Project Spotlight
User-Centric Curro
Enrolment Journey
A user-centered design improved Curro enrolment by 4%,
generating an estimated R145 million more in revenue.
UX improvements drove an estimated 3,000 new learner enrolments over 13 months.
Project
Curro Enrolment
Web App Redesign (2023)
Role
Lead UX/UI Designer
Impact
Successfully applied UX Research, User Personas, Customer Journey Workshops, Wireframes, User Testing, UI Design, and User Onboarding to enhance the user experience of an education web app.
01 | Revolutionising Enrolment:
A UX Journey with Curro
Curro, South Africa's leading independent education provider, faced a critical challenge: their complex enrolment process was hindering access to quality education. As a consultant Lead UX/UI Designer, I spearheaded an 18-month initiative to transform this barrier into a bridge.
Our team redesigned the enrolment system, prioritising user needs and stakeholder expectations. The result? A streamlined, user-friendly process that aligns with Curro's mission to make education widely accessible, benefiting thousands of learners across South Africa.
Before and after: Simplifying a complex enrolment process for Curro parents.
Project Snapshot
My Role: Lead UX/UI Designer
Duration: 18 months
Primary Challenge: Simplify complex enrolment process
Key Stakeholders: Parents, admins, IT, marketing
Our Toolkit
1. User interviews and observations
2. Co-creation workshops
3. Journey mapping
4. Wireframing and prototyping
5. Usability testing
6. Heuristic evaluation
The stakes were high: every enrolment process improvement could mean another child accessing quality education. Our goal was to transform this barrier into a welcoming gateway for South African families.
Primary Goals
+ Understand parent needs through extensive UX research.
+ Design an intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable enrolment process.
02 | Bridging the Gap in
South African Education
Curro, a leading South African education provider, increases access to quality learning. We identified enrolment barriers, simplifying the process for parents and students. Our dedication to enhancing education involves leveraging technology and redesigning experiences to benefit all children.
Parent participating in a contextual inquiry I conducted, navigating Curro's online enrolment.
03 | Discovery and Research
Our discovery phase revealed critical insights:
- Parents struggled to locate required documents
- Website navigation was challenging
- Communication lacked clarity
- The enrolment process needed streamlining
To tackle these challenges, I introduced innovative solutions like a sliding menu status bar. This feature prompts users to prepare necessary documents before starting the enrolment process.
To better understand the needs and pain points of prospective students' parents, I conducted a comprehensive discovery phase:
- Stakeholder Matrix: To identify stakeholder needs and goals
- Heuristic Evaluation: Revealed key MyHub app usability pain points
- Contextual Inquiry: An in-depth analysis of real users' experiences
- Data-driven Design: Condens.io analysis of user research
Raw pain points collected from user observations, pre-analysis.
For access to UX research findings, visit my Contact page to inquire further.
04 | Uncovering Enrolment Hurdles
"We thought we were solving one problem, but we uncovered a much bigger opportunity." This realisation set the stage for a complete transformation of Curro's digital enrolment experience.
The Situation
In light of Curro MyHub's low 2.3 rating, a heuristic evaluation was conducted, complemented by an analysis of app store reviews.
Primary Goals
+ Identify and prioritise usability issues in the Curro MyHub app
+ Offer insights to improve user experience and satisfaction
Methodology
Performed a comprehensive heuristic evaluation of the Curro MyHub app to assess its usability and identify areas for improvement. This evaluation involved:
1. Analyze Curro MyHub app UI and functionality
2. Identify usability issues and improvements
3. Compile findings and recommendations
Research Findings
Heuristic 1: Visibility of System Status
The app had inconsistent icons and confusing navigation elements. Double profile icons and external link icons caused user confusion.
Duplicate icons led to user confusion and hesitation.
Heuristic 2: Match between System & Real World
The app's language was more system-focused than user-friendly, making it difficult to navigate. Additionally, the hamburger menu lacked a clear "Back" button, which added to the overall user experience frustration.
Complex navigation and jargon created barriers for users.
Heuristic 3: User Control and Freedom
The app lacked options for users to undo actions or easily navigate back. There was no provision to correct mistakes or add/remove profiles easily.
Users felt trapped with limited options to reverse actions or navigate freely.
Detailed Findings
You can download my full heuristic evaluation report here:
The Result: A Pivot in Strategy
MyHub's app wasn't the only issue uncovered. We identified widespread underlying problems. A greater challenge was presented by the primary enrollment web application—the initial point of contact for most users.
Shifting Focus: Main Enrolment Web App
After analysing the MyHub app, we realised we needed to examine the broader user experience which revealed several critical issues:
- A complex and confusing user flow
- Excessively long forms with numerous fields
- No functionality to save progress
Parents encountered numerous challenges:
- Difficulty locating essential information
- Forms filled with technical terminology
- Limited access to customer support
- Frequent technical issues
- Poor accessibility features
- Repetitive requests for the same information
The enrolment journey: Exploring key frustrations through the lens of Participant 5/5, Cindy.
The Path Forward
Our findings highlighted the need for a comprehensive UX strategy to revamp the entire enrolment experience. We focused on conducting in-depth user research to design tailored solutions addressing Curro parents' needs. Our aim was to build a seamless, user-friendly process, turning challenges into opportunities.
Behind the scenes: Redefining UX priorities through collaboration.
Curro's primary flow for a smooth experience, designed with user experience in mind.
05 | Turning User Insights into Action
After uncovering the major issues with both the MyHub app and the main enrolment web app, we knew we needed to dig deeper. It was time to get up close and personal with our users and really understand their struggles.
