I've been an RA for nearly 4 years now, and have learned the ins-and-outs of Residence Life at RIT. During my time here, I've:
- Overseen 300+ residents
- Organized and collaborated in 10+ events per semester
- Been our school mascot twice
I have met so many great people through the RA role, and through this project, I hoped to build a system that would benefit my cohort and make things just a bit easier for them.
In order to design a dashboard for RA's, research and understanding is necessary to dig down to root issues that RA's are dealing with.
To address this problem, I started with research. I interviewed five current RAs to uncover pain points and patterns in their workflows. There were a lot of problems that were brought up, but the most recurring issues I found were:
Every resident has information including their name, major, room, involvement, etc.
RA’s are not detectives, they don’t need every detail about a resident.
Site lacks clear navigation and intuitive steps. Even veteran RA’s still struggle navigating the platform.
Not only are deadlines easily missed due to a lack of progress, but it’s easy to forget if a task was completed previously.
To address this problem, I started with research. I interviewed five current RAs to uncover pain points and patterns in their workflows. There were a lot of problems that were brought up, but the most recurring issues I found were:
During the ideation phase, I took the research and stories I collected from users, and compiled a list of assumptions to test, problems to prioritize, and to experimenting with advanced variables in Figma while cross-referencing techological feasibility.
- Users got really stuck after they selected their resident because they had so much information to sort through that it drastically slowed down their progress.
- When users had to select a task, they had to sort through which task they wanted near the end of the task completion which was a heavy cognitive load after sorting through information.
- If the user had completed a task in the past for a particular resident, the system lacks clear indicators for task completion, besides a simple check mark near the data selection for the task.
Based on assumptions and hypothesis made during the ideation phase, it was time to start designing potential solutions to problems.
I began ideation with sketches and low-fidelity wireframes, focusing on organizing tasks into two categories: Admin and Resident. Admin tasks pertain to RA-specific duties like event planning, while Resident tasks focus on guided connections and resident management.
After developing some Hi-fidelity wireframes, the next step was to run designs through user-testing. This would test assumptions made throughout the design process, and to gain insights on user interactions and preferences.
In the old user flow, took about 8 steps to get through resident information to complete a task. With my redesign, we are able to do that in 5 steps. With this change, we were able to streamline task completion by 37.5%, reducing the workflow.
After my first round of iteration, my designs got some amazing feedback. One of the most impactful insights for my final design would cut even more time in the task completion process. without having to reset the current workflow proved to be extremely efficient for users. More testing currently in the works. without having to reset the current workflow proved to be extremely efficient for users. More testing currently in the works.
Being able to tab between residents while referring to the resident list without having to reset the current workflow proved to be extremely efficient for users. More testing currently in the works.
Through trials of design and testing, I have conceptualized Version 1 of a final design for an RA dashboard. As this project continues, I am working with the development team at RIT to help enhance the overall experience for RA's.
Every RA is different, so a one-size-fits-all won’t cut it. The default screen would provide RA’s with:
- Resident count on floor
- Semester Budget for events
- Upcoming Deadlines
At a glance, RA’s are able to quickly view how many residents are currently on floor. When a resident is clicked, a modal pops up with more information about the user and the ability to tab.
In my design, resident interactions are dictated by the corresponding tasks, and not by each individual resident. If more information is needed, the user may expand the care to see:
- Exact Deadline
- Residents completed
- Residents are incomplete or pending
A large focus for this project was to make task completion for RA’s much easier.
With my design, I focused on making sure that tasks and progress were prioritized for RA’s use, and are now able to complete per task, not by resident.
Orbit is a centralized, intuitive dashboard designed to streamline Resident Assistants' workflows by organizing tasks, deadlines, and resident information. It simplifies complex processes, offering quick access to insights and actions, allowing RAs to focus more on building community and less on navigating inefficient systems.
Empathetic Design
I learned the importance of deeply understanding user needs by conducting interviews and gathering insights. This approach ensured that the design addressed specific RA pain points and user workflows.
Streamlined Simplicity
The challenge of simplifying complex workflows while ensuring the dashboard remained functional and informative taught me how to prioritize features and maintain usability.
Scalable Design
Creating a system adaptable for future needs taught me how to think strategically and design for growth.
