Eleyo Child Care Attendance App
Revising an Existing Design

Client

Eleyo CCA

Eleyo CCA (Child Care Attendance) is a cloud-based program-management tool for childcare providers, preschools, and enrichment programs founded in 2009. Eleyo is currently connected to over 110 of the nation's largest school districts. The platform helps manage invoicing, finances, events, reporting, registration, participation, and more via a unified portal. Enterprises can streamline operations, automate tasks, and gain real-time insights into the various aspects of their business via analytics.

Project Overview

  • Eleyo hired me as a UX Designer and Researcher, with support from the Prime Digital Academy's UX Design and Research program, to assess the performance of their customized app for primary users. The goal was to make recommendations for improvements, focusing on key tasks, by either modifying existing features or adding new functionality. I was asked to present my findings in the form of an annotated Interactive Prototype for Eleyo stakeholders.


    Key User Tasks

    • Signing children in and out

    • Other tasks under ‘staff’ mode

    • Allow parents to sign in/out on the class’s device

Primary User Groups

  • On-Site Child Care Staff looking to track the children in their care accurately for the purposes of security and invoicing. Staff can be part time (for instance college students) or more experienced full-time staff.

Competitive Landscape
Direct & Indirect Competitors or Comparators

  • Procare (larger conglomerate - more indirect competition done through acquisition

  • EZ Child Track out of Sugarland, Texas

Story of Approach

I had the chance to work on a client project with the Eleyo Child Care Attendance App in partnership with Prime Digital Academy's UX Design and Research program. I was engaged to identify and uncover problems with the Eleyo app, and the findings were distilled into an annotated Interactive Prototype for stakeholders.

To initiate the process, I aimed to create a Client Overview by collaborating with one of Eleyo's Customer Service Specialists. This overview involved exploring the history, current state, and future plans of the Eleyo app. The information covered included understanding the organization, its purpose, the product or tool to be worked on, its beneficiaries, key user tasks, competition, and gathering any relevant resources and documentation.

After gaining a thorough understanding of Eleyo, I conducted a Cognitive Walkthrough of the current app. After documenting all the information obtained, I collaborated with UX peers to create a Primary User Research Protocol and conduct an contextual inquiry with a user in their real-world setting. This led to the creation of a Research Findings and Prototype Plan.

The final outcome of the project involved compiling the results as a team, then each team member analyzed the data individually to create an annotated Interactive Prototype that would be presented to the stakeholders of Eleyo.

My Role

As a designer & researcher for this project, professional goals were:

  • Evaluate the usability of an existing design using a set of pre-defined criteria.

  • Conduct research in order to understand pain points and opportunity areas.

  • Synthesize research findings to identify meaningful insights.

  • Prototype meaningful changes to the functionality, interactions, and/or visual design of a digital product.

  • Visually present design recommendations that support key goals.

  • Follow up goal, to present a professional portfolio showcasing my UX process and resulting work.

Design Toolkit

Notion - Tracking Projects & Sharing Documents
Figma - Wireframing & Prototyping Web Layout
Adobe Creative Cloud - Photoshop &Creating PDF’s
Apple MacBook Pro - Case Study Computer
Zoom - Online Meetings
Google Suite - Scheduling & Meeting Coordination, Internet Data Searching, File Collection, Text and Script origination, Emailing & Participant Communication

Cognitive Walkthrough

Eleyo CCA Cognitive Walkthrough

Approach:
To better understand how users interact with the product and identify potential usability issues, a Cognitive Walkthrough was conducted. This evaluation method involved following each step of the task flow and answering a series of predefined questions to assess the success or failure of each step for first-time or infrequent users. The goal was to pinpoint those aspects of the interface that might be difficult for new users.

Outcomes:
Through this process, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the user's experience and identify areas that required improvement. The resulting insights were used to inform the development of a test version of the app, which allowed for a thorough exploration of its features without affecting the daily use by real students and families. By conducting a Cognitive Walkthrough, we were able to identify potential usability issues and develop solutions to improve the user experience.

Contextual Inquiry

Contextual Inquiry

Approach:
To gain insight into the user's real-world experiences and understand their needs, I conducted a 60-minute interview over Zoom, which involved asking the user questions and observing them in their work environment. This method of research allowed me to gather valuable information about the user's experiences, opinions, attitudes, and perceptions, which was critical to the success of the project.

Outcome:
During the interview, the participant reported that the internet connectivity at the sites is unstable and prone to disruptions, leading to instances where the attendance list is either not updated or completely incorrect. Additionally, the participant expressed that pick-up lines tend to be long, and parents often spend significant time scrolling to locate their child, with 150-200 students participating in summer programs. By collaborating with a team of UX designers and researchers and following a well-defined research protocol, we were able to identify the key challenges that needed to be addressed or improved to enhance the usability and add new features to the Eleyo application.

