From Wicked Problem to Workable Solution: A UX Case Study

Imagine trying to juggle multiple learning systems, each with its own login, its own quirks, and its own demands on your time. It happens every day, doesn't it?

Now, picture an 11-year-old trying to navigate this maze, or a parent struggling to keep track of three children attending different school sections.

That is the reality for many, and one I have observed repeatedly, over the years, as someone who works at the intersection of education, technology and creativity at international schools.

The user experience in the digital learning landscape is highly fragmented.

Take, for example, this presentation that I put together some time ago for parents at our Elementary School. Mind you: this is for one section of the school.

As much as the field of EdTech has evolved, providing a myriad of efficient tools that allowed many of our schools to operate through disruptive times, there is still so much confusion left to be undone.

It's nothing short of a wicked problem, and one I am determined to tackle.

What follows is an illustrated, year-long decision-making process detailing how our school replaced our Learning Management System (LMS), impacting over 500 Secondary students and 80+ faculty.

My goal isn't to convince you to do the same, but rather to share how I facilitated a decision grounded in user experience. Hopefully, these insights will help you solve complex challenges within your own workplace.

Enter Human-Centered Design

Human-centered Design (also known as HCD) is an approach that "sits at the intersection of empathy and creativity," (ideo.org) placing students, teachers, and the entire community at the heart of problem-solving and design.

HCD views the school not as a collection of individual parts, but as an interconnected system where relationships, policies, mindsets, and resources all influence learning outcomes.

By understanding these complex dynamics, community members can identify the root causes of challenges and design solutions that are inclusive, holistic and sustainable.

A similar approach, which you may know as Design Thinking, is often used in combination, and sometimes in parallel, with HCD. While both HCD and Design Thinking prioritize the user and employ empathy and iteration in their processes, some specialists believe that they differ in their focus, with HCD being more about refining and improving based on user feedback, and Design Thinking about exploring innovative solutions from the outset.

"Design Thinking turns you into a noticer. Once you understand how to frame problems, see unmet needs, and consider new solutions you may never see any common situation the same way again." — Dr. John Nash

Pinpointing the Problem

The complexity of an institution's needs often correlates with its size, evidently necessitating a variety of systems. Our school, serving over 900 students from 60+ nationalities, employs diverse tools for different purposes. However, as mentioned above, the rapid adoption of technologies in recent years has pushed us to come up with systems that, at best, "make do."?

These systems, however, highlight the concept of interconnectedness.

We are one school, but we are also three sections, dozens of departments, and hundreds of people with unique needs.

"A system is not the sum of its parts' behavior, but the product of their interactions." — Dr. Russell Ackoff

The Case for Widening and Narrowing Lenses

To identify the problem at hand, I used a technique from the HCD playbook: Zoom in/Zoom out

Zooming in involves deeply examining specific user experiences, pain points, behaviors, and emotions to gain granular insights. Conversely, zooming out means taking a broader view of the system, considering overarching patterns, connections between elements, and the overall context in which the problem exists.

This iterative alternation between detailed focus and big-picture thinking allows designers to pinpoint the root causes of issues while ensuring that solutions are both impactful and well-integrated within the larger system.

?? Our Approach

When I zoomed in, I examined the unique requirements of various departments, grade levels, and users across the school. This process allows me to empathize with each stakeholder and pinpoint specific areas for improvement.?

Zooming out, I considered the bigger picture—how these individual systems interacted and how our decisions aligned with our institution's overarching objectives.?

This exercise led me to further narrow the focus:

But identifying the problem is hardly enough to get the attention of a very busy administration.

Thus, to make a well-informed case, I enlisted the help of our users, namely, students, teachers and parents.

In the process, I also gathered insights and feedback through interviews, brainstorming sessions, and discussions with key users, while also analyzing existing data from past surveys.

Reframe the Challenge

How-Might-We Statements are a way to reframe challenges into opportunities for creative solutions. They are used in the ideate phase of the HCD process. Here's how they work:

1. Focus on the user: Keeps the problem centered around the person for whom you are designing.
2. Open-ended: Allows for a wide range of possible solutions.
3. Solution-agnostic: Doesn't suggest a specific solution within the question itself.
4. Actionable: Provides a clear starting point for brainstorming.

"By involving customers and other stakeholders in the definition of the problem and the development of solutions, design thinking garners a broad commitment to change." — Jeanne Liedtka

?? Our Approach

Following an initial presentation to our Learning Leadership team, we closed the session by collectively reframing the challenge at hand.

The new statement read:

Bringing Empathy to Complexity

Once you frame your challenge, the first step is to dive into the empathy phase to seek to understand the root cause of the problem. Here's why this is crucial:

• Understanding your users: HCD revolves around placing the needs of the people you're designing for at the core. To truly understand those needs, you must immerse yourself in their world.
• Uncovering hidden pain points: The empathy phase helps to identify not just the obvious challenge but the deeper motivations, emotions, and experiences that lie beneath the surface.

This is a qualitative approach, which means that it will require qualitative methods such as interviews, survey result analysis, direct observation, etc, for a successful implementation.

This is also usually when a persona development makes the most sense.

?? Our Approach

In our context, interviews, anecdotal evidence, and different forms of feedback compiled over the years led me to create the following personas (represented here by the cards seen alongside the chart paper pieces).

These were then presented in a subsequent discussion with our administration to engage in the Empathy Mapping exercise that focused on behaviors, pain points, and motivations.

Identifying Gaps

Identifying gaps through human-centered design (HCD) usually involves multiple methods and a critical eye. A couple of the tools widely used, and which I will highlight below, are systems mapping and customer journey maps.

Systems Mapping

Systems mapping is another powerful tool from the HCD playbook that helps us visualize complex problems. It involves creating diagrams that show the relationships, patterns, and interconnected elements within a system. Here's why it's important:

• Zooms Out: Forces us to think holistically, looking beyond isolated problems to see the whole system.
• Reveals Hidden Dynamics: Uncovers root causes, feedback loops, and unintended consequences that might not be obvious.
• Identifies Leverage Points: Helps pinpoint areas within the system where small changes could create a big impact.
• Facilitates Collaboration: The visual nature of systems maps makes them ideal for sparking shared understanding and collaborative problem-solving.

In their Human-Centered Systems Thinking course, the folks at IDEO.org identify three styles of systems maps, as seen below:

?? Our Approach

Inspired by the course, I decided to create a process map to aid in our discussions, as it would allow my colleagues to better understand the interdependencies of our learning management system through individual stakeholder journeys.

The questions I asked myself were:

• Who are the actors?
• What are the steps and activities involved?
• Where are the gaps, barriers, handoffs and interaction points?

Conducting Stakeholder Interviews

While the map creation process was a solitary one, I benefitted enormously from the reflections of our team.

They engaged in a see-think-wonder protocol in groups.

Unsurprisingly, there is no one-size-fits-all here. The best way to approach stakeholder interviews depends on the context and the challenge at hand. Empathy is always helpful.

Out of curiosity, I also prompted ChatGPT to analyze the roles portrayed in the map. Here is what it suggests:

1. Teacher's Role: Central to the planning and execution of the educational process. Responsible for creating and distributing materials and assignments. Heavily involved in both formative and summative assessments.
2. Co-teacher/Support Teacher's Role: Supports the lead teacher, primarily in planning and facilitating instruction. May assist with various tasks to ensure the educational process runs smoothly, but is less involved in assessment and material creation.
3. Student's Role: Expected to engage with content, complete tasks, and interact with formative and summative assessments. Their role is reactive to the inputs from teachers and the LMS, with a focus on learning and feedback.
4. Families' Role: Primarily observational, focusing on staying informed about the student's progress. Limited interaction with the LMS, with specific mention of restrictions such as not being able to use certain features (e.g., "Can't use Live Edit").

To my earlier point, this part below was of significant importance:

The biggest issue that the map surfaces for teachers and students is the complexity of "jumping" from tool to tool to complete basic deliverables, thus disrupting the learning process, reducing efficiency, and fragmenting the workflow.

Add to that the potential perceived lack of transparency for parents within the current system, specifically regarding their inability to track their children's formative tasks, which leads to:

1. Lack of parental involvement
2. Communication gaps
3. Missed opportunities for engagement

Customer Journey Map

Customer journey mapping also helps us visualize the experiences customers have with either a product, service, or organization.

It involves creating a timeline or diagram of their interactions, thoughts, and emotions at each touchpoint. Here's why it matters:

• Empathy Building: Puts you directly in the customer's shoes, fostering deep understanding of their needs and pain points.
• Reveals Gaps: Uncovers friction points, inefficiencies, or missed opportunities within the customer experience.
• Informs Improvements: Pinpoints specific areas to target for optimization and enhancement.
• Aligns Teams: Creates a shared understanding of the customer experience, driving collaboration across departments.

?? Our Approach

During another group discussion, I asked our Learning Leadership Team to break into groups and watch two screencasts recorded by our students.

These videos depicted their day-to-day tasks, from checking their schedule in the morning, to interacting with and submitting an assignment.

This was the Learning Leadership's task:

And here are their takeaways:

While the task initially had a defined structure, as the groups admitted, it evolved into a more informal conversation. Yet, this shift allowed them to step into the students' shoes and experience things more directly.

As facilitators, it's important to read the room and recognize when flexibility can lead to deeper insights.

Prototyping

Prototyping is where your human-centered solutions start to take shape. Think of it as a way to quickly try out ideas, get feedback, and learn what works (and what doesn't!). In the world of IDEO.org, prototypes can range from rough sketches to role-playing scenarios to interactive models. Here's why prototyping matters:

• Tangibility: Turns abstract ideas into something users can interact with, sparking deeper insights.
• Rapid Learning: Prototypes allow you to fail fast, test assumptions, and refine your solution early on.
• Iterative Progress: Encourages a mindset of continuous improvement and experimentation.
• User Collaboration: Tangible prototypes make it easier to get feedback and co-create with the people you're designing for.

Moving on: Conclusions

Now is the time to envision and sketch the ideal future state of a system you're focusing on.

In the HCD playbook, this stage encourages us to imagine the system in its perfect form and reflect on how it operates, feels, and serves its purpose.

The process aims to identify surprising elements, actionable steps, and urgent matters to start building towards this envisioned future.

?? Our Approach

While in-house prototypes would have been fun to design, we ultimately chose an LMS after careful research and multiple demo opportunities for our staff.

Human-Centered Design techniques broadened our decision-making.

Discussions, data analysis, and surveys from key stakeholders – Learning Leaders, parents, students, and faculty – informed selection and the current implementation.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, as leaders of learning, understanding patterns and areas for improvement is crucial. HCD guides us in that direction; it emphasizes humanizing systems and recognizing their impact on people. This mindset, I believe, leads to interconnected, effective, and ethical solutions.

And, as expected, implementing the new platform is revealing small challenges, underscoring the shifting nature of EdTech, always requiring us to stay on our toes.

In the end, iterative processes that center human needs remain essential.