Mapping The Student-Employee Experience
We started the project by focusing on understanding the full lifecycle of an OHSU employee that was continuing their education. We learned everything we could about how students research and find classes and programs that they are eligible to take, what classes are like, and what receipts and course verification documents need to be submitted for reimbursement.
At the same time, we spoke with and mapped out what was happening behind the scenes for each step in the process. Giving us deeper insight into the entire process and revealing new ways to streamline and automate things moving forward.
Through this research, we found students were having to deal with several different tools and that these tools had little to no integration with one another. We also learned that the existing reimbursement tool was falling short for anything beyond the initial submission. Students could make a reimbursement request, but if OHSU needed additional information/verification, or if anything in the process was submitted incorrectly, there was no way to communicate about it via the system. This slowed things down, and opened up risk with information not making it into the system, as it required OHSU to reach out through external channels such as emails and/or phone calls.
Designing For The Full Process, Start To Finish
With this project, we had the opportunity to design a platform that would not only automate the communication process, but also massively reduce the amount of manual data entry by integrating all of the systems together. Providing a platform that could ensure more accurate data and greater transparency for all users.
With these insights, we mapped out a new user experience flow showing how the systems would function for both students and administrators. We then started designing Wireframes to explore specific features and functionality and get a better idea of what the final experience would be.
As the Wireframes transformed into more high-fidelity UI Comps and then into the actual product, we collaborated with both Sumo Consulting and the client to prototype and test solutions that allowed us to frequently gather feedback from stakeholders and iterate on the experience for the end-users.
The new platform has had a tremendous impact on both students and administrators. Reducing the amount of work from both sides, and providing one place everyone can communicate and easily visualize where things are in the process. As a responsive application, the new system also allows students to interact while on the go, making it easier for them to focus on their studies and spend less time struggling with complex systems and time-consuming processes.
