Stocks in The Future
Through next-level design strategy and service goals I partnered with John’s Hopkins University’s developed program Stocks in the Future to create a redesign an innovative and incredible simulated economic stock market to empower inner city youth to provide an educational platform for economic literacy and empowerment.
Problem:
The Challenge:
Reducing user dorp off rates for adminsitrators and sutednts utilzie the platofmr for educative porgram My Impact:
Collaborated with 80 schools, 180 classrooms, 80 teaching professionals, and 80 administrators across two states to conduct UX research. Analyzed and processed pain points and system breakdowns, focusing on the psychological beliefs and behaviors of Black and Brown inner-city youth regarding their agency and engagement in school.Redesigned the Stocks in the Future (SIF) financial education tool with a cross-functional team of product managers, developers and stakeholders to support teachers teaching the SIF curriculum, decreasing user abandonment by 35% during their stock research​​
​
​
Tools
Team
My Role
Timeline
-
Pen and Paper
-
Miro
-
Figma
-
Zoom
-
Notability
Research
-
Overall: 8+ Weeks
-
Discovery & Research: 2+ weeks
-
Design & testing: 4+ weeks
-
4 Engineers
-
3 Developers
-
1 Product Manager
-
1 Artist
Ideation
-
Overall: 8+ Weeks
-
Discovery & Research: 2+ weeks
-
Design & testing: 4+ weeks
Production
Project Objectives
The project objective was to redesign the Stocks in the Future website, a program developed by Johns Hopkins University, to enhance the user experience for students, teachers, and administrators. As a UX designer, I embarked on a journey to create an intuitive and engaging platform that facilitated seamless navigation, access to educational materials, in order to address the issue when youth struggle with performance in larger cities or rural areas, Johns Hopkins University shared that and program SIF leaders came together to provide incentive for youth to have hope in their future and financial empowerment. Unlocked 20% more wallet to purchase task completion opportunities in proposed redesign presentation. This institution and community efforts there is still a lack of incentive for youth to perform. However, the goal of Stocks in the Future is to utilizeh simulated stock market activities to reignite youth’s sense of agency and direction of their lives.
"This attendance advantage is both statistically and educationally significant," said Douglas MacIver, a principal research scientist at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools, a partner in the program. "Stocks in the Future students were 2.3 times more likely than control students to achieve perfect attendance." The curriculum teaches factors that influence business decisions, help students analyze publicly traded companies and examine various financial instruments.
Stocks in the Future in total, is an innovative, intentional and impactful three-year financial investment program offering an incredible and immersive learning journey that instills financial decision najubg abd life king educative literacy in empowerment ,
​
To achieve this program mission through UX research and design, I conducted critical interviews and extensive research on andministrator’s and students' experiences with the existing platform. This process allowed me to gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points, which informed the redesign process. Collaborating closely with stakeholders, I ensured that the new website not only met the learning objectives of Stocks in the Future but also addressed the specific challenges identified through user research.
The redesigned website aimed to improve user engagement and increase retention rates by providing a more immersive and interactive learning experience. By incorporating features such as intuitive navigation, comprehensive educational resources, and realistic stock market simulations, the new platform aligned with Stocks in the Future's mission of instilling insights into stocks, financial stability, and self-investment.
Overview
My role:​
-
Working with product management, company directors, organization executives, and staff teams to strategize and align business goals with product direction, program, and user needs.
-
Collaborating with company and product teams from ideation to implementation and iteration.
Leading the design direction from redesign conceptualization to development and beyond.Overseeing all designs and prototypes while collaborating with product managers and leading designers and engineers in the team.
Conducting competitor and industry research, and developing user journey maps.
Liaising with the data protection officer regarding user consent and data collection, processing, and usage.
- Facilitating communication between design and development teams.
My impact
In my role in "Stocks in the Future," I shaped the program technically but also delved into its real-world impact. By conducting insightful interviews and surveys with both students and teachers, I honed the curriculum and teaching materials, ensuring they resonated effectively. This data-driven approach informed decision-making for stakeholders, while my collaborative efforts on the responsive website design, adhering to brand guidelines and incorporating weekly feedback, aimed to enhance the program's accessibility and success, particularly through the critical event signup process.
Persona Development
As a next step I worked on developing a
The leaders of the e-commerce and stock market trading were more advanced when it comes to make their design responsiveness, highlighting the user benefits, and generally excelling in the usability department.As we were developing an experience that was the first in the industry for patients, it was our responsibility to the end-users to clearly define the problem we were solving. Fortunately our team has performed a lot of user research on the cancer patient market, which gave us a leading advantage in pr
Research
Product Audit and Evaluation of Current Standing
I delved into understanding the existing product by evaluating the platform layout and content. My objective was to identify key areas for improvement, distinguishing between quick fixes and long-term enhancements, and to discern the specific problems or needs addressed by the non-profit. With a focus on the user experience, I aimed to explore how teachers and students navigated the curriculum materials and assessed if there was a correlation between their learning experience, knowledge absorption, and the actionable prompts provided by the online platform for student practice. The initial stage involved a heuristic evaluation to uncover challenges and pave the way for strategic improve​me
Valued Features to Improve
-
Stock purchasing transactions and student p-
-
Benefit to this feature is that it provides and e-learning space of encouragement to make informed decisions with company insights
-
-
Assessment and Management of Milestone Achievement (providing a sense of progress - connecting back to original company mission)
-
Benefits to this feature include that it makes the learning process more engaging and helps motivate students in their achievements. There is section for Stocks in the Future simulated Stocks to be given stock descriptions, such as business history, trending products, and value - this allows students to learn information best used to make financial decisions.
