KadaKareer Community Forum
KadaKareer
RESULTS
The KadaKareer community forum has seen strong community engagement, with many using it for educational purposes. After initial testing with a 63 SUS score, the second round of testing showed significant improvement with a SUS score of 81.7, a baseline NPS of 67 and a CSAT of 83.33. The forum helps students connect for support, access career resources, and celebrate achievements, building a positive community.
OVERVIEW
We created this community forum to merge our career coaching marketplace and career information database. This platform offers public forums like Reddit for Filipino career starters. Students can connect with peers and coaches, accessing valuable resources and networks to kickstart their careers, all for free.
my role
I conducted user interviews with community members to gather insights, utilized the Discourse API to guide forum design, collaborated closely with developers from Develop for Good (an external partner organization based in the USA), and tested the design with community members for feedback and validation.
design process
Here is our design process, indicating in the image are what I did in each phase.
key findings
User interviews reveal that participants are highly ambitious, focused on enhancing skills, expanding networks, and advancing their careers. They rely on platforms like KadaKareer, online learning resources, and career-focused social media, as well as participating in webinars and meetups. Their top priorities include mentorship, job preparation, and finding industry role models. While they value support from peers and mentors, they avoid discussing career matters with friends. Face-to-face events, online communities, and tech groups are crucial for connecting with like-minded individuals and building strong support networks.
pain points
Our community primarily engages through Facebook or Discord. However, these platforms make it difficult for students to track conversations and filter relevant topics efficiently.
Some of our career coaches are less active on Facebook and Discord, limiting their involvement.
personas
Our target users are low-income high school and college students in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of the Philippines, aged 18 to 24 years old, whose schools have limited school-to-employment resources and opportunities, and who find it challenging to navigate the job market and apply for companies based in the city centers.
how might we
After analyzing and synthesizing the feedback from user interviews, we formulated these "How might we" questions.
low fidelity wireframes
Here are the low-fidelity wireframes of the forum. This design was created before we knew we could utilize the Discourse API, which means we didn't have to design the forum from scratch.
high fidelity designs
Here are the high-fidelity designs that I based on the Discourse API. These designs are what I gave to the developers so that they could change the forum's appearance. I mainly adjusted the colors and text/copy to align with KadaKareer's branding.
internal testing
These are the result of the internal test I conducted last July 2023. After we resolved these issues, I then proceeded with conducting moderated usability testing externally.
round 1 usability testing
I conducted a moderated usability test in December 2023, recruiting five participants from the KadaKareer community. During the test, I measured the time users took to complete tasks and the System Usability Scale (SUS) score for the forum. The core tasks included creating an account, making a post, liking a post, commenting on a post, flagging a post, deleting a post, searching for a user, and messaging a user. The participants successfully completed all tasks, and the forum received a SUS score of 63 in the round 1 usability test.
round 2 usability testing
For the second round of usability testing, we tested the forum with six participants to evaluate their ability to complete the core task, measure any improvement in the SUS score from the initial 63, and establish our NPS and CSAT scores. This helped us determine if the forum is ready for a wider audience release.
RESULTS
The KadaKareer community forum has seen strong community engagement, with many using it for educational purposes. After initial testing with a 63 SUS score, the second round of testing showed significant improvement with a SUS score of 81.7, a baseline NPS of 67 and a CSAT of 83.33. The forum helps students connect for support, access career resources, and celebrate achievements, building a positive community.
NEXT STEPS
For our next step, we will launch the KadaKareer Community Forum to the public in August 2024. I will also conduct a post-launch survey and usability test to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement.
Learnings
LEVERAGING EXISTING RESOURCES
I learned that as a UX designer, not everything needs to be designed from scratch. Utilizing resources like the Discourse API allowed us to streamline our focus on user needs and customize the platform accordingly.
DEVELOPING PRODUCT MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Handling the project without a dedicated product manager taught me valuable product management skills. I had to take charge of coordinating tasks, setting deadlines, and ensuring smooth communication across the team.
LEADING CROSS-CONTINENTAL COLLABORATION
I took the lead in communicating with engineers from Develop for Good, despite the significant time zone differences between the Philippines and the USA. This experience taught me how to manage cross-continental collaboration effectively.
ADVOCATING FOR THOROUGH TESTING BEFORE LAUNCH
Some teammates suggested launching the forum after the first round of usability testing, but I advocated for a second round to ensure readiness. I emphasized that launching with a SUS score of 63 would negatively impact user satisfaction and retention, and additional testing was essential to improve the experience.
BALANCING USER NEEDS WITH BUSINESS GOALS
I learned how to balance user needs with business objectives. While the primary focus was on creating a user-centered design, I also had to ensure that the forum aligned with the overall goals of the project, such as increasing user retention and engagement in our community.
LEADING THE DESIGN DIRECTION
Being trusted to lead the design direction of the forum, even though it was my first project, was an incredible learning experience. It gave me the confidence to make key decisions and guided the team toward creating a user-centered platform.
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