Contextual Inquiry

Contextual Inquiry

Research Findings and Prototype Plan

Findings and Prototype Plan

Approach:
To guide the project, I created a design plan that defined user stories, created task scenarios, and visualized the project's outcomes. This plan kept stakeholders' objectives in mind and helped identify potential obstacles, ensuring the successful completion of the project. During the research synthesis, I uncovered insights from the cognitive walkthrough and user research, evaluated the design's effectiveness, and prioritized areas for improvement.

Outcome:
I transformed the research findings into actionable insights and created a plan for the prototype. I prioritized and enhanced three user stories, incorporating new functionalities into the interface, linking back to the research findings. To showcase my recommended changes, I created a screen flow and information architecture diagram, hand-drawn wireframes, and documented interactions and micro-interactions. This approach helped visualize the locations of proposed changes and additions, providing practical examples of how users could initiate user stories, highlighting the critical aspects I aimed to enhance and the new functionalities I proposed.

Findings and Prototype Plan

Findings and Prototype Plan

Interactive Prototype

Interactive Prototype for Eleyo CCA

Approach:
To showcase my proposed modifications and enhancements to the Eleyo app, I created an annotated interactive prototype using Figma. I started by focusing on the most critical and distinctive interactions that aligned with my user stories. I carefully linked the screens together to support my written scenarios and used static elements for interactions that followed common practices. Annotations and notes were included in the prototype to explain my design decisions and research reasoning.

Outcome:
My annotated Figma prototype effectively communicated my design intent and supported my scenario-based modifications. In documenting the annotated prototype, I focused on providing context, rationale, and interaction information. For context, I provided information on the element's purpose, location in the app, and viewing context. I linked my design recommendations to research findings, user needs, and business goals for rationale. Finally, for interactions, I described how they would behave, the different states and how they would display and work together, and what would happen after an interaction.

Various Recommendations For Eleyo

Before

After

  • Recommendation
    Static Header: To resolve the problem of slow sign-in and sign-out times causing congestion at youth centers, a static header feature is proposed as a potential solution that will encourage users to use faster options instead of simply scrolling.

  • Recommendation
    QR Code: The introduction of the QR function can potentially reduce the sign-in and sign-out time for parents/guardians by half and provide a safer option during the pandemic.

  • Recommendation
    Voice Activated:     The introduction of the microphone button, a new and innovative feature, has been deemed a "stretch goal" by providers who believe it can be achieved with current technology. The button will activate voice mode, enabling parents to search for their child's name by speaking it instead of typing it in a search bar, similar to typing search results.

  • Recommendation
    Sync Indicator:     This new feature aims to address the problem faced by childcare providers who are struggling with outdated information due to syncing issues. The current lack of a "Sync Icon" or "Status and Reliability Indicator" has made it difficult for staff to trust the app and be confident that they are working with the most recent information for the safety of the children. The new feature will help to enhance the user experience by providing a visual indicator of any wifi connectivity issues or syncing delays between devices before any on-site incidents occur.

  • Recommendation
    Lock Icon:     This new feature will provide youth center staff with clarity and assurance that the app is unlocked and private data is accessible. By implementing a personalized code for each staff member, management can change the permissions and control access to the app.

Before

After

Next Steps

I highly suggest that we proceed with the recommendations presented in the annotated interactive prototype. The proposed modifications and new features are sure to enhance the overall user experience and make the product more appealing and user-friendly. However, before we launch the updated version, I recommend conducting a few rounds of usability tests with primary users. This will help us gather valuable feedback on the new changes and assess how users respond to the updates. By doing so, we can make any necessary adjustments and fine-tune the product before it is officially released to the market. Ultimately, this will help ensure that the end-result is a high-quality product that meets the needs and expectations of our target audience.

Personal Growth

New skills learned:

  • From a tools standpoint, revisiting Figma as a tool for prototyping has proven to be extremely beneficial from a practical perspective. The user-friendly interface and diverse set of features make it an ideal choice for quickly creating and iterating on designs..

  • From a personal growth standpoint, conducting a UX Cognitive Walkthrough for the first time was a valuable learning experience. This exercise allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of user-centered design and consider how to improve the overall experience for the end-user.

Conclusion

It's truly remarkable to see a mission-driven organization like Eleyo strive to achieve its long-term goals and meet its needs through innovative solutions. The potential for Eleyo to expand and thrive with the use of annotated interactive prototypes is truly a remarkable feat. These prototypes have the ability to enhance the overall user experience and bring new levels of functionality to their products. I look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of Eleyo and the amazing solutions they bring to the market.

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