-
-
Also having the ability to review the information of each modecirption of the stock options in a more mobile and nuanced (non-static manner)
-
- this ease and improved function in visual presentation of stock descriptions will aid in the decision making clarity and engagement of users as they decide how to use their SIF funds
New Aspects to Consider Updating into Program
Simplify. Less clutter means a clearer user journey. By trimming excess, we enhance focus, efficiency, and user satisfaction and students can and teachers can focus on their responsibilities within the program and learning. Streamlining is key for an optimal digital experience.
The Stocks in t (SIF) stocks can be used to describe
Provide visible instructions
An example excerpted here is the student welcome page and SIF stock portfolio tab for students. To address this, implementing direct, user-friendly instructions will empower students to navigate effortlessly and engage effectively with the platform's features. Clear action steps and prompts ensure users can easily find their way, optimizing their interaction with the SIF platform.
Product Audit
Interview and Findings
Engaging in one-on-one, in-depth user interviews with a younger demographic, I aimed to uncover the student motivations driving their success rates in going online and completing the action of buying a stock and teachers success rates approving attendance/grades within the "Stocks in the Future" platform. Specifically, I interviewed six individuals with an interest in psychology to delve into their habits and motives in this context. The key insights gleaned from these interviews revealed...
Top motivations for people:
Competitor Audit
As a next step, I wanted to explore more the functionality and benefits that are offered by the platforms offering similar kind of product - providing knowledge and education. I compared direct and indirect competitors with a couple of important components of UI and product in general to discover the areas where the Stocks in the Future experience could improve. I explored online learning spaces like Google Classroom, and online teaching stock platforms like Acorns.
The leaders of the e-commerce and stock market trading were more advanced when it comes to make their design responsiveness, highlighting the user benefits, and generally excelling in the usability department.
Ideation
Sitemap
Based on the research and persona discovery, I brainstormed, compiled and organized the necessary website content and functionality. Pre-redesign, the Stock in the Future website was heavy in redundant and obsolete information that didn’t provide much substance. I decided to include the most vital information in the new version to make it clean and easy to navigate. I also wanted to create a more fluid paralegal between the curriculum and emphasis on students sense of agency in investment in both their performance and their financial future could be evident. The greatest emphasis was in the interactive quality with the user and the online curriculum and experience of SIF stock tools.
In the process, I was able to reduce the overall number of pages from 60+ down to 12, and the main navigation user pathways (for student, teachers, and admin) went down from 5 to 3.
Overall Map
Sitemap
User Task Flow
I created the user task flow for both students and teachers performing core tasks within the Stocks int eh Future program. The following screenshots demonstrate student navigation to purchase a new stock with their Stocks in the Future gained funds. Moreover, I also share the pathway of a teacher and admin that is one of the most important site’s functionality. Task flow assumes a visit by a guest who’s not a member of the Society yet.
_.png)
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Streamlining the 'Stocks in the Future' user experience involved a strategic approach to wireframing and testing. After defining the primary user tasks, including student portfolio checks, managing 'Stocks in the Future' stocks, and simplifying admin/teacher tasks like adding students to the roster, I crafted lo-fi wireframes for initial user testing. This early testing phase proved invaluable, providing insights that informed subsequent high-fidelity prototypes. Key iterations focused on enhancing event information visibility, guiding users toward fluid stock exploration by optimizing sitemap clarity and image placement, and refining text information hierarchy to highlight critical details. These adjustments, based on user feedback, not only saved time in later stages but also significantly improved the overall usability of the platform.
Wireframes
Focused on Admin ease in administrative task completion, increasing task completion for adjustments to class roster each semes
Key Features Implemented in mockups:
In the stock visualization we improved the visualizations that correspond with current other major stock trading and educative platforms - utilizing Jakob’s Law, understanding that to foster ease of use by riding industry connections and standards to reduced cognitive load for learnability. Another design principle and goal aspect implemented was I provided youth with incentivized messages and updates on their grades-to-wallet accomplishments to help aid their understanding between their successful participation with their access to purchase new stocks and other program perks - the core of the product’s mission and product revamp. I maintained menu categorization for continued internal design internal consistency, and brand identity.
Hi-Fidelity Prototypes
I​n response to the initial review of wireframes by stakeholders and surveys from youth, I created the following hi-fidelity mock-ups and prototypes:
Test
Usability Testing
To get even more insight and feedback on the branding and usability, I tested the prototype on 5 potential users (age 31-39) to get enough feedback to implement it into the second round of iterations. The test validated my stock purchase pathway, and Stocks in the Future method of stock evaluation process with a 100% successful completion rate.
Insights from Usability Testing
Usability Testing
To get even more insight and feedback on the branding and usability, I tested the prototype on 5 potential users (age 31-39) to get enough feedback to implement it into the second round of iterations. The test validated my registration process with 100% successful completion rate.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Comparison
New
Old
Next steps
Overall it was a successful adjustment to the site and was ready within the two month period of research aND design process the project was under
1. Come up with AssessmentMetrics monitor that is user friendly for youth and captures the grade monitoring achievement progress. ​
2. Integrate more live updates from news on a subpage or supplemental portal to support youthfulness of user experince for users.
Good ideas for next steps: