Unveiling the Needs of Tomorrow’s Leaders

I conducted user research to understand the experiences, challenges, and needs of low-income young adults related to life skills

‍

Research

1. User Interviews: I discovered that the primary areas of interest were career skills, communication skills, and financial literacy

2. Affinity Mapping: emphasized the need for connecting with the community, specifically mentors who have overcome their adversities as it relates to career skills, communication skills, and financial literacy

3. Synthesis: This made it very clear that what was needed was a way to lean into the community and learn about tangible life skills, people were seeking mentorship in the areas mentioned above

‍

Key Insights

I was able to identified a gap in financial literacy among the target audience, which became a focal point in the design, the research validated the need for a supportive and engaging platform.

Assessing for Growth

Conducted competitive and comparative research to identify how similar organizations engage their communities and promote life skills. This method was chosen to gain insights into best practices and potential opportunities.

‍

What I noticed

I found that empowerment and community involvement were central to successful programs, and that tangible life skills were a key offering. These findings inspired the design of the YoungLA portal.

Reinforcing the idea of creating a sense of community and empowerment, It became the guiding light to the design and was crucial to include features that fostered these elements.

Crafting Jamie’s Journey

Based on the ideas and research we created a persona named Jamie, a representative of the typical user, I mapped out his journey through the portal. This method was chosen to personalize the design process and ensure that the final product would meet real user needs.

Jamie served as a constant reminder throughout the design process, ensuring that all decisions were user-centered.

‍

Building with Purpose, Testing with Care

‍

Creative Process

1. Wire framing & Mid-fidelity Mock-ups : This is the place we were able to bring our ideas to life, it helped us understand the interactions that should occur to help Jamie find a way to receive and practice his tangible life skills

2. Usability Testing: This made it very clear that what was needed was a way to lean into the community and learn about tangible life skills, people were seeking mentorship in the areas mentioned above, testing revealed several pain points, such as confusion in the booking process and a need for clearer instructions

‍

Opening the Portal

The YoungLA portal underwent extensive usability testing, ensuring it met the needs of young adults seeking to develop life skills. The design was validated through these tests, receiving positive feedback from its users

‍

Key Features

1. Access to Tangible life skills: With an emphasis on financial literacy we developed a portal that allowed access to community mentors.

2. Mentorship provided by the community: I provided access to mentors via 1-on-1 session designed to help users like Jamie focus on the area they find the most important to meet their goals.

3. Mobile-First Design: Ensured that all features worked smoothly on mobile devices, considering that Jamie only has access to a mobile device.

‍

‍

Lessons Learned

The importance of continuous user feedback and iteration was reinforced throughout the project. Understanding the user’s needs at a deep level was key to creating a successful product.

‍

Key Takeaways:

1. Iteration process: The biggest success of this project was understanding the iterative process helps to flesh any ideas good or bad out.

2. Testing: The testing phase was critical in ensuring that the final product was intuitive and met the users’ needs, leading to a more polished and user-friendly portal.

3. Empathy First: This was a project that was truly inspirational, understanding the challenges people face and also knowing that they want ot overcome, and that providing users with a tool that allows them to reach goals was an amazing exercise.

‍