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Work Study Simplified

From confusion to clarity –  UX driven solution

At-a-Glance

In this project, I redesigned the Work Study Award Usage system to enhance usability, accessibility, and clarity for students tracking their financial aid eligibility. The previous interface lacked input fields, clear feedback, and structured navigation, causing confusion and inefficiencies. To address these issues, I introduced a dynamic eligibility display, allowing users to view their award status instantly without manual entry, along with an interactive GPA-based roadmap to help students forecast their qualification chances. Through user research, prototyping, and usability testing, the new design streamlined navigation, reduced errors, and significantly improved user satisfaction, creating a simpler, more intuitive experience for managing work-study awards.

Timeline

5 months

My Role

UI/UX Designer

Tools

Figma | FigJam

Problem

The existing system failed to guide users effectively in checking their work-study award status. The absence of input fields, lack of feedback, and misleading static messages resulted in frustration, inefficiency, and an unclear navigation process. A redesign was needed to provide a more intuitive, informative, and user-friendly experience.

Solution 

I redesigned the Work Study Award Usage system to automate award status display and simplify eligibility tracking. The new interface eliminates manual input, integrates an interactive GPA-based roadmap, and enhances clarity. Through iterative testing and feedback, the solution improves navigation, accessibility, and user experience, making financial aid management more intuitive.

Process

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Emphasise

  • Current State

  • Goal

  • Target Audience 

  • Pain Points

  • Solution

  • Brand Guide

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Define

  • Persona

  • Problem Statement

  • Deliverables 

  • Constraints

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Ideate

  • User Flows

  • User Stories 

  • Sketches

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Prototype

  • Lo-Fi Wireframes

  • Hi-Fi Wireframes 

  • Design System

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Test

  • Testing

  • Feedback 

  • Thoughts & suggestions

Emphasise - Understanding the Problem

The current system lacked usability, requiring users to determine their eligibility without any clear input mechanism. Users had no structured way to enter information, and clicking the search button resulted in no confirmation or feedback, which violated usability principles. Additionally, the misleading static error message created further confusion.
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​The goal of the redesign was to enhance clarity, functionality, and feedback mechanisms while ensuring that users could check their award status effortlessly. The system needed to reduce confusion, improve user satisfaction, and introduce intuitive interactions.

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Design - Identifying User Needs and Challenges

Persona Development

From research, common themes emerged among users struggling with the current interface. Users needed a clear, step-by-step process to check their work-study eligibility, along with better feedback mechanisms.

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Meet Sarah, the Research Assistant 

Sarah, is a 23-year-old graduate student majoring in Business Administration. She works 15 hours a week as a teaching assistant while managing her studies. Efficiency is key in her daily routine, and she expects digital systems to be clear, quick, and responsive.

 

Sarah finds the current My Work Study Award Usage page frustrating. She struggles to determine if she qualifies for an award, as the system lacks proper instructions and feedback. She prefers a system where she can input minimal details and quickly receive clear results.

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Problem Statements

After evaluating key user pain points, the following "How Might We" questions were formulated:

  • How might we make the award eligibility process clearer and more intuitive?

  • How might we reduce user confusion by providing meaningful feedback?

  • How might we improve navigation and reduce unnecessary actions?

These questions guided the design process toward creating a user-friendly, structured interface with enhanced feedback mechanisms.

Ideate - Creating the Framework

User Flow

To enhance the user experience, a streamlined flow was designed to minimize unnecessary steps while ensuring clarity. Users begin by logging into the Employee Self-Service portal and navigating to "My Work Study Award Usage." For the experimental group, details are auto-filled, eliminating manual input. An interactive roadmap allows users to check future eligibility by entering expected GPAs, while a query submission feature enables reporting of special cases for further review.

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User Stories

  • As a student employee, I want to check my eligibility for a work-study award so that I can plan my finances accordingly.

  • As a user, I need clear feedback after submitting my details so that I know whether my request was processed.

  • As a busy student, I prefer an automated system that provides results without requiring me to input too much information.

Prototype - Making it Happen

Lo-Fi Wireframes
Initial low-fidelity wireframes were created to map out the new layout and interactions. These wireframes focused on simplified navigation, clear input fields, and feedback placement.

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Hi-Fi Wireframes

Based on feedback from early iterations, high-fidelity wireframes were developed. These included refined UI components, structured layouts, and clear error and success messages.

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Test - The Endgame

To assess the impact of the redesign, usability testing was conducted with two groups:

  • Control Group (Existing System): 5 participants tested the original Work Study Award page.

  • Experimental Group (Redesigned System): 5 participants interacted with the improved interface.

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Quantitative Findings
User Rating (1-10): Control – 7.9 | Experimental – 8.6
Task Completion Time (seconds): Control – 42.26 | Experimental – 77.74 
Errors Identified: Control – 2.2 | Experimental – 0.8

Qualitative Findings 

  • Control Group Frustrations: Users struggled to find the correct option and did not receive sufficient feedback.

  • Experimental Group Successes: The newly designed interface reduced confusion and improved overall user satisfaction.

  • Error Reduction: Users in the experimental group made fewer mistakes, improving accuracy.

 

Conclusion and Recommendations

The usability test confirmed that the redesigned system was more intuitive and provided better feedback than the original. While the experimental design took slightly longer to navigate due to additional features, it resulted in higher user satisfaction and fewer errors.

Recommendations for further improvements:

  • Add tooltips for additional guidance on specific eligibility requirements.

  • Allow users to customize their preferences for detailed vs. quick-view information.

  • Implement AI-powered recommendations for users to improve their eligibility status.

The final redesign effectively enhanced usability, providing users with a streamlined and informative experience for checking their work-study award status.

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