axis3 Timelines - A platform to support special education teachers with their Due Process paperwork.
Date
January 2022
Service
Webapp
Company
Creatively Focused
Overview
axis3, a platform to support Special Education teachers, was in need of a feature to help them manage their Due Process paperwork efficiently and without error.
Timelines is a feature to help Special Educators demystify Due Process so they can get back to what they do best -- teaching.
As the Digital Experience Designer for Creatively Focused, I had the responsibility to conduct user research, lead ideation, develop prototypes, and conduct user testing.
"Wait, what's Due Process?"
Due Process is the legally-mandated collection of tasks, paperwork, meetings, and reports that every Special Education teacher must adhere to for each of their students.
Teacher burnout is a problem throughout all of education, but especially so for those in Special Education. When I first began at Creatively Focused, I wanted to know: "Why Special Educators? What's unique about their story?"
To figure this out, I developed a research plan that involved interviewing 25 educators from various sectors of Special Education.
The educators held various roles, including:
Special Education Teachers
Paraprofessionals
Special Education Administrators
Special Education Coordinators
After hours of interviews, it was clear that Due Process and all the paperwork associated with it was weighing down on Special Educators. This time sink had to be addressed -- enter, Timelines.
Timelines keeps special educators, administrators, and parents up-to-date on their students success.
Problem Statement:
How can Timelines help Special Education Teachers save time, cut down on Due Process errors, and allow them to spend more time with students?
As I began to whiteboard and discuss the development of the Timeline feature, I began to ask myself -- how can this feature serve all of the axis3 users -- not just those managing all of the paperwork?
Through my research, I identified three major user bases and three specific stories that I needed to ensure the Timeline feature adequately addressed:
Special Education teachers need to be able to easily track their paperwork and monitor key upcoming dates for each student.
Special Education coordinators and administrators need to be able to see all the Due Process projects at-a-glance to be aware of any compliance (overdue) risks.
The parents and other non-department staff need to be able to understand what milestones their child or student are reaching.
When I sat down to design Timlines, I knew that axis3 was already a mature platform -- it had a foundation on which I would need to design around. This included where the feature could populate, how much space it could take, and considerations to be taken regarding the tech stack of the platform.
With these caveats in mind, I began to prototype to ensure I could reach my goal of successfully meeting the requirements of each of the stories.
Although administrators and coordinators will need to edit timelines from time-to-time, it was most important for them to be able to view all active Due Process projects at-a-glance so that they can ensure that all due dates are met.
This view can be leveraged during meetings with parents to track a child's progress.
This view is useful during special education team meetings to stay on track.
The Special Education teacher's priority is ensuring that all Due Process tasks are completed on time. The timeline management module ensures that this priority is met.
Testing
Three rounds of user testing were conducted to help promote usability and ensure that all content was accurate. The tested users were both internal, cross-team, and external users. I conducted the user testing in-person and remote using both unmoderated and moderated methods to ensure the feature didn't miss the mark.
Metrics
The crux of any education initiative -- how would I determine if the feature is ultimately doing what it's set out to do? Thankfully, in this case, it was quite easy:
NPS scores provided in-app.
# of state-recorded compliance issues reduced district-wide.
Periodic feedback surveys.
For more information regarding axis3, please visit Creatively Focused