Primary Goals
Our research process included:
+ Conducted market analysis to define distinct parent groups
+ Held in-depth interviews, revealing specific challenges
+ Analysed data to pinpoint pain points like unclear communication
+ Developed detailed personas representing different parent segments
+ Led marketing collaboration via workshops and journey mapping
Meet Cindy (Participant 5/5): A busy working parent navigating school enrolment.
Submit your email on my Contact page to request the full UX research findings.
06 | User Personas and Empathy Mapping
Using insights from interviews and surveys, I developed user personas representing stakeholders, including parents, students, and staff members. These personas, alongside empathy maps, proved instrumental throughout the design process, The final product effectively addressed the specific needs and preferences of each user group.
Exploring Cindy's emotions and thoughts to identify pain points.
Submit your email on my Contact page to request the full UX research findings.
07 | Crafting Solutions
through Teamwork
Our design process focused on continuous collaboration and iteration:
Competitive Analysis: Identifying industry best practices
Iterative Testing: Continuously refining based on user feedback
Workshops: Team collaboration for solution brainstorming
Customer Journey Mapping: Mapping enrolment experiences visually
Competitor Insights: I thoroughly analysed enrolment experiences and resources to enhance Curro's website and app processes, aiming to increase user engagement.
I integrated the RARRA Framework (opens in new window) by Gabor Papp & Thomas Petit. This enhanced Curro's enrolment user experience by prioritising retention and activation for parents enrolling their children.
RARRA: Our guiding light that significantly enhanced Curro's enrolment process.
08 | Collaboration and Strategy
8.1 Design Changes and Handling Concerns: I shared design updates using a problem-solving approach:
+ Communicate regularly with stakeholders
+ Invited stakeholders to participate in UX
+ Identified concerns and found solutions
8.2 UX Workshops and Customer Journey Sessions: Facilitated workshops and sessions for stakeholders across departments, promoting user empathy and identifying areas for improvement.
8.3 Design System and UI Style Guide: Created a complete design system and UI style guide using Material 3 Builder. Documented UI components, design patterns, and visual styles for consistent user experiences.
Key elements include:
1. Colours
2. Typography
3. Components
4. Layouts
1. Colours: Accessible palette.
3. Layouts: Structured, responsive design.
2. Typography: User-friendly fonts.
4. Components: Reusable for cohesion.
09 | Reimagining the enrolment journey
Our redesign focused on user-friendliness, transparency, and efficiency. Some key improvements included:
1. Welcoming multi-channel landing page
2. Streamlined sign-in/sign-up process
3. Personalised onboarding
4. Intuitive school selection
5. Simplified data collection processes
6. Optional forms for additional services
7. Effortless application submission
Task flow diagram for guardians and parents: Improving the enrolment process.
User interface updated: Significant improvements made across all elements.
Simplified student enrolment with essential input fields for a smoother onboarding experience.
10 | Designing for All:
Our Commitment to Accessibility
Ensuring accessibility was a priority in redesigning the enrolment process. Key improvements included:
- Compliance with accessibility standards
- User-friendly and inclusive design iterations through usability testing
The distance-based slider tool was used to create a prototype that simplified the school selection process for parents. Later, this design was used for the main dashboard.
11 | Testing and Validation
11.1 Ensuring Accessibility Compliance: I conducted a colour UI test to demonstrate that existing UI colours did not meet accessibility standards. My proposed material colour palette addressed these concerns and optimised the workflow.
11.2 Overcoming Resistance through Education: I educated the marketing team on the importance of user-centric design and the value of an accessible UI colour palette, ultimately gaining their support.
11.3 User Testing and Iterative Refinement: We conducted usability testing and gathered user feedback to iteratively refine the design, ensuring it met user needs and expectations.
Implemented Material 3 colour schemes and contrast optimisation to achieve WCAG AA compliance.
12 | Customer Journey Workshop:
Impact & Action
Our redesign focused on user-friendliness, transparency, and efficiency. Key improvements included:
- A welcoming, multi-channel landing page
- Streamlined sign-in/sign-up process
- Personalised onboarding
- Intuitive school selection
- Simplified data collection
- Optional forms for additional services
- Effortless application submission
Implementation: Ensured thorough documentation and seamless handoffs to developers, continually refining elements based on user feedback.
1: Workshop Agenda: Enhancing Cindy's journey.
2: Stakeholders in Action: Solving Cindy's issues.
3. Customer Journey Map: Understanding Cindy.
Cindy's journey in progress: A team workshop visualising pain points and opportunities through a customer journey map, adhering to data privacy standards.
13 | Implementation and Launch
13.1 Collaborating with Developers: I partnered closely with developers, providing comprehensive handoff guides detailing annotations, specifications, and assets to facilitate a smooth launch.
13.2 Preparing for Launch: Developed strategic marketing plans and implemented post-launch support mechanisms to ensure ongoing success.
Detailed implementation and development handoff guide.
Custom designed enrolment icons: Making the enrolment process easier for parents and guardians.
14 | Impact and Outcomes
User-centric design led to success
Growth in Learner Numbers: Achieved a 4% increase in net learner numbers, resulting in an additional 2,913 learners enrolling at Curro.
Estimated Revenue Increase: Based on Curro's average annual contribution rate of 50,000 ZAR per learner, the 4% growth in learner numbers could generate an additional revenue of approximately 145 million ZAR.
Design Iteration and Prototype: Effectively addressed major issues and set the stage for significant improvements in future enrolments at Curro.
Interactive enrolment prototype
Discover how simple enrolment is:
Discover the prototype showcasing an improved enrolment process experience.
15 | Lessons Learned and Future Decisions
Key Takeaways
+ The power of thorough user research
+ The importance of stakeholder education in UX principles
+ The value of adaptability
Future Plans
✦ Ongoing usability testing
✦ Further development of the UI design system
✦ Continuous improvements in accessibility features