Throughout alpha, we’ve talked to young people about their experiences making educational choices aged 15 to 18.
They faced a variety of challenges and differing circumstances, with some of our target users facing additional barriers. Whilst every young person’s experience is unique, we've gained some good insights to understanding the decision-making process.
Catering for different mindsets
A big focus of discovery was understanding the mindsets of how young people search for information. The research uncovered 3 distinct mindsets. These were:
- direct – those who had a clear idea of what they wanted to do
- exploratory – those who wanted to explore all the options that were available to them
- disengaged – those who not interested in the process and not ready to use a search tool
Early in the alpha we decided as a team not to focus on disengaged users. We felt that an online tool by itself was unlikely to be able to reach or meet the needs of these users. They would likely need more personalised, in person support. Instead, we would focus on direct and exploratory users for our service.
Following ideation, we created 2 early concepts that we felt could cater for each mindset:
For direct users, we wanted to make it as easy as possible to search for courses around them. To help them consider other options we would employ nudge techniques like showing alternate options to the exact topic they’ve searched for. We named this the direct search.
For exploratory users, we wanted to guide them through the process to enable them to find suitable, relevant results. We also felt this journey could better support target users facing additional barriers. We named this the guided journey.
Pivoting to focus on search preferences
After testing these concepts with users during early rounds of research, we iterated on the designs and created 3 journeys in our prototype:
Guided journey
Here we tried to present filtering options to the user by asking a series of easy-to-understand questions. We felt this approach could guide our users through the process without overwhelming them, while still collecting enough information to present personalised results.
We’d also include questions that could help our users challenge their pre-held biases and consider other options. For example, we’d directly ask users if they were interested in apprenticeships before returning any search results to ensure that users had considered them as an option.
Direct search
Many users we spoke to were keen to see search results as soon as possible. Here, we just asked the user for their location and what they were interested in before returning results. The user could then use filters options on the results screen for further refinement.
Browse
Some users found an empty search box intimidating. We wanted to investigate ways we could help users search without entering much text and came up with 2 browse options. The first allowed users to provide a location, then down select from subject options they found interesting. A similar approach can be found on Find an Apprenticeship).
The second option was to just ask the user for a location and display preloaded results near them. They then could narrow down their options via filters or entering interests. We assumed that some users would find this journey overwhelming or not relevant to them but wanted to validate this. Initially we experimented with allowing users to select a specific school or college but we realised that they could easily use existing provider websites for this type of search. So we removed this option to encourage users to consider a range of nearby providers.
The below diagram gives a high-level visualisation of the journeys we tested:
User feedback on later prototypes
During the second half of alpha we focused on the guided journey rather than direct search as we felt the guided journey was more complex but also better shows the advantages to users of the service. It went down well in our final round of user testing. By iterating the content throughout alpha, we were able to address concerns about overwhelm and confusion in certain parts of the guided journey to make it easy to navigate.
Direct users appreciated being asked questions around learning style during the guided journey, even if they would have been confident to search straight away. We were initially concerned that the guided journey would be too long and users would become disinterested in completing it. However, users fed back that it struck the right balance between length and collecting useful information. What was more important was that the content of each screen was easy to understand and navigate.
The browse options weren’t as well received by users initially. The first option tried to provide more course inspiration to exploratory users within the search tool itself by showing them subject categories. This approach could be an area of further exploration but we didn’t feel like our design was really helping them decide what course was right for them. The second option was requested by some users but didn’t resonate with users when prototyped. We felt that this approach could also be incorporated into the direct search journey if we informed users that they didn’t need to enter anything into the free text box.
Most users tried the guided journey first. Direct users didn’t mind having to navigate through several screens before being presented with a series of results and exploratory users recognised the benefit of the direct journey for those who had a clearer idea of what they wanted to do.
Having shown users both journeys, some users recognised the thought process behind each journey. They understood that there would be users who needed more guidance and users who wouldn’t want to narrow down options too early. Users found it easy to self-select the most appropriate journey for their individual needs. Going forward it will be important to allow users to easily change paths if they make the wrong initial choice
Entry and exit points
An important area of research has been how users are likely to find our service. Our research suggested that currently many young people are unlikely to find our service without being prompted. Many young people carry on studying at their current school and many told us they went straight to college websites. Despite this, the young people we spoke to felt that our service would have been useful in making that choice.
We identified some scenarios where young people were more likely to find or use our service. These included those who:
- wanted a change from what they've experienced at secondary school, for example wanting to attend college over the 6th form attached to their current school
- are shown the service by someone else, for example during a school lesson or careers advice session
- receive different exam results than expected and need to consider other options
- started a course, weren’t enjoying it and needed to find something more suitable
- are forced to drop out due to circumstances beyond their control and now looking to re-enter education, employment or training
- were determined to consider all the possible options available to them
These learnings should inform the adoption methods to be considered in beta if our service is to be rolled out further.
We have also tried to better understand user expectations of the exit points of our service. After completing a search, there was broad consensus among users that our service would link off to a provider website to apply. We have tested a support page to help users through the application process but this has not been a priority for our alpha due to a lack of user interest. It is an area that could be explored more in beta.
We know that our tool is not the right starting point for all 15 to 18 year olds. Some will have more fundamental needs to address first. Others will require more inspiration of what to they want to do in the future. Our approach to signposting has been to use it sparingly. By prioritising the most helpful resources we’ve come across, we have created support pages we feel won’t overwhelm users.
Whilst we approached the alpha to create something that works as a standalone service, the context of where it sits in the future will be crucial. Our service is only one tool in the education journey and we know that some user needs can be better met by other tools and resources.
We hope the support we’ve provided will help users get closer to be using our service and make the right educational choice for them. However, a wider support review focussing on the needs of young people would be valuable and help embed a consistent approach across the Department of Education, for example agreeing the support services to link to.
Summary
Our user research has allowed us to gain a clearer understanding of how users will find our service, and how they will use it to fulfil their own needs. Our final prototypes have shown initial promise but can be improved with feedback from a larger sample size of users in beta.