EMS4 marked my first project as a UX designer when I joined Age of Learning in 2017. As the lead UX designer, I collaborated with a team of around 20 talented individuals to shape and refine the EMS4 product. Given our small team size and the utilitarian nature of EMS4, I also took on the role of a UI designer, dedicating 25% of my time to ensure a cohesive user interface. From the outset, we adopted an agile approach, working in 2-week sprints and adhering to the scrum framework. At the end of each sprint, we showcased our achievements in a live environment during sprint reviews, providing an opportunity for the CEO and stakeholders to assess our progress as a cohesive team.
Our development cycle follows a systematic approach of brainstorming, sketching, designing, iterating, and testing. One of the benefits of implementing scrum is the clarity it provides in terms of task allocation and time management. Prior to each sprint, I collaborate with the product owner to define the user stories we'll be pulling from the product backlog. Once the sprint begins, I closely collaborate with in-house front-end developers, QA members, and off-shore API developers to determine the most effective approach for addressing our user stories within the sprint timeline. Daily stand-ups, whiteboard sketch meetings, and frequent phone and video conferences enable us to collectively troubleshoot challenges and find collaborative solutions. Over the course of eight months, our dedicated team is committed to ensuring our product is not only highly functional but also highly valuable to our users.
The company made a strategic decision to transition from Agile to Lean methodology, embracing Kanban as our new framework. This shift in our work process has allowed us to become more adaptable without compromising our dedication to serving our users. We decided to forgo the traditional practices of writing user stories, sprint planning, and sprint reviews. Instead, our focus shifted towards consistently delivering new features and addressing technical debt throughout the development cycle. By doing so, we maintain our commitment to enhancing our product while remaining flexible and attentive to our end goal of providing the best experience for our users.
Throughout my tenure, I was entrusted with a highly intricate project that only a select few within the company could fully grasp. My primary responsibility revolved around comprehending user requirements and providing them with an intuitive product. To streamline my design workflow and ensure efficient delivery, I transitioned from traditional tools like Photoshop or Illustrator to utilizing Sketch, which empowered me to generate production-ready designs. This shift in my approach allowed me to effectively meet the demands of the project, catering to user needs and delivering a seamless user experience.
Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to tackle numerous challenging projects. However, among them all, this particular endeavor stands out as the most intricate: designing an Enterprise Management System (EMS) aimed at simplifying processes for teachers, principals, and administrators. Spanning over hundreds of screens, this project has been a defining milestone in my professional journey.
My objective was to create a user-friendly interface that would streamline complex tasks and empower educators and school administrators to navigate the system effortlessly. By employing a thoughtful and intuitive design approach, I sought to simplify intricate workflows, enhance user experience, and ultimately make the lives of these stakeholders more efficient and productive.
The importance of this project cannot be overstated, as it directly impacts the educational landscape by providing a powerful toolset to those responsible for shaping young minds. It has been both a rewarding and challenging experience to contribute to the simplification and optimization of such a crucial system.
THANK YOU!