Class Compass

Research and Analysis

Competitive Analysis

We conducted a Competitive Analysis of Class Compass’ main competitors: Khan Academy, Outschool and IXL. We audited their flows, made notes on likes, dislikes and suggested changes. 

Then we turned these notes into a list of things to incorporate and avoid. The following is a summary of the findings:

Incorporate:

• Parents - Sign Up: Easy sign-up with third-party integrations, profile personalization, and clear account distinctions. Include learner interests to recommend relevant classes.
• Parents - Find a Class: Provide clear course details, payment options, multiple search methods, and visually organized class listings.
• Teachers - Sign Up: Simplified, guided sign-up with progress tracking, background checks, and flexible form completion.
• Teachers - Post a Class: Admin approval, diverse class formats, various student enrollment methods, and navigable setup processes.

Avoid:

Complicated CTAs, mandatory sign-up/payment before exploration, unclear privacy terms, and oversimplified checkout processes. For teachers, avoid lengthy forms and unclear sign-up buttons.

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Secondary Research

Alongside stakeholder input and client-provided research, I conducted secondary research to gain a deeper understanding of the online learning space. This involved analyzing reviews of Class Compass' competitors, exploring similar educational platforms, and reviewing published articles on parents' perceptions of online learning. 

My findings are as follows:

• Parents prioritize platforms that keep their children engaged with interactive and motivating content.
• Parents value platforms that are intuitive and easy to navigate, especially when managing multiple devices or connections.
• Parents expect user-friendly platforms that minimize the time they need to spend learning the system, particularly for younger students (K-6).
• Social proof and recommendations from other parents, teachers, and the community heavily influence parents' platform choices.
• Parents look for structured, engaging content that mirrors in-person learning and meets their child’s educational needs.

Research and Analysis

Before creating the User Flows, I attempted to do an audit of what was currently on the site but since there weren't enough pages that were built yet. I did two things: 

1. Current flow for parents finding and enrolling in a  course 
2. Mapped out the layout out the current course page 

My outputs based off of their data models, directory structure, and site map. I also ensured that my flows were respective of the findings from the research. 

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After presenting our user flows, the client expressed satisfaction, stating, 'This is exactly what we needed. It's like you took what I was thinking and put it on paper. Great job.' 

Minor revisions included rewording a decision point from 'Is the user satisfied with the current course?' to 'Is the parent ready to enroll their child?' to better align with the flow’s objective, and adding sections for course details and new page actions.

Conclusion

My team and I successfully met the project goals: 1) improving user flows for Parents, Learners, and Teachers, and 2) identifying missing modules. The user flows we designed provided Class Compass with clear direction for their next development phase, bringing them closer to their MVP.

Moving forward, I recommend testing the product, once the optimized flows and complete modules are put in place, with actual users to validate its usability. While we had valuable client input and secondary research, primary research with real users will offer stronger insights and significantly enhance the product.

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Takeaways