain points with the platform, ensuring continuous improvement will allow for COIL Connect to adapt to their shifting user needs. This could be done through establishing feedback channels and internal analytics tools, to ensure data-informed decisions for future iterations.

Ongoing Engagement & Improvement Goals for COIL Connect:

Retention: Target a 70% retention rate among newly onboarded institutions, ensuring active participation beyond the initial sign-up.

Collaboration Success: Strengthen partnership formation, aiming for at least 50% of registered institutions to establish new collaborations annually.

By continuously refining the platform based on user insights and engagement practices, COIL Connect can maximize its impact in facilitating virtual cross-cultural exchanges.

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